Just ducky

The wind was blowing and it was cold for March, a brisk 7 degrees.

I was practicing “social distancing” in Glacier National Park, before I even knew what social distancing was.

The boy and I practice social distancing a lot, before it became social distancing.

It may have been cold and the wind may have been blowing but we were still having fun, watching a Canada goose take a vigorous bath in the frigid waters.

Most folks don’t think much of geese, but upon closer examination waterfowl are remarkable creatures. They’re the boat that never sinks and their feathers are some of the warmest fibers on Earth, better than any material man has ever come up with.

Just something to think about, as we have time to think about a lot of things, it seems.

A big part of me hopes I get the coronavirus. You know, get sick, get it over with. If it kills me, I have life insurance. Last I checked, there wasn’t a whole lot of love lost for middle-aged editors in the world. We’re just cranking out “fake news” anyway, according to our fearless president.

I miss the days when Russia was the enemy. I miss the civility of the first George Bush. I miss the idea of the moderate Republican.

So I practice social distancing more and more, when I have free time.

On Friday when the wind was howling we went to Glacier. It hadn’t started snowing there and it was actually more pleasant there than in Columbia Falls.

We went for a short walk and no one was around. Just us, the wind and swaying trees. It was pleasant, as much as an impending storm can be pleasant.

On the way home we stopped in Columbia Heights. The wind was really cranking up there. We stepped out of the car and took a quick video. Last I checked Facebook said it had reached something like 44,000 people.

Not bad for a 5 second video.

The guys from Cut Bank joked it wasn’t newsworthy. Just another day on the east side, they noted.

I couldn’t help but smile at the perspective. They’ve lived lives of social distancing for generations.

My hope is to go at this virus thing like my friend the goose. Ride the waves, honk every once in awhile and every now and again, take a cold bath.

Chris Peterson is the editor of the Hungry Horse News.