Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

There are many things that I am proud of but one is for certain, being born and raised in Washington, N.C. is one that I do not take for granted! Sitting in my truck in the morning and watching the ducks and geese fly over the Pamlico River is a sight for anyone’s sore eyes. Seeing people of all ages walking the waterfront and throwing their hand up waving is something I will never take for granted and I appreciate each one that does so. With the above being said, let me get to the meat of this article.

Sitting at the home of Marshall Todd and Brenda Singleton’s beautiful home today, made me realize one important thing; I was not taking this pandemic very seriously! Why is that? There could not be two better people on the face of this earth and for me to expose them if I had the virus would be selfish and heart breaking at the same time. I love those two and Marshall Todd practically raised me.

This is a pandemic that has caused us to suffer through many changes in our life. We no longer worship at our church in person, rather it is online, holidays are not the same because of gatherings of relatives from out of town that may have been exposed to the virus unknowing to them. So many changes in our daily life. Masks are commonplace, Jimmy Buck came into Advance Auto and I did not realize who he was until he took his mask off.

Jimmy Challis, a classmate, who I saw at the Piggly -Wiggly buying groceries for the holidays had a mask on, I did not recognize Jimmy. Please let us keep wearing those masks and following the Three W’s—waiting six feet, washing our hands and wearing our masks. This is something that I have not been doing myself but I will promise to start doing immediately. Do not be the one that transfers this virus to another loved one! For those that are taking it very seriously, I commend you and will try to be more like you in the future as I watch the ducks and the geese fly in the early morning.

There is no one I want to see have this virus nor have it exposed to the health care workers at the hospital. They also have families that they are responsible for, like many of us. There seems to be a vaccine that may be the halt to this deadly plaque but who knows? The best thing is the three W’s and wearing a mask in public will help cut back on the spread of this virus. Please let us all do our part in eliminating the COVID-19 virus and illness to love ones without reason. If you have the virus, please quarantine yourself and seek your local doctor’s advice.

Let us whip this pandemic by doing our part and maybe we can get back to a normal life of attending church etc. All of you are loved by me and I have appreciated your comments over the years and look forward to many more years of writing. Have a safe and prosperous 2021!
They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.! The Original Washington!

—Harold Jr.