Photo by Phyllis Stokes
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, apologizes for tardiness in reporting the latest in the travel escapades of the keeper and Phyllis, but there were unforeseen developments that threw everything off kilter:
They are finally back home after a harrowing escape from Canada during which border officials confiscated yet one more of the keeper’s pocketknives, and Phyllis managed to get them both on homeward-bound Delta flights.
Their combination cruise to visit Alaska glaciers and the ride on the Rocky Mountaineer train and busses to get intimate with mountains all went off in a blaze of flawless sunshine, leaving the keeper and Phyllis awed, appreciative and somewhat exhausted.
In the universal tradition of travelers and souvenirs, the keeper picked up a walking stick in the Ketchikan woods; and, of course, both he and Phyllis took hundreds of photos. But the most significant thing that will help them remember their wonderful trip is that immediately upon arriving home they both tested positive for covid; and will be spending the next 15 days in total isolation, with meals and groceries delivered outside their door.
While their covid symptoms are mild—sniffles and occasional coughing, the keeper is being medicated while Phyllis’s circumstances—her being younger, call for her to ride out the situation unassisted.
The enforced covid isolation will give them an opportunity to sort through photos, notes and memories; and to formulate travel advice—do it while you can; and to embrace each other with abandon since they have just proven that they not only live together joyously but can also travel like honeymooners, even to the extent of enduring the same affliction.
Ain’t love grand!
