Pictures from my very strange 2020

[RDMcG]

A year ago now seems like a decade. I had no clue of the changes that would occur only a few months later. I was at the winter house in Arizona from Dec 15 to 31, and as usual there were new things to discover.

There was a magnificent display of iconic sports and racing cars in the Phoenix Museum of Art:







There was exploring to be done…
A huge old truck graveyard on the site of an abandoned gold mine (link to full thread here:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1847579&mid=77298)





Lots of driving on the empty roads and old towns.










I left on December 31 having put the cars away , assuming I would be back to maintain them a couple of times in the year. I never returned.



Back in Canada, winter was much as usual, business started on schedule and I plannedon my normal flight schedule. There was a bit of rumbling in the press about a virus emerging in China, but it seemed quite remote. In February I flew to Vancouver for a meeting.



To my astonishment the normally thronged Asian gates were completely empty. Vancouver is a major gateway with maybe a dozen Chinese airlines flying in among others.





I started to check out the progress of the virus and deiced to do a bit of inventory build. Off to Costco for an industrial scale shop on February 20. There were no crowds or any sense of concern.I had read up about the items that were short in places like Hong Kong and ensured that they were purchased. I did feel a bit sheepish and maybe this was all overkill, but did it anyway.,

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 02:16

[RDMcG]

By the beginning of March there was concern. Had a meeting in the headquarters of a major FI and for the first time hit a questionnaire on Covid. Took a pic in their lobby. Turns out this would be my last face-to-face meeting of 2020; from that point on the world of Zoom and its siblings would emerge.


Then, the wheels fell right off. Total shutdown. The major employers in the city core sent everyone home, and they have not returned. Nine months later the financial district remains a ghost town.

Restaurants ,bars, gyms, barbers, malls all closed down. Later , during a period of relaxation I would get a haircut, my only one of 2020.



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Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 00:14

[RDMcG]

Highways emptied out and the sky got clearer

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 00:26

[RDMcG]

Masks became the norm and anti-maskers appeared immediately…found this on my car:

I

[RDMcG]

My normally vibrant neighbourhood became ghostly and I tramped the streets with the dog as the seasons changed:

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 01:46

[RDMcG]

Food became more important for measuring the seasons, from Spring ramps to Autumn Farmers’ markets:





And I finally sorted out a bit of my wine cellar:

[RDMcG]

I have a condo I use as an office. Outside there is a recreation area for residents. Usually it is full of people entertaining, socializing, barbecuing, socializing, often with a bit of beer flowing. For the whole year it remained utterly empty:

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 00:13

[RDMcG]

It was definitely not a good year automotively:

I saw very few interesting cars on the street:

[RDMcG]

My GT cars came out of storage in the Spring, but saw little use. The 991 needed tires and so I put on a set of PS2 Cups. Had I known that this lockdown would have gone on so long I would have left the old tires. I took the 997 to the the health club to see if I could get a haircut. All closed up. Normally the parking lot is filled to capacity.

There was one casual drive all year and in the fall I had a friend take one of the cars and we did a soon on some fast country back roads

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 01:45

[RDMcG]

As the Fall wore on it was heading for the time to put the cars again for the winter….and then…a very bad thing happened.


I was carrying a heavy planter in from the third floor deck when I caught my heel on the door sill…planter went one way and I went the other onto the hard floor. It did not feel right so I dragged myself to the bannister and got upright, standing one one leg. The other felt like it was hanging off and as I put weight on it my foot pivoted at an unnatural angle. Had no control of the leg. Slid back down on the floor, called emergency. EMTs arrived and realized it was going to be difficult to get me down narrow stairs from third floor ( old Victorian house) . The bright up an amazing narrow chair and strapped me into it..it had some kind of grebe geared wheels underneath for stairs and they got me down. Into emergency, X-rays, and the verdict: Badly broken hip.

I talked to the emergency surgeon, ( strangely I had heard of him), and asked if he was doing the procedure. He was booked solid but said if I could wait two days he would do it. I said yes.He looked at the X-rays and proposed a full hip replacement.

This was an amazing operation. He went through the muscle instead of cutting it ,pulled out the broken hip joined and replaced it. He did not use stitches but glued the wound. I ended up with a three- inch scar. I was on my feet in a walker next day, off the walked in three weeks, off the cane in four, and driving in three weeks. Canada has social medicine, so my total cost was $45 without any private insurance.

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 01:48

[RDMcG]

That still left the cars to be sent to storage and I could not drive; my mate who sometimes drives with me came over, have the GTs a good run, put in 60lb of air, filled them, fuel stabilizer, battery tender and cover. Then 997 has finally booked 40,000km. Hopefully next year will be better:






I was back driving by year end and had a good opportunity to complete my look at the Porsche Taycans compared to my Panamera Turbo









Link to full review here:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=48&t=1906982

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 01:32

[RDMcG]

One of the sadder thoughts is that my wonderful dog is getting old . Great Danes are heartbreakers…they are such fleeting visitors. She is seven now and sleeps a lot more than before…

Here she is at the beginning of the year and now:

[RDMcG]

SO, here were are, December 2020. As the month wore on the Christmas decorations came out, but no snow. Then, it snowed on the night of December 24.

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 00:11

[RDMcG]

The year was dominated by only a few items…

Virus/masks/lockdowns/conspiracies/vaccines

Brexit ( in the UK)

Trump (everywhere).

Huge arguments and fights, not a single mind changed on either side.

OH is a very senior person in Democrats Abroad and led the 1600 volunteer callers around the globe to get the overseas vote out, pretty much full time all year, 7 days a week. It was pivotal in some states. (I am not American so had no role).





However, I did find a unique Danish Spirit called F* Trump and his stupid F*ing Wall and manage to obtain some. I delivered some of it to various friends and we had a zoom toast when the election was called. ( Yes, yes its not over yet).

But it really is.










I know that this has been a truly awful period for many people…stress on relationships, child rearing, finance, job security , mental health and many other things. Yet, I fell oddly optimistic. World war 1 and 2, Spanish ‘flu, Great Depression and other catastrophes were devastating and I lived through none of them. People survived and things improved ultimately.
I feel optimistic that we will come out of this and will again be able to shake hands, socialize, visit and all of the rest be the middle of the year. I am hopeful and wish all a happy 2021l

Edited by RDMcG on Saturday 26th December 01:44

[NDA]

Wow!

Great series of photos and a bit of shocker at the end.

Always good to see photos from parts of the world you've never been to and an interesting timeline too.

[4Q]

Some great pics, thanks for sharing

[Dinoboy]

Thanks for that, love your gorgeous 4 legged friend

[anonymous-user]

I enjoyed reading that (if 'enjoyed' is the right word, given the fairly grim subject matter).
Great pictures, particularly the series of five taken from the same rooftop vantage point. It's made me want to try something similar myself.

[RDMcG]

doesthiswork said:

I enjoyed reading that (if 'enjoyed' is the right word, given the fairly grim subject matter).
Great pictures, particularly the series of five taken from the same rooftop vantage point. It's made me want to try something similar myself.

They were just taken on my iPhone jammed against the window

[fttm]

Great post eh , got an 11 yr old GSD so feel your pain . We're having a real bounce back in SK regards Covid figures , let's hope it continues nationwide .