Pandemic Redux

As we enter the 200th month of the pandemic, I begin to forget things, like when did this start, when will it end, what will life be like after? Is this after? I have been vaccinated after all.

Let’s take an informal survey. Has everyone reading this been vaccinated? If not, why not? Youth? If you are reading ALTE, you’re at least as old as I am which is somewhere between 40 and 400. Do you personally know anyone refusing to be vaccinated? I don’t, but they are hardly likely to admit that to me, open minded person that I am.

What does it mean that the vaccine is effective 90 something percent of the time? Am I playing Russian Roulette the 89th time I walk into Wegman’s for milk and eggs? Now that it’s sort of after, I’m even more confused than when I was washing my hands 27 times a day and using a tissue to press the buttons on the ATM. Is indoor dining ok?

Do I dare NJ Transit? Do I digress here and go off on a rant about NJ Transit, I think not. Too many of you may not even know how to find NJ. It’s where they grow the best pizza, and the very best pizza is from DiLorenzo’s, in Hamilton, outside of Trenton. You might have heard of NJ, because it’s where the Boss is from. You know who he is, right? And since it’s May Day, perhaps we might listen to him perform, “Youngstown.”.

If you are not crazy about New Jersey, how do you feel about going someplace else? That might involve air travel? Planes don’t concern me as much as the airports. And where would I go? We are still in the middle of a pandemic. How is everyone feeling about public transportation of any variety? Do you have data to support any of this, or, like me, are you going by gut?

And I am so tired of Zoom. It was kind of cool in the beginning, looking at all of those tiny faces. Now even the idea of one more presentation or reading doesn’t make it on my calendar. But this too shall pass, perhaps after another 400 month. Still, summer is coming, and I will be “down the Shore.” Perhaps you’ll join me there.

Jessica, for Larry and Esther