Hey, remember these? On March 11 of 2020, I began more-or-less isolating myself so I wouldn't get that "coronavirus" thing that we were all hearing about. In hindsight, I was probably a bit more cautious than I needed to be…but only a bit. And if you're going to err, that's the side to err on.
It wasn't that huge a hardship, at least for a guy like me who works from home and needs to be alone a fair amount of the week. I switched from going to the market or restaurants to having food and supplies delivered and that's worked out so well that I'll keep doing it even when the chances of catching this week's variant are down to zero. My cleaning lady, my assistant and my lady friend all agreed to be super-cautious so as not to infect one another…and when my assistant did get it, she isolated until negative.
I rarely left my house unless you count walks in my neighborhood. That was not that difficult because for a while, there was really nowhere to go. Conventions and live shows were canceled. Restaurants were closed. No one threw parties. Business-type meetings migrated to Zoom or Skype. I actually liked most of the meetings better that way and hope that custom remains in place.
I felt and still feel sorry for those whose lives really were torn asunder by isolation and sorrier for those who got the dread disease. I know many who did but I think I run with a smart crowd. So far — and I hope I don't jinx it by typing this out loud — no one that close to me has died from it or even been hospitalized, as far as I know. That may be because no one close to me ever doubted the necessity to keep a fair distance in certain situations, to mask where appropriate and to get vaccinated. Night before last, I got my fifth shot of Moderna.
You may notice that I have reverted the heading on this blog to me working at my computer, unmasked. This does not mean I think it's over. The Sergio drawing of me masked and gloved may yet return. At the same time, I have a drawing of me tossing away the mask and declaring the Pandemic a thing of the past…and it's not time for that one yet. I'll still mask where and when it's required or requested or even when I think it might be wise or even polite.
And I'm not traveling far and not by plane. When will I abandon that policy? I dunno. I'll decide when there's somewhere farther than San Diego I want to go. At the moment, I don't even want to go to the Ralphs Market if I can help it and not because of COVID. I'm just enjoying not having to go to the Ralphs Market as often.