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Having survived the airplane and train trip from Boise to Old Saybrook, Conn., I arrived late on Saturday, Oct. 17, at my sister's house to rescue my truck. It broke down in March on the way back to Idaho from Maine. At the beginning of the pandemic, the nation's supply chains were in disarray so it was impossible to get delivery of replacement diesel engine parts. After two weeks of waiting in vain for parts, my old Ford F250 was left behind at my sister's place.
Having the upcoming week off, I normally would have spent some time visiting relatives. Connecticut's quarantine law made that impossible. If I spent less than 24 hours transiting the state, I did not have to submit to daily confirmation of the mandatory 14-day quarantine by the state health department. After 18 hours in Old Saybrook, I was on the road for Idaho by Sunday afternoon, Oct. 18. I felt lucky to be traveling westbound on I-80. Going eastbound, New York state had checkpoints set up at all the approaches into New York City to screen travelers to sort out those who must be quarantined.
New York is not the only place doing this. There are other checkpoints currently operating in the U.S., notably in New Mexico going into Taos and in South Dakota at the borders of the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations.
Not wanting to risk bringing the current plague with me into the homes of my friends, I made no plans to visit any of the folks I know out east despite having the time to do so. If I didn't have a grudge against COVID-19 before my trip, I certainly had one now. Instead I decided...