Well, is it over? Can we put Covid-19 in the dustbin of pandemic history? Unfortunately not. It may be around for a long time with new variants popping up. However, by and large, the people of the good old US of A have decided that enough is enough. It’s time to live again. Vaccines and potential herd immunity provide some breathing space (pun intended) to once again experience a semblance of normality. Most mask mandates have been relaxed, and being closer than six feet to someone is not viewed as an automatic death sentence.
The experience of coming out on the other side of this pandemic can be both disconcerting and liberating. I don’t have to see as many people driving with masks on, which was disconcerting. I can now walk in a grocery store without fogging up my glasses from being double masked. This is liberating. The lady walking her dog with masks on both she and Fifi, that was disconcerting. Not having to match a colorful variety of masks to my daily ensemble, very liberating.
And, I am finally allowed to sit down in my favorite fast food joint after enduring drive through for over a year. The clock ticks as the masked guy in front of me, driving a clapped out mini-van, is ordering for a family of eight, who are deathly afraid to leave the house. Frequently, I was not getting what I ordered. “I’ll take the Super Stack Cheeseburger, with large fries, onion rings and a chocolate shake.” When I get home the bag contains three tacos, potato wedges and a breakfast croissant. Now I can happily sit in the place’s air conditioned comfort, with the correct order, while Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” blares from the speaker system.
However, it will still take a few months to go through all of the toilet paper stacked in my garage. Ditto the twenty bottles of hand sanitizer that I scoured grocery shelves for. Heck, I even hoarded refried beans when there was an intermittent kink in the supply chain. During the height of the pandemic, finding a twelve pack of Diet Dr. Pepper was like striking gold. Now I can pass by restocked soda aisles without furtive glances at empty shelves
There are still holdouts where masks are de rigueur. You can’t enter a doctor or dentist office without a face covering. But it can be hell getting your teeth cleaned while wearing a mask. Now, in many medical situations, if you pull the mask just below your nose, they probably won’t consign you to the nether regions. However, on an airplane you better have that sucker slapped squarely on your face; especially make sure your two year-old has that Mickey mask firmly attached.
I have gotten both of my vaccine shots, surviving the second dose without every bone in my body creaking like a rusty door hinge. The signs on most establishments now give you a mask pass if you’ve submitted to the needle. However, it’s obviously an honor system. If you are a virulent anti-vaxxer, you can walk right into the store mask less while giving the clerk the fickle finger of fate. I really feel for the clerks in these stores, who are still required to wear unattractive masks while the patrons are mostly breathing God’s free air without a filter.
I guess I can now take down the Plexiglas shields that separate family members at the kitchen table, and maybe my many masks can be turned into a colorful quilt commemorating a lost year where survival hinged on toilet paper and refried beans. Ain’t life grand.