The Way We Were....

[captainsblog]

I've seen different measures of a year come up this week. Some people remember their Where They Were moment as last March 11th, or 12th. But for me, it seemed fitting in a horror-movie kind of way to count last March's Friday the 13th as when it all went to shit.  My last journey east of Rochester had been the day before, a quick to-and-fro to Syracuse on the 12th. On the 13th, I took a much shorter hop to Niagara County for the last in-person court "appearance" (no judge, other side didn't show) I would have for months. By the end of the day, I was experiencing the joys of pandemic up close and personal, through a study in anthropology also known as "slumming at Wally World"-



(The Norge reference is explained here.)

Also a year ago, just before Ft13, I'd begun exploring a condition my condition was in: pain in my right side that had gotten steadily worse, had first gotten me up to Niagara County earlier that week, in for an MRI on Thursday the 12th, and for even more scanning, poking and prodding at the MRI place, an urgent care and the nearest emergency room the following week. In the end, none of them diagnosed anything, and the pain just went away, but with multiple exposures in those pre-mask days to who knows what, it was a scary time.

Meanwhile, we had a now-Former President who was only just starting to admit in public what he, and numerous insider-trading Senators, already knew from secret briefings: this was bad and would get worse. We needed equipment, experience, and especially toilet paper, all of which took about a month to begin bringing into predictable levels of availability. Seasons were canceled; businesses closed; capitalism stayed ahead of dysfunctional Republicans in demanding we keep ourselves and their workers as safe as we could.

Eleanor missed very little work, received more pay for months when she was on the front line, and only her semi-retirement has changed that. I'd expected a major uptick in my bankruptcies that never really happened for me or anyone else, because of mortatoria on suits, evictions and foreclosures and thanks to PPP loans that enabled businesses to survive. In the end, everything other than collections stayed pretty steady for me, but the loss of that business took my gross down about 20 percent for the year, though some expenses, particularly travel and insurance, also went down.  We did okay. Stimuli helped, as will the one that will be here any day, and the refi will help even more.

We've been jabbed. Joe has set a July 4 symbolic goal for full vaccination and a return to normalcy. That will leave us half of a 2021 to enjoy far more than these past twelve months have been.  We are blessed and lucky, but it doesn't ease the empathy we have for the half million of our fellow Americans whose loved ones should be bitter and angry about how we spent the first nine months of the past twelve.

Toilet paper was plentiful in Wegmans tonight. My biggest issue was getting Siri to understand me dictating posts in between the aisles. Maybe my pronunciation is getting real crappy, or maybe it’s the mask, but me and her haven’t been doing well lately. Half the time she thinks her name is Sherry, and way more than that she gets really simple stuff wrong. But an hour ago,, fumbling around the dairy section looking for shredded cheese, I texted Eleanor that I could find Parmesan Reggiano, and Pecorino Romano, and even Asiago Romano Parmesan. Other than the capitalization, Siri got everyone of those right.

Makes-a sense, I guess. Her name DOES end in a vowel;)
 

Comments

Ah yes

[dauntless_heart]

I need to do that "Where I Was" post, huh?

We've also been very fortunate and are very blessed.