March 10, 2020 Plans Go Viral

The Liberty Gazette

March 10, 2020

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Changing plans has gone viral! And not in the cute-puppy-video sense – in the worst sense! COVID-19 has wreaked havoc beyond the Great Wall of China!

Late last year, we had mixed feelings about the late-notice contract trip offered to Mike over the holidays. These side jobs bring the joys of extra vacation money – or more avgas for the Elyminator – but they often occur at the most inopportune times. Therefore, our first-world problem at the end of December was no splurging on a jaunt to anywhere, since Mike was commanding a jet across the U.S. for some businessmen.

To comfort my lonely gypsy soul, I busied myself with plans for the spring. Aha! Rome! And Sicily! I even called our State Farm agent for tips on visiting his ancestral land. Victor and Donna were there just a few years ago, which is considerably more recent than my sister’s high school trip to Italy in the late 1970s. At that time, the mafia had so much control that visiting Sicily was too dangerous. How I looked forward to planning this trip to a place only recently safely accessible to those outside the mobster network!

We compared our work calendars, our social commitments, our writing schedule, and the plans we were making for trips in the Elyminator, and nailed down the best dates – while school is still in session – from April 22 to May 4. We bought our airline tickets to Rome, searched Airbnb for places to stay and off-the-beaten-path “experiences” and made several reservations.

As word leaked out of China about the virus, we weren’t worried. But when Italy became the third country to have a so-called “lock-down,” with reportedly over 50,000 people quarantined, we had to think hard about the risk of going. This could all be fine by the end of April. But then again, who knows?

Mike: Some travelers have been forced to cancel plans long in the making. One couple we heard about had saved for years and booked an around-the-world cruise which has now been cancelled. If this virus goes dormant in the summer and re-emerges in autumn, at their age, they may not have another chance.

Airlines are suffering, too. One of the largest airlines has parked several long-range airplanes until this crisis is over. This is already a boom-or-bust industry, and COVID-19 is having a dramatic effect on it. Also, travel and tourism here and abroad are taking a hard hit. That equates to a lot of people who will be financially affected by this situation.

While we may not be able to recoup all we spent for reservations, we were not there when the lock-down occurred, and we have time to make other plans. Some are not so lucky. So, as disappointed as we are, our hearts go out to those who have come into contact with the virus. We may moan a bit about postponing our trip, but we can plan for a later date and we still have our health.

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