The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

I bet you’ve never seen St. Augustine, Florida like this

St, George Street in the old town of St. Augustine, Florida is always packed with tourists, shoulder to shoulder. Daytime or night time, it always looks like this (below). Not today, in broad daylight (above). Hardly a soul to be seen; not a dollar changing hands.

We visited it today and took the picture of the empty street. While it should satisfy the public health experts that the place was virtually deserted, I couldn’t help but worry about the people who earn their livelihood there.

We stopped at one of the few stores open, a women’s apparel shop, where the woman behind the counter said she couldn’t believe her eyes. Never, not ever, has she seen the place so empty, not even at night. She said (this was about 1 p.m.) that the only money she had in the till was $10 from a pair of sunglasses she sold that morning. She’s hoping her landlord doesn’t press her for rent.

We enjoyed an Italian sausage and some great ice cream at another one of the rare places open. No one near us, no one bothering us. Doing our part to keep the economy from collapsing.