- The airlines are really hurting. On both plane rides on my roundtrip to and from Florida, each passenger had their own row. Everyone had to wear a mask on the plane. It was actually a somewhat depressing sight.
- The terminals are pretty empty.
- In Florida, life seems to be much more active than in Minnesota. Many folks are outside walking around. While it was the first week of Phase 1 of Gov. DeSantis's re-opening plan, fast food restaurants were still strictly drive-thru and delivery. I did see some restaurants have some outdoor seating, but it was lightly attended late afternoon.
- I did walk through St. John's Town Center, the large outdoor mall in Jacksonville though and see that while stores could start opening, store operators were cautious.
- Since Jacksonville is about an hour from the GA border, I decided to make a run for the border and get a haircut.
The barber who greeted me at the door asked me a couple questions about how I was feeling and took my temperature. I gratefully passed and was led down this marked path to a sink to wash my hands.
While the lady was cutting my hair, I learned a few things:
- The barbers are all part of the same family: husband, wife and children all cut hair.
- They all wore masks when cutting hair.
- They didn't receive any help from the government or any financial institution.
- It was really a no brainer for them to re-open, even though they received many complaints that they shouldn't from others in town. They really wanted to have the ability to gain their lives back.
- She really appreciate that the family had the choice to re-open. I said that folks had the choice to come or not. I also said that many folks don't take into account what steps the barbers are trying to take to protect their reputation. She appreciated the support.
So in all it was an enlightening trip. Life is coming back to different parts of this country. Once citizens have the ball in their court to make decisions, the question of confidence in the decisions will ultimately dictate how quickly life will return to the expected normal.
