I miss walking through the downtown part of town and being able to step into a shop for a treat or a drink or just to browse. But I am confident that things will reopen.

I am too...

V.

I must admit that I really, really, Really miss going out on my long walks and getting my weekly doughnut.

good depiction Steam...

V.

Thanks. Yeah I was inspired by the way the "Old Town" area in the heart of Pasadena looked all boarded up and the way all the darkened sidewalk restaurants made things look very forlorn. I'm kind of glad that "Feeling" translated into the image.

me too... Nice to hear from you Roy...

Thanks Doggard. Don't worry about Mister Foxy. He's very adaptive, and tries to stay out of trouble.

I think the planning of future new retail from this moment on will be on how "Essential" it would be to keep the annual lease payments rolling in.

Right. I figure big box "Non Essentials" Like Michael's or Blick's Art Supplies might make a comeback, but small shops like "The House of Intuition" or "Alexandria II" might not. Cross fingers in the hopes that the Basking Robin's and the "21 Choices" Yogurt shops make it.

Places here are open for takeout-only. You can get your overpriced latte but you can't sit and drink it there.

Not that I mind having to carry my hot Pastramis from The Hat in my thermal bag and hope they don't get cold by the time I get home to enjoy them. There are just very few places where I can sit down and enjoy my treats and take out meals that aren't closed off. The city's liberal use of Hazard tape has been very creative.

I'd be more worried about them getting soggy in the bag. What's cold can be warmed up, but a soaked bun can never be rescued.

True. I have discovered that quite a few too many times recently. Cold In-N-Out Burgers? No way. They have to be hot and fresh. Otherwise they don't taste as good.

Daaaang that is heavy. It is life for the next while for sure. Good pic at the very least.

Thanks Seth. I think I captured the feeling of the once vibrant and active shopping district along Colorado Blvd. pretty close. Fortunately, Mills Harbor being mainly imaginary, I took some liberties in creating some "Familiar, non-existent" landmark buildings.

I know the feeling :(

Yeah. My favorite sources for my favorite model kits and of course those Bandai Giant Battle Robot model kits are now an hour's drive away, and I'm certain they're closed as "Non-Essential."

Many of them won't reopen, others will move off the overpriced main street. And I suspect we'll see a few more 'waves' of open-oops the bug's still bad!/close as some guesses have our 'had it and got over it/doing fine' at only 20%.

Stay safe my friend, maybe one year we can have another Mattcon ...

That's a very astute observation there, and a very good reason why I feel there should be some caution expressed from retailers in opening up too soon. There were a row of brand new restaurants on Union Street slated to open up around this time of year, but now it looks like some of them aren't even going to be able to celebrate their grand openings.

Another Mattcon? I'd like that because to me, any excuse to visit Texas is always a good one.

Heck put me in the loop on that - been ages since I've seen some of the Texas furry crew - including Matt - 25 years this year since I moved and the last time I saw the Martines and Furet was in 2004

Oh my gosh! Drop Dirk and Cindy Martine a note and let them know you're okay. Matt Too. I watch him on Facebook more than I watch him here on FA. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from you too.

Will do and what is Matt's handle here on FA? Been trying to find him with no luck.

Check your mailbox. I'll note you his current contact info.

Sorry. Forgot. I've been busy. Matt's e-mail addy is still mccullar[at]flash.net . As far as I can tell, Matt's Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/matt.mccullar.7 . I hope that works. My server is kinda slow... Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Ah thank you. Been under the weather for the past week and a half and missed this. Had a bad sinus and lung infection that has responded well to antibiotics. Did get tested for the big C - came back negative so back to work for me Monday. Oh I did get to talk to Dirk Martine the other day - he and Cindy are well

Oh good! I've got some catching up to do with my e-mails as well. Great to read you and the Martines are doing well.

Maybe Dollar Tree it open.

Maybe. I've had good luck at Dollar King too.

Don't know that one. We have Dollar Daze, Family Dollar, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree. Only the latter has everything for a buck.

Dollar King is a larger "Chain" Discount Dollar store In eagle Rock that has a lot of stuff I don't normally see at Dollar Tree or the 99 Cents only stores.

https://www.eaglerockplaza.com/stores/dollar-king/

Sadly true, but damned important..., especially for grey-muzzles like us!

Say safe, friend..., and listen to the health experts and not to the OMP!

Oh yeah. The Psychologist Lady I like to listen to on Sunday afternoon made me feel a bit better about having to wear a mask in public. "Consider." she said, "That your wearing a mask doesn't really protect you from getting infected from others, but it does help protect others from getting infected from You." I now feel like I'm out there protecting other's lives in some small way. (We got THREE "Greymuzzles" living here at "Chez Schirmeister" and we tend to take our precautions very seriously.)

Heh, just ordered another half face mask with a big cat theme. First one was supposed to be a tiger, got a lion instead. This one specifically says tiger. I'm still getting used to wearing a mask into a store - we've been laughing about that one at a local gunshop/range. 3 months ago they would have drawn down on and called the cops if someone had come in masked. At the factory we kid about it looking like a bank robbers convention. At least it keeps the sneezes contained

My brother Sterling wears a fancy Balaklava instead of a mask, and he once mentioned that he caught sight of himself in a TV monitor upon entering the local Ralph's. "I look like a freakin' Bank Robber" he said. Just out of curiosity... Are you getting those animal themed face masks from "Lemonbrat"? (They have a cute, happy fox face mask and they make custom masks as well.)

I'm getting them off of Amazon. First saw one in a posting by Mel. White - she had bought one to wear at a con - wanted to avoid con crud, etc. Was just when the Covid was starting to hit. I wanted a tiger one since a bulk of my characters are tigers or tiger mixes. Heh even have some that are tiger and fox - some of my characters are close to Mythril Blackpaw

Yes, it's sad. This year generally started pretty bad, and now corona.
Anyway, I am not convinced that Mr. Foxy should go to a shop with this H1 sign...

Give a "Hooey" Punk a spray can and a cause... It's alarming to see the way that the "Shady" types have taken over key areas in the Shopping District. There were a couple times I feared for my life, but I made certain other people were close enough to hear me yell if I had to. Also playing the "Clueless Weirdo" might have given them second thoughts.

Very to the point and sadly to true.
Nicely done my friend, I see the H1 extremist have left their mark there too.

Yeah... Actually Mister Foxy is fairly safe as all he needs do is to duck down Hamlin Street and use his pass key to get into Sterling's Magic Shop, which will give him a safe place to hide and call the "Zooper Troopers" from.

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/36101022/

Ah haaah… Thanks for doing that. Did you have much trouble with "Leaks" when you filled in the colors? I was in such a rush to get this out, I might have missed closing a few lines.

Not too much trouble, no.

What's with the "Humans First" in the coffee shop window?

Seems to be

as the world this pic is based in has humans and anthros mixed, 'H1' as it's referred to is a human supremacy group. I would imagine there are anthro supremacy groups as well, but they tend to get less air time as the characters POV is from the anthro side.

Heh! It is often grumbled among the Lupines that "It only takes one rogue werewolf to make us all look bad." If you notice, it's evident the "Closed for Quarantine" sign was ripped off the wall before the thoughtless tagger made his mark, and didn't notice it after he ran over it with his car... Leaving behind a NICE tire tread impression. There's also plenty of "Beetle" style remote cameras and a few patrol drones flying about.

I'm well aware of what the group is about, CONSIDERING, my character is based in that world... (assuming that this image is on Earth, set in the Chakat Universe)

Sorta-Kinda. Originally I set the "Artist and Muse" comics in Bernnard's Chakat universe, but things seemed to grow in different directions all at once. So Chakat characters do appear in the "A&M" comics from time to time as well a "Quange" Centaur horses and the Garetta Foxtaurs have appeared in Bernard's stories.

There are a lot of places in this situation that I miss going to.

I can relate to that. Cross fingers that most of your favorites make a healthy comeback. I'll send some "Positive Vibes" out that way.

Worship and pay homage to whatever deity that can make it happen.

Yeah, I'm pretty much a homebody by choice- I don't like not havin' the option. But I understand, and therefore have adjusted my behaviors.

Good work here.

Thanks Buddy. Would you believe that there's a corporation that specializes in boarding up shop fronts and they have the audacity to call themselves things like "Barricades R Us"? Some crooks in L.A. have also taken to raiding closed shops which brought a rise in burglary crimes. I ain't going out there without armed escort now.

Yeah, I believe it. Interesting times.

I know it may seem silly to some but I was holding it together until I say the "H1"
then I cried... Will humans ever learn?

I'm afraid they won't, even in the imaginary world in which Mills Harbor exists, there will always be some sort of conflict.

And I feel really bad that I made you upset.

Trying times tends to bring out the best and worst in people. I spotted the H1 and went -"Yep, that's about right for those A--holes" One can hope they caught the crud. Excellent work on the art.

Heh! You just gave me an idea for another derogatory term the Furfolk could use to represent the more "Insensitive" and dangerous Humans in Mills Harbor.

Too bad Ol' Crazy Mister Squirrel is dead. The perfect comeuppance for the H1 crowd is that this strain of virus changes them into anthropomorphicals if they want it or not.

Heha would turn them into Anthro Bat/Pangolin hybrids. Gah this whole Covid 19 situation makes me think of that one first season Rick & Morty with the screwed up flu virus mutation thing.

Heh! Anthro Bat-Pangolin Hybrids? I can't help but recall the "Monsters" from "A quiet place". I'll look that Rick and Morty bit up, now that you've got me curious.

I'd go with Poopflingers or Yahoos (bit of a Gulliver's Travels ref there) Hmmm I remember some anthro comic from the 90s Tales of the Changing Period. Virus was mutating humans into furres. Me, I'm probably halfway there - rather hairy irl and I kid about what I look like during a full moon :)

Yeah, That "Humans into Furries" comic was written by the late Richard Thatcher who died earlier this year. (I cant remember who drew the comics though.) I must admit that I liked his story about two sibling Brothers where one became a fox, and the other became a cat. (Don't quote me on that though. You know how my memory is getting.) Also there was the sarcastic touch of "The President" disappearing for awhile, only to reappear as a Skunk-morph. Pretty heavy how "Mister Crazy Squirrel" predicted the Future in a small way.

I loved that touch with President Skunk. Would be great during the State of the Union Address. House Speaker being rude to you behind your back, just spray them.
Got back from a fishing trip to eastern AZ. Got too much sun and 9500 foot elevation got to me. Got in last night and was running a 100.2 Fever. Scared the crud out of me, had been careful. Back to normal temp now but monitoring. Was supposed to be back on guard duty this afternoon, think i"ll call off for the day
Our stay at home order isn't as sever as in California and I have a bit of lingering bronchitus from a respirtory illness from the late 1990s. We had a bad outbreak of RSV hit Northern AZ around the Holidays 1998 - I caught if and was off work for almost 2 months. Passed out while coughing, our husky at the time alerted my folks I was in distress - had stopped breathing. I woke up hours later in the ER with a mask on and having some meds being administered with the oxygen - about 3 hours of missing time for me

Boy, you were lucky your Folks and your Husky were there. I'm always amazed at how intelligent that breed can be, especially when folks I watch here on FA tell me their "Dog Stories", or I see an interesting Video on YouTube featuring really smart dogs.

-Hang in there, and take it easy, okay?

Will do. Just took temp at 2 pm - 102f. No cough but slight chills and fever - seems to be from the damn sunburn. Staying home from work the next few days

Even when I used to life in a city I didn't much care for it, but I still can't help but feel for all of those small business'. Especially places like comic shops. From what I hear the industry was struggling to begin with and having to be shut down for a month plus I fear we might have a complete collapse of the industry. :/

As I type this, we're two months into the Quarantine, and the masses are getting rather upset with the new regulations that seem to change daily. There's news that some small "Non-essential" businesses might open as early as May 9th, but here in California, the restrictions could last at least a few weeks longer. I am NOT holding my breath.

What's essential and what isn't? Treading that fine line between life and living.

Good point Perfesser. Putting together wooden puzzles from the Dollar Discount store might be able to keep my assembly skills sharp, but that's just keeping me Alive. Building scale models in wood and finishing them to museum quality? Now to me that's Living.

Too true, sadly.

In time... This too should pass. Let's just hope it won't take a couple centuries.

Now that would be an awful mutation from the virus... longevity

Let's hope we don't end up like they did in ZARDOZ.

I know, the pandemic's turned nearly everywhere into a ghost town...least you can be thankful the government will let you out for 1 hour's walk a day.

Heh... I can only walk about 2 miles in an hour, then I use another hour to walk back home. I wonder if they'll add time to my allotment if I use more Public Transportation?

No time limit thing in AZ. Nice warm day and did my bike ride and other PT

Cool! If I go out and about later on I'll check and see if the busses are running again. It'd be nice to be less dependent on my Brother for rides into town.

Line Number 10 on Colorado Blvd. has been running since late last month. We're making progress.

Dang depressing seeing how many shops are closed in my area, swung by the local mall on Saturday - everything closed. Actually startled a large Mule Deer Doe in the village section of the place - worked that place from 2007 to 2015 doing security. Weird seeing it looking like something from some damn bad sci fi movie. Empty parking lot was ideal though for my stepmom to get in more practice with a light weigh electric powered chair I'd bought her. Place got to her too, she used to run a store there

I can relate to that. When I saw the last Clifton's Cafeteria closed and empty in West Covina, at first I couldn't believe it, then I got teary eyed. Lots of places I used to enjoy shopping at have met similar fates, but it's those places where one recalls great food, and gatherings with family and friends which get closed down where it makes one feel a little bit sadder inside.

Going out isn't as much fun with all the interesting places closed.

Well, yeah. As I type this, there's news in the winds that some states are going to allow a few "Non Essential" stores to re-open. I was kind of excited to believe that perhaps Blick's, Michael's and even Vroman's book store might re-open soon, but since this is California, I'm not holding my breath.

Before we learned the effectiveness of Social Distancing, the big shutdown made sense. Now I'd say if a store can function with proper distancing (such as limited entry, curbside pick-up, and delivery) for both customers and employees, they should be allowed to open. Unlike my governor, who tried to in effect ban specific types of products...

Ho boy...! That just makes it more difficult.

Had to re-read my comment. I must admit that I've seen how these "Social Distancing" practices have been effective in helping to control the spread of the CORONA 19 virus, but getting people in places like Supermarkets to follow these rules all the time must be difficult. I have seen what I call "Kamakazi Shoppers" using their carts like battering rams and forcing their ways along the aisles at a fast walk. There are also others who use the Social distancing rules as an excuse to be just plain rude. For example, those who stand in the middle of a narrow aisle staring into their phones leaving no room to pass on either side. Even politely asking to pass by and bringing them out of an electronic stupor results in angry glares and harsh words. Here in Southern California I get the impression folks are getting weary of the rules being seemingly changed daily, or even hourly. I just hope that this thing breaks soon before things start getting really ugly.

Considering that there have been people a) doing similar things well before COVID-19 and b) becoming violent (even using firearms) when asked to comply with business rules and orders/laws about masks and Social Distancing, it would be nice if we took this opportunity to metaphorically cull some of the worst offenders.

And it isn't a modern issue. I've learned that back during the Spanish Flu (1918-20) there was an "Anti-Mask League".

Oh yes! I've seen some photos taken during that "Spanish Flu" epidemic.

About the same here in Northeast Ohio. They closed the bars, restaurants, candy stores, barber shops and hair stylists (I am starting to look like a freaking hippie!), fabric stores, plus a few other types I have never used. Micheals might be open, but A.C. Moores, which just opened up in the area, has now packed up and left. All prepared food is drive-thru, delivery, or "take-out only", including Dunkin's Donuts.
I see some cars in the parking lots of the big box home improvement stores (Lowes, Home Depot, Menards), so they might still be in business. And in general, everyone is on reduced hours.

I'm Jealous! You've still got Doughnut Shops open, even though they might be take out only. Over here in CA, some of the "Big Box" hardware stores have expanded their stock selections to include basic "Artsy Craftsy" items. Still, no model kits in Walmart, and I'm not certain if any of the Hobby Lobby stores are open. Let's just hope I'll be able to do my "Usual" Donut run by the end of May.

On the one hoof, it is good to see you doing more art and responding creatively to this time. One the other hoof, the reminder of what we're going through is not so much fun here on FA, but it is necessary.

Dominus tecum

I HAD to finish this cartoon under a "Deadline" so to say, and so I dragged myself back to the drawing desk and worked on it off and on for three weeks, a little bit at a time. Inking the image was therapeutic in a way as I discovered that after nearly nine months of artistic inactivity, my hand had become remarkably unsteady. The image also helped me purge some of the darkness in my heart after seeing my beloved city closed, darkened and boarded up.

I'm glad you made the effort and stuck to it. Sometimes that's the only way to get through those artistic blocks. And right now it is amazing how helpful simple stuff like this can be. I've been coloring a bunch of old sketches I've commissioned with my daughter; gonna post some of them soonish.

Dominus tecum

I miss the book stores, and Dibbels (a tiny hole in the wall train & model shop.)

Oh MaaaAAnn... I can relate to that. When I moved to Pasadena in 2013, there were four hobby shops in the area, and now there's only one, The original Whistle Stop, which caters to the model railroad enthusiast.