By LOGAN MERIWETHER, student reporter
The corona virus has changed many things in the world. The way people live has completely changed.
I used to spend every week in Waynoka, making my usual drive to school every morning and yhen going to work for Stan Bixler to help feed cattle every afternoon. Once the weekend would arrive, I would pack my bags and drive two hours to work on my family farm and spend time with my girlfriend.
Now I find myself spending most of my time on my family farm working, checking cattle, working with show heifers and helping break the new colts to lead. When I’m not working I take my grandpa back roading in the evenings, so we can get off the farm and enjoy the countryside.
I used to enjoy going out and eating most evenings at different restaurants in the city. Now I’ve started cooking most afternoons and enjoying a fire outside. Usually I will have my girlfriend or some family over to talk and enjoy the evening. On days I’m not working on the farm I will take my boat out to Fort Cobb Lake or golfing on the course not far from the lake.
I thought once the summer started and school was out, my life would start to get back to normal. I usually work for an oilfield contracting company all summer, but now that the oil market has crashed, the contracting company I work for doesn’t have enough work to take me on this summer. I’ve been working for this company for five summers in a row, and now I’m going to have to find a job somewhere else or work for my family all summer.
The corona virus has also taken away a lot of the fun things I’ve had planned for this summer. It’s kept me away from a lot of my friends and other family members. I also had two vacations planned this summer, one going to Mexico with my girlfriend’s family which got cancelled. I’m hoping I can still go to Red River this summer to fish and enjoy the cool mountain air. My family has made a tradition out of going to Red River every summer. This is something we all really look forward to so we can get away from work and just enjoy ourselves.
I’ve been doing my best to keep up with friends through FaceTime and Snapchat. Usually this time of year, my best friend Draven Smith and I are at the golf course, possibly skipping class to play 18 holes. Sometimes we might even find ourselves in a little bit of trouble. Since the virus started, I’ve only got to hang out with my friends in Alva once which is weird because we are used to seeing each other almost every day.
There are something’s I’ve gotten to enjoy since the corona virus. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with my grandpa and other family members I don’t get too see much. I also have gotten to spend a lot of time in my home town Binger, Oklahoma.
My grandpa is 80 years old, so he has a hard time doing a lot of work by himself. Since I’ve been around it’s made things a lot easier on him. I’ve helped build and fix fence and fed most of his cows for him. My grandpa doesn’t like sitting at home so he always comes with me to work, usually he tells me funny stories from back in his day or we talk about the different kind of grasses in the pasture.
I’ve always been close with my grandpa. He has taught me a lot of things in life and is still teaching my somethings. The time we’ve got to spend together driving around the countryside, working on building fence or just watching movies at home we have both really enjoyed.
Since Binger has had more then 20 cases of Covid-19. when I have to go to town I wear a mask and gloves and keep my distance from other people. I get in and out of stores as fast as I can, not wasting any time. I do catch up with the old farmers at the feed store every now and then, seeing how they are doing since the recent drop in the cattle markets. I’ve seen a lot of farmers hurting because of the drop in the cattle and oil markets.
A lot of things have changed for me since the corona virus, good things and bad. I am doing what I can to make the best out of this situation trying to keep busy when I can and also enjoy going out and having fun taking a few road trips to different places I’ve never been.