Beau & I start our adjustment to life in the age of Pandemic by picking up a U-Haul van and heading for Raleigh to retrieve all his stuff from his University Towers space.

As we enjoy our talk on the drive, evidence of our new world order is everywhere. Traffic is so light heading north on I-85 that we CRUISE by Salisbury, where road construction has reliably bottle-necked traffic for DECADES.

We stop at Cracker Barrel for a late lunch and obediently order take-out, as the seating area is closed. A barrel-mounted checkers board on their front porch serves as our dinner table while I try to wedge my "mom hips" into a child sized rocker secured to the concrete by steel rope. And we wash our hands.

Arrival at UT is met with few humanoids, but all on the same errand as we. How sh*tty this is for a college student; they didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to their friends. But this is not the University's fault. It's simply the way things must be. For now.

We make quick work of boxing up Beau's things and loading the van. He turns in his key, picks up his mail (the Census), and delivers 2 books to a closed NCSU library – the return kiosk will have to do. And we wash our hands.

We're on our return by 6pm, and encounter -0- rush hour traffic heading west on I-40. Raleigh residents appreciate the remark-ability of this condition. More remarkable still is the fact that this is a condition not only nationwide, but WORLDwide. Holy. Spit.

We cruise a convenience store for a beverage and snack. Water and popcorn for Beau; green tea and pork rinds for me.

Me: "Ever had pork rinds?"
Beau: "No. And I'm surprised that you eat them."

So I avail myself of a golden opportunity to educate my son about the South's fine Pig Pickin' tradition. (Seems to be totally lost on Charlotte.) We munch Popcorn & Pork Rinds all the way home.

And we wash our hands.