A wonderful story this weekend in the Journal ponders whether we are the same people coming out of the pandemic as we were going in, at least in the sense of our goals and priorities.
Okay, I'll go first.
In March 2020 I was living in an assisted living facility south of San Francisco, walking slowly with a cane, and confined to my room due to fears about the dangers Covid-19, especially among older people.
I was just starting posting daily essays to Facebook.
At present, I'm living with family members northeast of San Francisco, haven't used that cane in many months, and am still posting daily essays to Facebook, along with aggregations of news headlines and song lyrics. I'm not at all confined to the indoors, am fully vaccinated and frequently travel around the area and beyond.
But has anything fundamentally changed?
During the intervening period I've apparently given up on one fantasy -- going back to full-time employment. Although I believe I am fully capable of filling a job somewhere, I've been out of the game long enough that I probably would no longer be willing to endure the kind of organizational nonsense that followed me around job to job throughout my 55-year career.
It's not like I had horrible bosses; some of them were pretty bad but others were nice people, even friends. But although I'm a team player and very loyal, the hierarchical structure of organizations doesn't suit my nature. So, in one way I've changed this past year -- choosing that there will be no more jobs.
But working hard seven days a week without a job is not a problem. Telling my stories seems urgent after recovering from a stroke and other ailments.
I can also say that I more deeply value friendships, both old and new, than I did a year ago. I always liked the people I was fortunate to become close with, but now I look forward to our interactions with the sense that each meeting could be one of our last.
And since we apparently only live once, why not tell each other how much we love one another any chance we get? The negative emotions may feel real enough in the heat of a moment, but given time and reflection, they will pass.
So many people have died from Covid-19 in the past year -- hundreds of thousands in the U.S. and millions around the world. This pandemic will be remembered by our descendants for a long time. Maybe that's why what I've composed is essentially a journal of life during the pandemic -- to get it all down, at least from one person's perspective.
Thank you to anyone seeing this for taking the journey with me. Will we remember our trip together?
***
My son working in a medical unit based in the Mission District has been one of those vaccinating people all day long on Saturdays and I asked him if anything has surprised him about the people coming to get the shot.
"I never would have guessed how many people are terrified of needles," he said. "It's the main problem we have. One big guy, maybe 60, was shaking so badly I had to tell him that unless he could calm down, it was going to be much more difficult for both of us than it needed to be."
He also told me about one main trick vaccine administrators use with children but also with anyone to avoid them tensing up at the last second, which is also not an ideal way to receive the shot.
"We say, 'this will just be a little poke', then we start counting 'one...two...' but we have already poked them by 'one'."
***
The headlines:
* Covid-19 Was a Wake-Up Call for Lifestyle, Career Changes -- Americans who went into the pandemic aren’t the same people coming out, instead emerging from a year of introspection with new goals, priorities and concerns. (WSJ)
* More than 100 corporate leaders discuss action against voting bills -- Executives from major airlines, retailers and manufacturers talked about potential ways to show they oppose the controversial legislation, including by halting political donations and even delaying investments in states that pass the restrictive measures. (WaPo)
* The administration is under intensifying pressure to expand its capacity to care for as many as 35,000 unaccompanied minors, part of a wave of people crossing the border. (NYT)
* Australia made a plan to protect Indigenous elders from covid-19. It worked. (WaPo)
* Israel's defense minister pledged to cooperate with the United States on Iran, voicing hope that Israeli security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches (Reuters)
* Iran described a blackout at its underground Natanz atomic facility an act of “nuclear terrorism,” raising regional tensions as world powers and Tehran continue to negotiate over its tattered nuclear deal. (AP)
* California police fire officer who was a Proud Boy, saying they have no tolerance for ‘hate groups’ (WaPo)
* CEO Pay Surged as the Pandemic Upended Economy -- Median pay for the chief executives of more than 300 of the biggest U.S. public companies reached $13.7 million last year. (WSJ)
* Afghan President in ‘Desperate Situation’ as His Power Is Undermined (NYT)
* Florida is full of invasive species. They’re coming for the rest of us. (WaPo)
* Facebook to turn Menlo Park headquarters into vaccination site (Reuters)
* Brazil’s virus outlook darkens amid vaccine supply snags
* Rise of Variants in Europe Shows How Dangerous the Virus Can Be (NYT)
* Essential but invisible: Coronavirus keeps 200,000 merchant sailors stuck at sea (WaPo)
* The Latest: Single-day high for cases in Ontario, Canada (AP)
* As the United States shifted with the anxieties of the 1980s, baseless conspiracy theories about satanic cults committing mass abuse spread around the country. (NYT)
* Harvard and its peers should be embarrassed about how few students they educate (WaPo)
* Thailand hits new daily record with nearly 1,000 virus cases (AP)
* Maryland Passes Sweeping Police Reform Legislation (NYT)
* Bowen Yang steals SNL playing the iceberg that sank the Titanic (WaPo)
* Distant Planet Terrified It Might Be Able To Someday Support Human Life (The Onion)
***
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Want to feel your warmth upon me
I want to be the one
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
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