#Smile and optimism gone windows#

вЂњIвЂ™m extremely upset with the government.В I have no confidence in the government. вЂњAs far as the shot goes, IвЂ™m very negative about it, because IвЂ™ve heard of so much thatвЂ™s in it. Hotel owner Sharon LaRou greets customers in Elkhart, Kansas, on Dec. Now theyвЂ™re recovering-even thriving-in 2021, while going into 2022 with a renewed sense of hope and optimism. I was washing door handles, windows, using air freshener and hand sanitizer-everything.вЂќДЄlthough the couple lost customers during the pandemic, they persevered nonetheless. I was soaking it in Lysol so you could use it. вЂњIn the beginning, I was scared to death because of all the media,вЂќ she said. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit so many businesses across the state and nation, said LaRou, a petite woman with kind eyes and a gentle smile. The couple purchased the motel in 2005, applying their own personal flair for down-home hospitality throughout its renovation. LaRou and her husband, Gary, are co-owners of the El Rancho Motel in rural Elkhart (population 1,888). вЂњI donвЂ™t mean to sound preachy, but it says not to fear,вЂќ Kansas resident Sharon LaRou said.

Like destination points on a roadmap, they abide in the souls of average people, some of whom are still feeling the sting of COVID-19 in 2021-but carry on they must. Together, they meander along and criss-cross the pitted asphalt highways and dirt backroads of middle America in early December. An abandoned home outside of Walsh, Colo., on Dec. Time and the elements have taken a heavy toll on this agricultural dwelling, even though the words, painted on the side of its aging white frame, proclaim otherwise.

#Smile and optimism gone windows#

The windows have all been shattered, and are now gaping black holes. The tin roof is falling away in strips and unruly sections, revealing the rot and corrosion eating away at the wooden base. Standing in a fallow cornfield next to a barren dogwood tree, an old abandoned farmhouse in southeastern Colorado appears to buckle under the weight of countless years gone by.