Summer 2020.

Dinner guests feel seditious and perilous, despite the outdoor air, six feet of separation, assigned bathrooms, and individual, Cloroxed carafes.  Did I lean in too far?  I know I touched something he touched.  I hope they were not diseased.  If they were healthy, then all the precautions seem silly and superstitious.  Will today’s discussions and techniques go down in history alongside animal dung ointments, bloodletting, and trepanation?

Welcome to Summer 2020:  

BLM Protests continue

Race and revolution.  Economic uncertainty.  How will college footballers pursue their dreams?  Will sports steal eyeballs and momentum from the push to acknowledge and address racism?  Or do sports advance the cause of equality? Even after recent murders, why are white cops drawing guns on Black teenagers because teenagers act like teenagers?  I no longer want to make constructive use of lockdown time, which, for me, began in January when I returned home from surgery. The silver linings of the first couple months of pandemic lockdown now feel like lead. While I enjoy isolation in wilderness settings, I dislike thinking of people as disease vectors to avoid.  I’d rather slip into crowded restaurants and concerts and breathe the air of people living life.  But, I won’t. I'll keep trying to see this as an opportunity for society and myself. 

We live our altered lives.  The pleasures are more simple.  We grow and learn with the rest of our cohorts. Thankfully, we remain in the “doing well” category, with no loved ones stricken by Corona Virus Disease - 2019.

Almost Solstice - 6-19-2020