We'll try to find a spare sunbeam.
Homeward Bound
Homeward bound, I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home-where my thought’s escapin’…
-Simon & Garfunkel
If you have ever traveled extensively for work, you can relate to these sentiments; eventually, no fine hotel or excellent restaurant can hold a candle to your spouse, your children, your own bed, and a meal you prepare yourself and eat at your own table. Or are we just contrary creatures who want what we don’t have?
In other words, if we’re forced to stay home, do we appreciate it as much? It looks as if we’re about to find out.
As cancellations, school closings, and edicts to work from home continue to pour in, we’ve seen a steady stream of customers stocking up on their favorite beverages in case they are homebound for awhile. One customer jokingly said, ‘School is out for three weeks, which means I have to watch three children while also trying to ‘work’ full time from home. I’m thinking a bottle a day.’
The combination of an international health crisis and forced departures from our chosen daily routines is already uncomfortable. Add in a big dose of uncertainty and you have a trifecta of unhappiness. But for the next few weeks, that’s where we are; we’ll have to make the best of it.
Pour Richard’s will maintain our normal hours, with some procedural changes to ensure your and our health. We’ve temporarily replaced our wine glasses with single use plastic cups. We’re not handling customers’ credit cards, and we’re sanitizing high-traffic areas with bleach solution.
Because it would be frankly irresponsible to host large gatherings during the current crisis, we have also had to cancel or re-imagine some of our events. Our March 27th Bordeaux Seminar with Vincent Mareel has been postponed; we will issue refunds to those who have already purchased tickets. Our March 22nd Pennywise Sale will proceed as scheduled-with a twist. We’re taking the whole process online, with extensive descriptions. Not ideal, but the great discounts will still be there. Beyond that, we’ll wait and see.
Until then, we’ll all be spending a little more time at home. With a good book, a couple of dogs, and a nice glass of wine or two, that doesn’t sound so bad.