“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Memorial Day should have been a big family day with twenty to thirty gathered together for a good time, good food and good beverages.  We always looked forward to the holidays for something special, instead we are still in lockdown, unable to be with family and friends.  Part of our state was recently opened up for people to start resuming a life, if you live there.  We were admonished not to dare travel there, because it should only be for the locals, that is fine, let them iron out some of the details on a smaller scale, without outsiders contributing extra concerns.  Our first family had to be up there, since it seems that their cottage made the cut for opening up, but they don’t live there, but it is now fine for people to visit their second home, which was illegal only a couple weeks ago.  Same thing with boats, you could only use a boat, if it had no engine, and then surprise, boats with engines were allowed, just in time for the boating season. It was a blessing for the small marinas who were backed up at least three weeks, because it was illegal for them to do their work, but I guess the surfaces of motor boats are now safe from germs.  A company that gets boats launched up north, was suffering and then working overtime to get things taken care of, and a man called and had the audacity to want to have his boat opened up first, and when told no, he then mentioned that he happened to be married to the governor, and was told that it won’t happen.  The owner of the company put a notice on his Facebook page, because he was all upset, the notice went viral and he had to take the notice down, because his staff was kept busy answering about the truth and not getting all the boats launched that they should have been doing.  After a couple of days of stonewalling, the truth came out, and the husband was just attempting to be funny, she asked for forgiveness I wonder how often that “funny” may have worked in other situations?  Don’t ask me, I can only talk to family members by telephone or Zoom sessions.  Memorial Day was also the Day 70 for us to be in lockdown and in five days after that I will have been clean of a potential bug for five cycles.  I will let you in on a little secret as well, we don´t wear masks in our own house or when we are out for our daily walks in the fresh air in our subdivision. 

My Bride wanted to know, what I had the feeling for, for Memorial Day.  I jested and mentioned that since it was only the two of us, maybe we could have Brats and Beans, something that we might have offered as one of the many sides to accompany the main dishes for everyone to enjoy.  She thought it was a good idea, but then she said that we don´t have any Brats, so she substituted Smoked Kielbasa, which I think she said was the end of the links in the refrigerator.  She made a dish of sautéed Kielbasa with Red Peppers, Onions and Sauerkraut in one big pan.  She then made a pot of Baked Beans and she also made some Corn on the Cob.  It kind of had a holiday feel to the meal. I have to admit that she is trying to make the most of the situation, as she tries to keep me perked up, but she is hearing that I am not the only one that is tired of being in a lockdown situation.

Another one of the lone individuals that were being neglected in the cellar, found it was their time to be selected.  I tried to find something that would be chilled and not to fussy with the foods that we were having.  I found a bottle of Enrico Marcato ¨La Giareta¨ Pinot Grigio delle Venezie IGT 2011.  Enrico Marcato is the winemaker for Family of Wine, that has been in the wine industry for about a hundred years.  This wine is aged for three months in Stainless Steel and they produce around thirty-five thousand bottles of this wine a year.  Pinot Grigio accounts for seventy percent of the production in the Delle Venezie IGT and the remaining thirty percent is a long list of sanctioned wines.  This nine-year-old Pinot Grigio was very pleasant and just an easy drinking wine that did not fight with any of the assorted flavors of the dinner. I am hoping that by Father´s Day, the state may see some easing on the lockdown, if not by the Fourth of July, so that we can celebrate freedom and independence.