I don’t have any verified homesteaders in my family tree – well, maybe a few – but it is always tempting in times like these to compare the current challenges to what our pioneer fore-fathers actually endured.
I’ve always taken solace from historical comparisons, but as a historian, I have to admit we’ve never seen anything like this.
Since the first ill-fated cruise ship arrived in port with quarantined passengers, I’ve been collecting clippings and scouring the internet for updates and advice on how to deal with a pandemic in my line of work. There has been no shortage of either.
Cruise lines, of course, were hit first and hardest. Even today (three months later) they are being told to lay low and hope the traveling public will forgive them – eventually. But how do you run a viable business with that attitude?
After all, my livelihood depends on enabling your travel wishes. How can I do that if we’re all social distancing?
During most of that time I was ill myself with an undiagnosed ailment picked up on the road (and alas, untested because my state ran out of coronavirus tests within the first four days of reaching South Dakota. It hasn’t been much fun! It seems a bit presumptuous of me to give any advice at all since I’ve never been through this before – none of us has!
But – and you may have already guessed this – I’m going to try anyway!
Experience tells us that “this too shall pass”, but there are enough unknowns in this scenario to leave considerable room for doubt.
So, what to do?
First of all, my-father-the-psychologist would have said, “keep breathing”. It’s amazing how often this simple piece of advice has carried me through. Second, we are learning more and more about how to battle this unseen enemy every day. As the pandemic travels around the world, there are different patterns and measures of success – and a lot of very smart people are learning from experience, and from other people’s failures. That’s progress.
Most travel providers have adjusted our tour departure dates to provide some breathing room between now and a hopeful resumption of the tour schedule. Here at Shebby Lee Tours we are pinning our hopes on those tours scheduled for several months in the future. If this doesn’t work, we’ll adjust it again. And again.
Until we see you again, we’ll keep posting tempting destinations to keep your wanderlust from getting rusty.
And above all, keep breathing!
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