A little over 570 days ago, my primary care physician told me about The Shutdown…how I should plan on staying home a lot and avoiding contact with others. This "pandemic" thing we were hearing about was more real than we thought, he said. A few days later, most of America would be told what he told me and I decided to follow his advice. I don't think my doctor is infallible but I think he knows a helluva lot more than I do…and more than any non-doctor I see offering advice about this thing.
None of us then thought we'd be where we are today. I thought the shelter-at-home plan might last a few months. I also thought it would be way more difficult and depressing than it has been. I'm fortunate that my occupation and lifestyle were already centered on staying home. It wasn't that big a change for me. Along with feeling bad for those who got the damned disease, I feel bad for those whose lives were ruptured by quarantining…people who lost jobs, friends, businesses, important social contacts, things they loved to do, etc.
I continue to take the position that no one knows when this will end or if it will get worse but I'm cautiously trying to get out of my house a little more. Today, my friend/assistant Jane and I went to the Magic Castle up in Hollywood for lunch. Masks were worn (except while eating, of course) and vaccination statuses were checked. It's the first time I've set foot in the club since late February of 2020.
The Castle has changed a bit. Each October, they apply some sort of Halloween overlay that changes the appearance of much of the place and they're just starting to apply it. But most of it is still the Castle of which I've been a member for forty years. It felt like being home but then I also felt like being home in a real sense. This Pandemic has really turned me into a guy who doesn't want to leave his house if he can possibly help it.
I know I have to get over that and that's one reason I have provisionally agreed to be a Special-Type Guest at the Comic-Con Special Edition which starts in 56 days. I need to start practicing for being somewhere else and not here.