Let’s hope that masks will become a thing of the past.
When 2020 began, I had no idea that I’d be writing a whole lot of posts over the course of thirteen months while hiding out at home to avoid the nasty coronavirus. (Age and underlying health issues gave Jacqueline and me no choice.) Things are finally looking up, and I truly hope this will be the last mention of it. But as Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and guess what, folks—it ain’t over! New variants threaten to prolong this pandemic, and while many have received vaccinations, there are lots of fools refusing it for whatever reason. Herd immunity cannot be achieved without a large percentage of Americans (70-80%, so I’ve heard) receiving the shot(s).
Though still cautious, my bride and I have ventured out a bit over the past month or two. Nothing too exciting: medical and dental appointments, stuff like that. But we have been down to Petco Park to see our Padres play—socially distanced seats, of course. And starting with the next homestand we’ll be closer to our excellent season seats in a section of vaccinated fans. Best of all, we’ll soon be hanging out with our kids and grandkids, the former receiving their vaccinations as we speak! As Tevye the dairyman once said, “That would be the sweetest thing of all!”
SURVIVING THE YEAR
Jacqueline finds inner peace through her creative outlets.
How did we get through this seemingly endless period of self-confinement? For Jacqueline it was a time to go deep within herself for self-reflection about her role in the universal plan of things, a time of introspection via online classes with spiritual masters. She also expressed herself via her painting and by playing her Native American flute.
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” After a sulky period subsequent to the cancellation of March Madness and the postponement of the start of the baseball season, I sucked it up and started writing a new novel—something I hadn’t done in eight years and wasn’t sure that I could. I found the joy in writing again, and the end result—Back on the Bike Path: A Jack Miller Senior Moment, Book Four—pleased me no end. I’ll be writing another book this year, pandemic or not. I also was able to take many long walks—heavily masked, of course—on nearly deserted streets outside our 55+ community.
For both of us, the short (sixty-game) baseball season was awesome, especially when our Padres made the playoffs for the first time since Babe Ruth’s rookie season. (Okay, fourteen years.) MLB did a great job protecting its players and providing us fans with a slice of normality.
And then, of course, there were our many binges on detective/mystery TV shows from England and around the world. New Tricks, Vera, Death in Paradise, My Life is Murder, The Brokenwood Mysteries, Silent Witness, Murdoch Mysteries, No Offence, The Mallorca Files, just to name a few. And our hands-down favorite, Midsomer Murders.
Let us all hope that this pandemic will be defeated soon, and that no repetition is forthcoming. But if it happens, my wonderful bride and I will be ready to meet it head-on!