In the fall of 2019, we closed up our little shack in Mansfield Washington. As usual, we felt sad to be ending our time in town but as always, looking forward to "Next" year and another season of flying. The "lock-up" included all the usual preparations for what can be brutal winter weather. Little did we know just how long it would be before we could return.
It was January of 2020 when there was a departure from what we had always known as "normal". Late winter, early spring we would begin planning for another season, typically including a March or April blast down to re-open the shack. The world wide pandemic called "Covid" changed everything.
Covid the beast taught me a great deal about people and community. I witnessed everything from selfless commitment to the war on this virus to selfish disregard to others and the future. Some governments reacted in a way that any giant bureaucracy can, health and science, others with denial and ignorance (one famous leader was quoted as saying "it will go away in spring"....). Right or Wrong, lockdowns, travel bans and border closures became the tools used to combat the early stages of the virus. The first Vaccine would not arrive until early 2021. In that year, Covid did its damage.
Learning to live with this new era of reduced contact was a challenge for us all. When the virus was not the problem, the effects of social isolation was not far off. My mother, at 94 years of living became confused by the world around her and passed way June of 2020. She had a very long and wonderful life but like many in our medical system at this time suffered from the changes that Covid brought to our world. (I work in the Hospital, Health Care and Hospitality industry, I witness the carnage the "cure" would bring to our society). I'm not saying I know what was right or wrong, I do know the choices were hard. I also know that human selfishness made this world wide problem much more difficult than it would have been had we all worked together.
For 2020, the option to travel to our property in Mansfield was pretty much out of reach. Testing and travel/border restrictions made the task so difficult we could only watch our favorite summer place via a fleet of cheap web cams that we left on and connected... at least we had the pleasure of seeing the flocks of birds and deer that took up residence on our property! (including the building and battles for nesting supremacy "on" the cameras ;-) ) Also want to say THANKS to our "Guy" Donny and is crew for taking up the lawn cutting, keeping the place respectable and presentable.
After the somber summer of dealing with the passing of my mother it appeared the twists and turns of fate were not done. Early September 2020 brought the giant Pearl hill fire. This astounding beast in Washington State was actually the combination of the Cold Spring fire (Near Omak) jumping the Columbia river and creating the Pearl Hill fire. With an unseasonably strong Red Flag north wind, a careless man made fire on the Labor Day Long weekend sparked near Omak and ran all the way to southern Jameson Coulee.... over 50 miles in days to create the largest complex fire in the history of Washington State. Right in its path was Mansfield and our summer shack. This is my Video that captured the events of the fire passing around Mansfield. Amazing work done by both fire crews and farmers in the area. There were structures lost but they were few. Sadly the Cold Spring portion of this fire caused two deaths in a young family trying to get out of the way (my condolences) . Locally, several old homesteads (including L+13, one of our staging areas were destroyed), and a local landmark/home in Saint Andrews were lost.
Done with 2020, in came 2021.... the Americans had a small problem with the attempted overthrow of their government?... Blame it on Covid, everybody was just a little stressed and had to take it out on something... or somebody? Oh well, democracy at work.
Spring 2021, travel restrictions continued, Vaccine started to kick in (and so did the anti vac people... ). Trusting the science we got our shots (and tracking chip used by Bill Gates?).... we gave hope to the science.
By Summer of 2021, a mass heat wave kicked off in British Columbia, estimated to have been responsible for 700+ deaths. The heat wave brought record temps across the Northwest (Hanford WA recorded 120f). Lyton BC recorded the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada , 121f and the next day caught fire and burned to the ground, setting off a summer of monster fires across the province.
Fall 2021, things started to calm down when it came to world calamities. Another round of Covid, a wave less than the last leaving some hope. Then mother nature dished out something special for southern BC and Northern Washington State... an "atmospheric river" , this caused mass catastrophic disasters included severed major highways (shutting down connections to the west coast), biblical flooding in the Fraser Valley (near our home)... and pretty much disrupted life for another 3 months..... oh and that Covid thing, kicked out another surprise... Omicron, dwarfing infection rates greater than every previous wave of Covid.
Arrive 2022 (holding our breath for "what's next"?). Finally a little light at the end of the tunnel. Travel restrictions were being amended (tho... lets just say people were becoming mentally unhinged and were traveling regardless of the risk... which brought us the smash hit Omicron). Logistically using self administered Covid Testing the option to visit our place in Mansfield appeared doable, so we committed to this two week stay. Of course, not a time of year to go flying but at least a chance to chase out the mice, clean up 2.5 years of dead bugs and dust and turn the shack back into a home. All in all the place did well (and my cheap web cams and network continue to work!).
Ah but not all smiles and roses.... What next? The idiot Putin and his Russian gangsters decided to invade Ukraine. Our worlds newest member of the Adolf Hitler club. He even used dark warnings suggesting if the "The West" came to aid Ukraine, he would start using the nukes. This is as his army lobs shells back an forth over his old Soviet era atomic power facilities (including notorious Chernobyl). 10+million people displaced, 3 million refugees escaping to the west. Madness.
The Russian army is slowly laying waste to Ukraine, Our friends in Kiev, the employees of Aeros, one of the few hang gliding manufactures left in our sport, have had to take up arms or flee this senseless destruction. Well the west ponders and pontificates its support for Ukraine, there is hope the the Ukrainian people and their will, is enough to stop this criminal act committed by the Russian leaders and military.
As to what could possibly be waiting for us in 2022?... God only knows.
Strength to Ukraine and its people.... (my mother was born north of Odessa)
