A Year of Change

Yesterday morning they called and Lori’s test was negative. problem is we don’t know if that’s from the test on Friday or two weeks earlier. If from last Friday, well that’s to be expected. If two weeks earlier, I’m just not buying it. She still has some lingering symptoms like a bad headache. Who really knows. It was weird as they asked her if she still had symptoms before telling her she tested negative, hmmm. Why would anyone do that? makes no sense.

Yesterday we hung out after going to the gym for a few minutes and then the storage unit to get the Wii for Jagger. I hit up Whole Foods this morning at 7:30 before the general public gets in. We’re all doing well considering. Here’s something I sent a few of you which is good to know.

Dr. David Price of Weill Cornell Medical Center  gave advice on how people can prevent spreading the coronavirus.

“You may hear a little inflection in my voice like I’m emotional. It’s not because I’m scared. It’s actually the opposite. For the first time in a while, I’m actually not scared,” Price said via video. “I work at probably the premier hospital in New York City. Our hospital is almost exclusively a COVID-19 hospital, but we’re learning and we know a lot. And what I want you guys to know is that every single day we’re getting better, we know more. And I am confident that the stuff I can tell you today should make you guys feel like when this comes to your community that you don’t have to be scared and that you can protect your family.”

Price went on say the virus is primarily transmitted by touching someone who has the virus and then touching your face.

“The ways that you get this is the transmission of the virus almost exclusively from your hands to your face, from your hands to your face and inside your eyes, into your nose or into your mouth,” Price explained. “So there’s a lot of talk about contact or getting it through contacts, hands to face.”

The doctor also addressed the idea that the virus is transmitted by “long sustained contact” or through the air.

“There’s also a small thought that it can be aerosolized, that it can kind of exist a little bit in the air,” Price said. “The thought at this point is that you actually have to have very long sustained contact with someone. And I’m talking about over 15 to 30 minutes in an unprotected environment, meaning you’re in a very closed room without any type of mask for you to get it that way.”

“But very simply stated, the overwhelming majority of people are getting this by physically touching someone who has this disease or will develop it in the next one to two days and then touching their face,” he pointed out.

“The thing that makes me smile a little bit is I actually know now that I won’t get this disease because I know how to protect myself,” Price said in the video.

Price offered two practical tips to keep you, your family and your friends from getting the coronavirus.

“Become a hand Nazi. Everything you know about your hands, just keep it clean and you will not get this disease,” Price said. “The second thing is you have to start psychologically working on the connection between your hands and your face.”

“Those two things combined is incredibly powerful and will prevent the transmission of disease in your family in 99 percent of cases, to know your hands are clean and not touch your face, period,” Price added.

Makes sense. Please follow this! Could save the life of someone you love or even you!

Take care, God Bless.

Yesterday Lori was tested again at 1:45 for the virus. With no test results from over 2 weeks ago they authorized her to come down again. It was the drive up testing station again. Hopefully by Tuesday we’ll know the outcome. Tom texted it kind of doesn’t matter now which it doesn’t, unless she’s still positive! If by chance she is, I’m pretty much immune as I would have caught it for sure by now living with a walking talking virus for two weeks, ha.

The Eagles concert is now rescheduled for September 19th, whoo hoo. Guess I lost the money on my parking pass. Maybe I’ll drive to Denver and park in my spot in my reserved lot today just because we have a parking pass. In another time we would have been rockin out tonight to a Peaceful Easy Feeling!

The boys are doing well. Jag and I played chess last night and I thought he had me beat but he got excited on a move and I ended up barely beating him. We’ll play some more today. I turned in the videos of Ty snowboarding so we’ll see how that goes. I’m just not very happy with our high school for what we pay.

Lori and I are going to the gym. We’ll be the only ones there. It’s icy up here but not a lot of snow. The big warm up is on the way, thankfully. Guess I’ll go. Hope everyone is well and social distancing. That’s what it’s going to take, stay the hell away from everyone and we’ll kick this thing. God Bless.

Here’s Ty on his home made jump he and his friend made on Meadow Mountain. By the way, that’s higher than it looks as Ty is about 6’2″ now!

It’s weird as when I’m sleeping, everything seems normal. I woke up at 4am for a bit and it seemed like just another day with nothing weird going on. After being awake for a few minutes, I remembered just what the World is going through. But as I said, for a brief minute, everything seemed like it did on any other day in Spring.

I did make it to the gym yesterday and then took some medicine and donuts down to Marty as it looks like Melanie has the virus. She’s upstairs in her room isolated which is good as Marty has Type 1 diabetes and asthma. After that I took two boxes of latex gloves and 4 masks over to our friends who run the Salvation Army. They had 700 families the day before show up for food and no one had any protection. We had donated food last year to them and I just happened to call and check on them earlier in the day and she told me what they were doing. Since I’m pretty prepared and stocked up we decided to share and donate some PPE (personal protection equipment) when she said how they were around all these people with no gloves or masks. They’ve had masks on order for well over a month which is not a surprise. Anne (our friend) sent me a text last night saying “Doug, you continue to be such an awesome member of our community and we can’t thank you enough for your generosity and we are truly grateful” along with pictures of all the volunteers wearing gloves. That was nice. Later in the day I dropped a case of wine to Dr. C who is waiting on test results himself. Meanwhile Lori managed to get her PA’s full pay for another month and Ty was on Meadow Mountain making a video to try to get into SSCV. So that was our day, pretty busy. Lori worked and worked and took a walk up the mountain with the dogs too. Later in the day I went back to Marty’s to give him some N95 masks for his family of three (I don’t understand why people did not prepare better) so he doesn’t get sick. He made some green chili which he gave us which was really good. Luckily we’re pretty stocked with masks, gloves and stuff.

In 40 minutes I have a call with Macedonia. Then a bunch of calls around the country after that. Time to get moving. Hope you all are well and adjusting to the new normal. Be safe, wash your hands and God Bless.

Colorado is now on a Statewide lockdown until April 11th. This is 2 weeks and 2 days from today. Kind of bummed as I already did my 2 weeks in lockdown, ugh. I wish everyone in the entire country would do the same. Some places and businesses are still open and thankfully our construction guys are still working. Not sure how long that’ll last.

I thought I was coming down with the crud yesterday. My neck was killing me and I had a headache all day. Actually it was for about 2 days. Lori received a call yesterday from the health department saying they were sorry her results aren’t back yet and to give it one more day and then she should be fine. Knowing that, plus from what I’ve been reading, I slept upstairs last night and now my headache is gone! If I get the virus in 5 days we’ll know she still was contagious. Frankly I think if she was I would already have it. Hell I think I already HAVE had it. I’ve had a little shortness of breath, a headache and a sore throat on and off for the past 6 weeks. I could have been the one who gave it to Lori! We’ll never know well we.

Jag came home last night and is happy to be home. He also received a packet from the University of Santa Clara in California as he has been accepted there too! He’s waiting on a few more colleges which should let him know by next week. Then we can sit down as a family and decide what our choices are. Economics meaning money definitely will play a big part, especially now. So far Baylor and CU are offering him the most money. Both are good schools.

The Senate passed the stimulus bill which is good news. Now it goes to the House. They could have taken this up yesterday or at the same time but I guess Nancy Pelosi isn’t hurting for money so she can take her time. She also inserted in things like $25 million for the Kennedy Center. Not sure what performance art has to do with helping out Americans suffering from this virus. If anyone knows, please let me know. Also she stuck in a bunch of things from the Green New Deal which is the deal that eventually wants to eliminate all airline travel and emissions from cows, or cow farts! I honestly can’t believe even she would use this crisis to hold the bill hostage to put in pet projects. I wish they’d all just go away. The boys high school class could do a better job of running the Country. Good God.

That’s it, 16 days to go. We should all have one of those Advent Calendars like we do at Christmas Time to count down the days. Hope everyone is well, God Bless.

Whoo Hoo! Today is our 20 year anniversary! Doesn’t seem like that long. There’s no way I could put into words just what Lori means to me. As they say, it’s been an incredible ride and we’re going for 30 more to hit the big 5-0.

Today is also the 2 week anniversary since Lori had her test. She was on the phone with one of Ty’s mountain biking buddy’s Mom who has also been waiting two weeks, wow. Maybe we’ll hear something today.

I was in and out of Denver quickly. I loaded up about 50 cases of wine and made two stops before heading home. The garage is full of samples now. Marty stopped by but we kept our distance although at this point with both of us having stayed away from everyone for two weeks, we think we’re pretty safe. Guess you never know.

I finished my calls to the whole team informing them of their pay cut and everyone stepped up and understood. None of us are happy about it, including me, but as Mom always said, you do what you have to do, right?

Marty and Melanie who spent a lot of time in Montana over the years said let’s look for a cheap cabin on Flathead Lake for us all. They’re about the only ones we could ever consider sharing a place with. Maybe Jeff and Tine too but that’s it. It’d be fun to have a 100 year old cabin on the water. I guess they’re famous for their cherry orchards up there and Flathead Lake is super clean and clear water. Nice to dream, ha.

Lori is working away just as much as if nothing was going on. Jag came by and might come home today as it’s been 14 days. He came by yesterday for a bit. Ty wants to go to VSSA next year which is the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy. There’s a process to get in as he also needs to join the SSCV or Ski Snowboard Club Vail. It’s cheaper than VMS and he basically gets to be a full time athlete. He’s actually pretty darn good. We’ll see.

Dogs are fine, so am I and Ty and Lori is better each day. I’m off to Whole Foods in 15 minutes so time to shower. Mom would always send us an anniversary card. It’s the little things I remember and miss and she’d always do things like that even though she didn’t have to. That’s it, again, Happy Anniversary Lori, I love you so very very much! God Bless.

Last night Denver issued a stay at home order. This included pot shops and liquor stores, for about 2 hours! There was such a run on both the mayor quickly changed his mind. Ha.

I had calls with all of the sales team yesterday letting them know we have to put in a company wide pay cut of about 30% for 3 months. Most all took it well. One of my guys, Jody, who is a senior leader said he needed to take the rest of the day off to process it. I think he needed to go to his safe space. To their credit, the rest of the guys, Eric, Greg, Jeremy and Hans all cowboy’d up and said they 100% understand and are happy to have a job. As you can imagine lots of people in our industry that work at restaurants have been let go all together. I’m really proud of them. I have 3 or 4 more calls today and hope they go well but we need to do it for the long term health of the Company. And by the way, it starts with ownership meaning me, so I too took a cut. I can’t in good conscious give my team cuts without myself.

I’m maybe more optimistic than others but I’ve always been a glass half full guy. I think within 4 to 8 weeks we’ll see things change for the better. If not, we’ve prepared best we can, but again I’m hopeful.

Screw all the politicians. Mark my words, this will be the end of a lot of them. They just can’t get out of their own way. Don’t count on any stimulus. Maybe some of you will get a check but I’m not counting on any much needed relief.

Lori is doing better. She called again yesterday and she said a guy yelled at her for calling so much. Not sure why as it’s been 12 freakin days since she was tested! I know she’s positive so it’s sort of a formality but we still want to know. Wonder how long it’ll take for her to get a test showing she’s negative so she could go back to work? No worries though as that doesn’t mean going back to the office.

I’m off to the warehouse to pick up 50 cases of wine I had sent in from California last month. We had an icy rain snow mix last night so I need to get that out of my truck bed before loading it with wine.

6:09 and I’d like to leave by 6:30 so time to go. Hope you all are well, take care, be smart and you’ll be safe, God Bless.

Well it’s week 2 of the new normal in full swing. As you know, life doesn’t stop. School, work and daily chores are still required. The dogs only know that we’re all home more and yes all our bills keep coming. Jag came by yesterday to get some fresh clothes and supplies and we had him keep his distance from Mom and us just in case. Madi’s mom has the sniffles but I told Jag he could come home if he wants. We’ll see how everyone is doing in a few days. He’s enjoying being with Madi though and I’m ok with that if that’s what makes him happy.

Ty and his friends were on Meadow Mountain snowboarding and keeping 6 feet apart and being monitored by Will’s parents. They built a giant igloo on the mountain too. Lori is so so and definitely has the virus. They called yesterday saying still no results but with her symptoms to self isolate, duh. We did go to the gym in full masks and gloves.

I’m off to Whole Foods in 30 minutes and still need to shower. As I said yesterday (didn’t make it then), I’m using my seniority status and getting in an hour before anyone under 60.

Funny how some ads on tv are acting like everything’s the same. Guess they were booked a while ago. Two days until our 19th or 20th anniversary! Need to figure that out today, ha.

I read an encouraging report from a Nobel Laureate in Biochemistry from Stanford that says things are not as bad as the media is making us believe. He see’s things leveling off soon and there’s even signs of this in Italy already. Deaths Sunday were lower than Saturday. So there is hope. Let’s hope he’s right. He did predict, almost exactly, the number of cases and deaths in China. His Nobel prize was for his data analysis of various things so there’s a reason to take a second look at him. If anyone wants to have me email them the report, let me know.

Time to run, be well, and God Bless.

It’s snowing again? Thought it was going to warm up, hmm. Maybe later today. There’s not much, just an inch or so of wet snow. I was on the couch again last night, think it’s like day 10. Pretty sure I’m sleeping in my own bed tonight as it’s been 10 days since Lori first came down with a fever. Jag is doing well at Madi’s. I haven’t talked with him but Lori has. Ty is well too, spending most of his time on a game with his friends.

We had a guy pass away in Vail yesterday. He was a local entertainer who played guitar at a lot of the hotels. Not sure how or when he was infected. He was in his 60’s and did have underlying health conditions. Lori is getting better every day. We took two cars and went down to the house yesterday. We’re tweaking a few things but it’s super cool.

They say 112 more cases in Colorado since yesterday. We’re sort of a hot spot but nothing compared to New York or California. I read some encouraging reports out of Silicon Valley based on data across the World that in short says this is a lot more hype than fact. Still it’s the unknown that we’re all afraid of. If we knew exactly how and when you can get infected and how long it lasts and other metrics, we could all deal with it easier. There is a lot of misleading info out there. The news just showed how some people are comparing Italy to the U.S. saying we’re on the same trajectory. Well Italy is the size of Arizona, the population is much older, 99% of deaths had other conditions, we have 5 1/2 times the amount of people and they all live much closer together. So as you can see it’s not fair or correct to compare our numbers as its just not apples to apples. In any case, wash your hands every time you think about it.

I was going to go to Whole Foods this morning to take advantage of being over 60 for the first time in my life. Grocery stores here are letting senior citizens (which I surely am not), meaning anyone over 60, in an hour before the general public or as I like to say, before all the inexperienced, less wise, younger people, ha. Maybe I’ll go tomorrow.

Lori and I are going to the gym this morning. We’ll take one car as I’m pretty sure she’s way past the contagious stage if she had it at all. I’d bet she did just due to the shortness of breath but we still don’t know for sure. Maybe today. Vail PD says (not sure how they’d know?) after you’re fever free for 72 hours you can go back to work. Her clinic won’t let her go back until she tests negative. I don’t think she’s going back anytime soon no matter what. The venture capital company that bought a controlling interest in the clinic wants them to cut staff by 50%. Lori’s looking at who to furlough if she needs to. She’s still not sure if she’ll need to lay anyone off or not. Personally I think in a month we’ll have some sort of way to slow or stop this thing. Warm weather appears to help as all countries in the southern hemisphere have markedly less cases than those in the north. At least it’s not October.

Time to get moving. Dogs are fed and been out once. Be smart, be safe and wash your hands and please don’t go anywhere that there are crowds. God Bless us all.

No results again yesterday so maybe today. We’ve sort of stopped expecting them. This should be a warning as to how together the govt. is and a let you know for sure, you’re basically on your own. I mean if they can’t even test people and then provide results within 8 days, how do you expect them to take care of you. What if you needed help in 5 minutes due to a home break in? Hope you have a gun. This isn’t so much a slam on them as how would you expect any small group of people to take care of 330 million people in a timely basis. it’s just not possible.

Lori seems better and better every day. Ty went snowboarding at Meadow Mountain down the street by himself late yesterday afternoon. He hiked up the hill and boarded down for about an hour. Jag, after Lori spoke with Madi’s mom, went over there for a few days. So it’s Ty, Lori and I for now. Madi’s family has been in isolation too. I heard the son of Dixie’s former housekeeper just showed up at her house yesterday so they (her and Michelle the caretaker) took him somewhere he needed to go. This is not social distancing! You may think me cold hearted but if you don’t know where someone has been for at least 7 days (and none of us do) and they are not healthy, do not let them in! Especially if you’re 88 years old. Hope they’re ok. I told Lori if her mom gets sick there’s no way for her to be able to get there. So please stay home and do not let anyone in unless you’re able to isolate them from you while they’re there. These are different times and changes and sacrifices to our lives need to made to get past this thing, at least for the next few weeks.

We’ve heard of a few people up here we know feeling ill. One of the teachers from the school when she heard about Lori offered to bring dinner tonight but I told her that’s not necessary but thanks. Sometimes things like this bring out the best in people.

We’re analyzing and adapting to the new normal, at least for now, as things come. I did have to go to the hospital for some prescriptions. I waited until 6 pm right before they were due to close, wore gloves and a mask and took a Ziploc bag to drop the scripts in to get them home so I could wipe them down with Clorox wipes. I went in not touching anything, paid cash with the exact amount ($20) and left without touching anything. The pharmacy workers said, “wow, you have the good mask”. Upon leaving I carefully removed the gloves and threw them away before I got in the car careful to take them off inside out so nothing touched my skin and put the mask in a Ziploc on the floor in the backseat careful not to touch the front of it. When I got home I wiped down the Ziploc bags before taking them in. I put the coat I was wearing in the garage for 2 days, took my shoes off outside and then wiped down the actual pill bottles too. The mask will hang in the garage for 3 days to kill any potential germs on it. Last I wiped my hair down to get any surface germs that could have fallen on me by chance, off. I also wiped down the car inside and out as a precaution. That’s it. All just to walk into a pharmacy where I was for less than 4 minutes. Yes I timed it. I came into contact with no one except the three pharmacists behind their counter who were wearing masks and at least 6 feet from me. I did take them each a bottle of wine and they looked at each other and one girl said “can we take this” and another said, “new rules, yes”. They were thrilled. That’s social distancing.

Have a good weekend, be safe, and God Bless.

Been one week and no results. They say Monday or Tuesday but we’re hoping every day we hear. Lori still thinks she doesn’t have it which is now a running joke. Lori and I know instinctively not to touch our face, wipe down everything we touch and practice social distancing. The kids are staying home without objection and have accepted the fact they can’t go anywhere with anyone but are pretty much just being normal. I think even though I have a key I’ll skip the gym today.

We have plenty of food and supplies. If anything I could use more paper towel but we’ll be good for a month or so. Food is good for longer. Been sharing wine with some people as we have that too.

When Lori’s results come back she says no matter what they are, she’s tele-commuting. Her team is the only one left at the clinic. Dr. C has four surgeries Monday after skipping this week. I think by next week with all going on, her team will work from home too. Problem is some patients need follow up visits from surgeries a couple weeks ago. One of her nurses husband is a Vail Policeman. Last night Craig came down with a 101 degree fever and a cough. I said “Diana is staying home right” and Lori said of course. Eagle county has the most cases in the State. It’s from all the travelers that come here plus the Burton U.S. Open in early February I guess was a breeding ground. Of course Ty was in the thick of that. I think he drinks too much sugar to have anything grow in him.

California is on a total 100% lockdown. The whole country should be too. If everyone would just stay home for 2 weeks we could get a handle on this thing. There are promising signs like certain antivirals that are showing good things plus companies with vaccines in the works. We will get through this.

Both boys started distance learning. Jag has it down but Ty does better in a structured classroom. We’ll get through it though. I texted with Deb Rubin who’s doing well. Only 2 cases so far down where she is. Also texted with a friend who is an ER doc in Aspen. She’s scared, rightfully so, but working away. Feel so bad for the healthcare workers. In times like these you see what people are made of. You can have a surgeon who’s afraid to go to work but a nurse who steps up and attacks this on the front line not even thinking about herself.

Light snow last night and a warm up is coming. Home life isn’t too bad except for the couch. I’m getting used to it though. Work is crazy. We’re adapting to the new normal and finding creative ways to sell wine. I told my whole staff that everyone is going through the same thing and as I said yesterday, we’re at war. Overall they’re doing really well in this new reality.

Been looking at real estate in Wyoming. Lots of nice inexpensive cabins or houses. No State income tax! Might be a good move for a small vacation pad. Know that this isn’t the last pandemic or thing of this type we’ll see. Sadly more will come.

Time to run, not sure where, ha. Guess I’ll take the dogs for a hike and watch the sun come up. Take care, be safe and God Bless.