Boxes!

So. Many. Boxes! In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, my sister jetted out to Florida, to help deal with our late father's possessions. She had an almost-constant stream of text messages and photos going with family members, while she went through Dad's things that were laying around, and also when she opened box after box of our grandmother's and great-grandmother's things that were stored in Dad's inaccessible hallway. I tried to resist taking very much, but still, over the past two weeks, I've received enough boxes from her, to fill up the one side of my garage that has no cars.

Rotten luck

We were walking. Just walking. Doing what we've been doing most days, since Jennefer's employer folded because of COVID-19. Jennefer went to her treatment, then we made ourselves coffee and breakfast, and headed out for our usual 4.5 mile walk from the house, looping around through Ketring Park and around its lake, then heading over to Sterne Park, before the hike up the hill to home. Just after we got to Sterne Park, we got into an intense conversation about how walking faster would be better exercise for Jennefer, and suddenly she stepped in a pothole and twisted her foot badly. We stopped for awhile, to give her time to sit in the grass and assess the damage, and she decided she wanted to continue walking up the hill to home, since she had an appointment coming up. She was in pain and walking with a pronounced limp. We got home OK, and then she called and found out her appointment was the next day, so we hadn't needed to rush, oh well. Her foot didn't get any better overnight, and was still very painful the next morning, so we took her to Urgent Care after her treatment, and after an X-Ray, they diagnosed her with a fractured metatarsal. We are feeling overwhelmed by all the challenges that 2020 is throwing at us.

ATC Zero Events

Things sure are different out there. Since we’re laying low most of the time, we don’t get to personally experience all the weirdness. I just ran across this writeup on ATC Zero events (unexpected total closures of Air Traffic Control facilities, when COVID-19 gets into them), and some tips for how a pilot can minimize the impact to their flying.

SR-71 Blackbird Adventure

I just finished another X-Plane flight simulator flying adventure, this time flying the SR-71 Blackbird ultra-fast-and-high spy plane, to Seattle, Denver, Honolulu, Okinawa, and Anchorage, before returning home. 

What a rush! This plane goes much higher and faster than anything else I've ever flown, real or simulated, while at the same time, having some of the oldest, least-intuitive, gauges adorning the instrument panel, and requiring a quirky technique, and a lot of manual effort, to fly.

Here are links to all the flights in this short adventure. At the bottom of each post, you'll find links to "Newer Post" and "Older Post", in case you'd like to jump directly from one flight to the next, without coming back to this list. I hope you enjoy!

Learning the SR-71

Denver to Seattle, WA

Seattle to Denver

Denver to Honolulu, HI

Honolulu to Kadena AFB, Okinawa, JP

Okinawa to Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK

Anchorage to Buckley AFB, Denver, CO

Cleaning out Dad's home

My younger sister saw that "Florida is opening up," and immediately booked a series of airline flights, to go clean out our father's place, which has been piled high with boxes and other paraphernalia for many years. I'm torn -- I wanted to be there with her, but we suddenly learned we have a serious medical issue in our household, so I'm staying here to provide emotional and logistical support. She's already been out there for a week, with a friend who traveled to keep her company. She's sending lots of photos of his things to family members, so we can decide if we want anything. Such an emotional time, and also a big physical commitment for her to be there by herself, now that her friend has headed back home.