As I talked to people prior to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's address Tuesday about what the state was going to do in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, I predicted she would do a 'soft-opening'. I also told people I could probably write that story before she made her speech and I wouldn't miss it by much. I was right on both points.
The one point I would have missed was the opening of the Alabama beaches along the Gulf Coast. But like the most of the changes, it was a soft change. Her new order says the beaches will be open at 5 p.m. April 30 but her order says there will be no gatherings of 10 or more persons and people “must” maintain that 6-foot social distancing ruler. Good luck with that.
All retail stores can open Thursday afternoon as long as they stay under 50 percent capacity and practice social distancing.
Those were the two things that stood out to me. Restaurants and bars are still limited to take-out and curbside delivery only and entertainment venues will remain closed.
I, like most people, am ready to see all restrictions lifted so we can all get back to some level of normalcy. I've said it before, it will never be the same. We'll be seeing masks on people's faces for years to come and many people will shy away from sitting inside a restaurant or attending a football game.
The beach thing is the one that makes me scratch my head. I understand the concept and I understand why she did it. Stores and restaurants along the gulf coast are struggling big time. At least now they will have somebody to serve an oyster sandwich to out of the window.
But if she thinks there will be no gatherings of 10 or more people or that people will stay 6 feet away from each other on the beach, she's badly mistaken. It won't happen.
Then the next question is who is going to enforce the new rules? My bet is it will be left up to police departments and sheriff's departments.
I don't know about you, but those law enforcement officers have too much to do than spend their time patrolling the beaches to make sure there are no groups of 10 or more and to make sure they stay 6 feet away from each other.
Police officers have much more important things to do to make sure retail stores only allow 50 percent of capacity inside the store at one time. Are they going to have to count heads?
I was talking to a friend of mine in Birmingham after Ivey's address. He was glad to see the soft opening instead of business as usual. He said something about people using common sense at the beach and I laughed.
Too many 17 to 22 year olds lost their spring break trips to the beach. When they open, they will flock to the beach like a bunch of hungry wolves. They won't care that they can't go sit down in a restaurant to eat because they weren't going to do that anyway.
I reminded him of our high school and early college trips to the beach during spring break. Eating real food was the last thing on our mind. We used all our money to get a motel room (sometimes packed with six to eight people) and get to the beach. We stayed a week eating junk food and if we were lucky somebody brought a loaf of bread and either some ham or peanut butter and jelly.
In the movie 'Field of Dreams' they said 'build it and they'll come'. Open the beaches and they will come and they will come by the thousands.
I'm 62 and I think my friend is 63. We both graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1976. Our age group may not head to the beach but others will.
I also think Ivey missed the point by keeping barber shops, nail salons and hair salons closed. Why can't they have 50 percent capacity rules? Why can't they go to appointments only and take one at a time?
I've only had one pedicure and the girl that did my toenails wore a mask way before masks became popular. I don't think it was because my feet smelled bad, they were already practicing safety.
I also question why 10 people can get together on the beach, 10 people can come to my house and eat but 10 people can't sit down in a restaurant?
If your'e going to allow social distancing at the beach, why not allow social distancing at the restaurant?
Ivey's order Tuesday expires May 15. If she still feels we only need a soft opening, fine. But let all businesses have a soft opening.
