Remote

I grew up in a town so small that it literally had only one road. This road was unpaved, although in later years the 30 or so residents paid to have the portion that ran through ‘town’ paved over, to cut down on the dust. Westfield was (and is) so small that the population explodes and implodes according to the size of the current minister’s family-if we get a real live wire with six kids, we might crack 40 people, total. A single guy? Just the opposite. The nearest grocery store is 8 miles away-and calling it a grocery is in fact a bit generous. A real supermarket, pharmacy, and hospital are closer to 25 miles away.

These details aren’t supplied to horrify you, or to make fun of my hometown, but to provide a contrast. I love my hometown, but rural Dakota pretty much defines ‘remote’; when I moved to the East Coast, the sheer mass of people everywhere was overwhelming. It took some getting used to, but I adjusted.

Lately, I’m starting to feel like I’m back in the Dakotas. And not in a good way.

Granted, my neighbors are still right next door or across the street. But for the human contact I’ve had lately, I could easily be back on the farm, just without the big sky, fresh food, and absence of light pollution. I completely understand why we need to do this, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Remote living is not my cup of tea.

I’m not alone, either. Most of my wine rep friends are sequestered at home, bored to tears because they cannot do what they love to do: make connections between people and their favorite beverages. In fact, they are SO bored that they’re getting creative with video, Instagram Live, and Zoom. They want to host virtual wine seminars and tastings.

What do you think? Would you enjoy a Zoom wine event? Would you watch an Instagram Live presentation? Are Youtube video links something you’d like to see during this time? We obviously can’t host events at the store right now, but we can host remote events. Maybe they could help everything seem less…remote.

Let us know what you think of this idea-we’ll proceed accordingly.