For me the pandemic began six months ago on March 11, 2020. That was the day it was obvious we were going to have to postpone our gala and hunker down for a little while. I had no idea "a little while" would be six months and still no end in sight.
So much has changed. It is hard to remember life before the pandemic.
In no particular order the following aspects of life have not returned to the point where we can fully participate:
* Theater
Some theater groups are starting to explore doing outdoor performances. Indoor theaters are still closed in this area. Broadway is hoping to reopen in January 2021, but even that feels optimistic.
* Sports
Some Major League sports are having games in empty stadiums. We went to see "Toy Story" at Trenton Thunder's stadium. They could only sell tickets to 500 people. At $5 a ticket that doesn't pay to keep the lights turned on.
* Dining out
New Jersey was the last state to allow indoor dining, and that was at 25%. When we went to pick up take out from Tiger Noodles we saw one couple dining -- outside, no one was inside. I hope restaurants can survive.
* School
K-12 schools "reopened" this week. Lawrence Township Public Schools are 100% virtual. The Bridge Academy is about 90% in-person, but respectful of those who want to stay home and learn virtually. Saint Ann's is doing a hybrid model similar to Bridge. At the college level Muhlenberg has freshmen on campus, but many of their classes are online.
* Traveling
A quick google search shows our passport allows us to travel to 39 countries. Last year we could travel to 116 without a visa. Once you arrive in a country, you are still expected to quarantine for 14 days. We can't even travel to Canada.
* Church
We will continue to meet virtually. Some churches are meeting in person. Some are doing so outside -- but despite a glorious spring and summer, not many places took advantage of outdoor worship. Those meeting inside are limiting the number of people who can gather. WiNK will meet in person next weekend, but then move to the virtual world again. I'm not interested. I'm already worshiping globally online. I don't want to do the same with the church down the street from me.
My birthday was last week. Someone described it as my "Corona Birthday." May we each only have one -- even those with mid-March birthdays. At this point I don't see life returning to any semblance of the past until at least March. They hope is we have a vaccine by early 2021, but then the vaccine still needs to be accepted and distributed -- no easy task in the age of "fake news" and distrust of our leaders.
I'm still disappointed we did not get to celebrate Ashley's senior year, and will never be able to celebrate it. Does she care? I don't know. She won't tell me.
As of Thursday, there are no active cases of Coronavirus at Muhlenberg College. That is only because they run the school with a tight fist. No gatherings allowed. Only one person from your floor is allowed in your dorm room at a time. Most activities are virtual. The trade off to no cases is limited fun.
Does this bother Ashley? I don't know. She won't tell me.
I know she is making some friends because she tells me some names. I don't know anything about them, nor am I likely to learn about them. Is Greg a boyfriend or simply a boy who is a friend?
A friend from high school posted: What is our end game? That is the magic question. It can't be zero cases nationally because Polio still had 95 cases last year. It can't be a vaccine because too many people are stating they will not take a vaccine (including people who normally take vaccines).
Was the goal to crush the entertainment, religious, restaurants, and sporting industries while making it nearly impossible to teach, because that seems to be what has happened.
I don't know how we will come out of this.
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