Tag: Corona Effect

Out and About: Marquise Pro

Rerun: originally posted March 28, 2020. 

Heidi and I took advantage of the sunny weather and walked over to an area super market to get some yellow onions. I know, probably too much information. But that was what we were doing when we rounded the corner of the Hobby Lobby and heard someone playing a saxophone, and playing it well.

Marquise Pro had set up shop, was playing away, collecting tips, and bringing a bit of joy to people’s day. What a sweet surprise. I’m not sure whether or not Pro is his real surname, or his professional name. But it was fitting for the way he handled the saxophone. I wanted to pull up a curb and listen for a while.

Another reason it was special is because it highlights the theme of my series Out and About. The series is focusing on the fact that even though there is the threat of coronavirus, death, or a mild ticket from the local constable, people are still going about their lives. We need more people like Marquise. Hopefully we will get back to normal, whatever normal is, soon.

You can find more out about Marquise here, it’s his website.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2022.

Out and About: Seth and His Boys

Walking just west of downtown McKinney, I noticed a young boy watching a road crew and their heavy machinery. He was transfixed. It was almost alarming because I didn’t immediately see his parents. Then I noticed man, under a tree, with another child in stroller, staring intently in the boys direct. It was his father, Seth Hammond. He was taking care of his boys while his wife, a hairdresser, was busy trying to keep up with all her clients.

Seth is a personal trainer, and his business hasn’t picked back up yet. You can see his web site here. 

While his last name is very similar to mine, we didn’t think we were directly related. Although, I have learned recently that my last name has been spelled with a d and with an a at the end, as in Hammans. Also, some spelled it with only one m. So we could be related. 

If you are in need of a personal trainer, give him a call. 

For the Record: Corona Effect

For the record, Starbucks is essential. I know there are a lot of Starbucks haters, but for those of us who like their coffee, and depend on their coffee in our daily lives, or like, while we drive across country to see family, it’s essential. Finding one store closed, and another store closed when we needed coffee, was not a good thing. It’s time to open America back up again, including all the Starbucks stores.

 

Out and About: On the Edge of the Pond

I spied this guy sitting on the edge of the pond and thought it would be neat if I could get a close up of him. But being the slightly distractible person that I am, I forgot, when and took some 50 shots else where, came back, and found him still sitting there.

This was taken before the radical and unnecessary lock down.

 

Darkest Before the Dawn

It has been my desire to take some night pictures of the city streets after a rain fall for some time. This is harder than it sounds, since my wife and I tend to go to bed early every night. But since Corona Effect has taken place, I now take her to work every morning, usually before 6 a.m. The time for night pictures suddenly opened up and after an morning rain in late March, I spent some time driving around the streets, with tripod, camera, and a good deal of sampling shutter speeds.  Here are three of the good ones.

Please note: outside of a few joggers, no one was on the streets. I attribute that to the Corona Effect.

 

Hearing the Beach

Standing underneath these palm trees, I could almost hear, and smell the beach. These trees seemed so out of place, here in north Texas, but were able, for the moment, to remind me of growing up going to the beach in Galveston as a boy. There are plenty of palm trees in Galveston. There is also the smell of the sea, the sound of the surf, the cry of the gull. It would be nice to walk along the sea wall, even with social distancing, and stop in some local restaurant for some fried shrimp and stuff crabs. There are only 316 miles to go, before I could do that. Given the situation around us, I’m quite certain it’s not going to happen.

 

Lockdown: White Rock Lake

As my boys and I made our way around the dam area of White Rock Lake, we discovered this lock-covered railing around an observation deck. An off-duty police officer told us that the tradition started in Europe some 10 to 15 years ago, and has caught on at White Rock Lake. I’m not sure what the motive is. I have some locks laying around that I don’t use, but I’m not sure I would bother to put it on the railing like we are seeing here. I do wonder if the ones who have contributed combination locks, remember the combinations.

(These photos were taken before the area moved into Covid-19 lockdown. No laws were broken. No small animals were harmed).

 

Men At Work: Corona Effect

This is Juan. He’s working hard to fix the internet cables. During the Corona Effect, keeping the internet going is a top priority. Apparently, water was linking into the cables and the bacteria was getting inside, causing problems. I never knew bacteria could cause the internet problems, but apparently so.

It’s good to see that some people are still working.

 

Standing in Queue: Corona Effect

I wasn’t planning on doing any more Corona Effect posts. The entire subject is a bit depressing. Yet, here we were on our weekly outing to Trader Joe’s only to find that we had to queue up before going inside the store. They had two employees acting as gatekeepers. They only allowed someone inside the store when someone else left the store.

What was worse, I tried to make a joke as Heidi and I were getting in line, that fell absolutely flat. Everyone is really tense. That made me tense. Therefore, Heidi and I decided to double up on the essentials so we didn’t have to come back next Saturday. We doubled our portions of chocolate and wine. Priorities! I know, we’re now hoarders! Alas, the strange things we will do when a crisis hits.

 

Empty Shelves: Corona Effect

One of the Frisco Walmarts, as of last Friday. I was in the same Walmart today, and later in Sam’s Club this afternoon, and both were out of TP, eggs, and lunch meat. I had to tell myself that the chickens would keep laying eggs regardless of our level of fear. Hopefully the shortage will be remedied soon.

As for my opinion: I have friends who seem to think it is worse than we realize, others who think it will blow over, and others who are sitting back watching, like I am. Both sides have supporting web sites to prove their point. Only One really knows what is going on, and He rules from one end of the world to the other, therefore, I’m looking to Him.