Isn’t graduation over already?

Sometimes the thought just appears; almost like a shiver. Maybe its the combination of COVID-19 ad nauseam, staring down potential retirement or just trying to stay focused on earning a living that is taking a mental toll. It doesn’t help that during this pandemic I have been drawn to the news feed on my phone like a moth to a flame. At first I devoured it all; partially because I couldn’t believe it was happening and the other appreciating the fact I was in the “essential” group and liked hearing that fact often. The conundrum for me now is while the country is opening up the totals climb faster than ever. People are restless so while both the infection rate and the death toll grows so do the protests to open quicker with fewer restrictions. I feel conflicted; if a business requires me to wear a mask I will comply but don’t try forcing me into wearing it everywhere I go. I admit being more diligent disinfecting early on-I am still very cautious since I have a 92 year-old at home, but I no longer put gloves on every time I exit my car or use a wipe after each surface encounter. It is not that I care any less, I think its because I’ve gotten used to hearing the daily “totals” on the news and just like the weather it is more background noise than useful. Along with those totals have been the countless stories of how people have adapted to the crisis. In the beginning they were funny and inspiring and found on every news and social media channel. Like anything over done they have become annoying as hell. “Were all in this together” and “We will get through this” has become that favorite quote uttered on a 15 minute rotation 24/7 that makes you want to scream. I’m pretty sure everyone knows we are all in this as a world community and yes, most of us will get through this in varying degrees. Can we agree on this fact and shut up! One other thing I am sick of hearing about is the graduating high school seniors missing out on all end of year activities. My god, get over it! I and several of my closest friends chose not to attend our graduation and survived just fine. Granted, we made the decision and you didn’t have a choice. Maybe its not the kids driving this at all but the parents… either way, please stop! One COVID topic that does continue to fascinate and terrify me is the economy. Business will come back but how many of the jobs? I read that 42% of those furloughed/laid off will get their jobs back so what about the rest of them? The possible shift to home-office will benefit some but at what cost to privacy? Every article I read says non-profits will suffer more than most. They need money and with little if any way to generate it many will go away. It has been fun to take so many “virtual tours” of world class museums and listen to artists perform on Zoom but for how long? The Arts are critically important to the masses and the least appreciated by the government which is unfortunate. Johnny needs to play football not guitar.

When I was a kid I remember thinking a million of something was a big deal. Over the last decade or so the reference to billion has replaced it with regularity and now we have graduated to trillion. I might need a new calculator.

Most of Utah moved to “yellow.” Honestly, I think most people were already there mentally but it was good to hear it come from the Governor. Kind of like your dad saying you weren’t as grounded as you had been. You can visit a few friends but you can’t borrow the car yet. The exceptions to this new rule were Salt Lake City, West Valley City and a few other random counties that stayed at “orange” because of continued concern in several zip codes. This new freedom hasn’t been tested yet however; my only shopping has been in Salt Lake county at Home Depot and that experience seemed the same as it has for the last 2 months.

May 13th was our mom’s birthday. Because of the virus this normally grand affair with children, grandchildren and occasionally great-grandchildren had to adapt. Zoom to the rescue. At 6:00 PM, as she sat in her favorite chair I placed my laptop on her lap. The look of confusion quickly changed to delight as she saw her granddaughter, her husband and their daughter on the screen. Next came another granddaughter, then a grandson and another granddaughter and within 30 seconds there were ten of her family singing happy birthday. She really doesn’t cry and hasn’t for years but she did today-multiple times and this one was recorded.

I don’t think I have ever been more excited for a haircut than the one. As I sat in the car waiting for my turn, I scrolled through my calendar to find the date of my last haircut-February 22. During the last two months the internet was filled with desperate DIYers getting and giving haircuts and colors. Truthfully, I wasn’t one of them because my wife wanted me to grow my hair out and with no professional choice available, I let it grow. I just hadn’t expected it to be almost four months. I smiled remembering how our dogs would prance about after a visit to the groomers and now understood how they felt.

The restaurant last week was Caffe Molise. It was almost as they had read my ongoing frustration with restaurants seeming inability to organize large orders and wanted to make amends. They not only made it easy to distribute the orders, the food was delicious! Highly recommended.

This week’s restaurant was Traditions. The menu read comfort food and it did not disappointment. It seems that many of the residents had been waiting for something simple because the response was the largest yet and everyone was happy. We are nine-weeks straight supporting local eateries and have enjoyed every one.