The COVID Chronicle, July 16-31, 2020

 

July 18 [Saturday]

I visited the Safehouse [my parents’ home] today. Just me, not my other three constituents in San Dimas, to keep the social distancing simpler, plus I’m digging in with ancestry questions. I want to learn more about my predecessors and took notes. We lunched outside by the pool, eventually switching to the west end of the yard for the afternoon shade. No hugs upon departure, as would have been protocol pre-Covid. My dad had a large roll of plastic and offered to unsheathe a large piece and hug with this protective shield. I declined today, but as this continues months into the future that may start looking acceptable.

 

July 19 [Sunday] 

Three of us [not (the boy)] went to two gardens in Pasadena this morning! One was a nicely shaded Japanese garden, then a sunny Mediterranean garden immediately across the street. The first garden had one-way pedestrian traffic to minimize human interaction and improve social distancing. [We also observed this one-way pedestrian traffic in Newport last weekend along the sidewalk bluffs overlooking the ocean.]

A fun morning topped off with Japanese pancakes at a Pasadena café. These cakes were small in radius, but much thicker, fluffier. Totally delicious. The Covid rules were that only one set of patrons could enter the store at a time. We stood in line outside while the preceding couple ordered, the subsequent patron awaited our egress. Masks, of course, did abound. Meals were brought out by the employees.

 

July 24 [Friday]

[My daughter] and grandma began writing letters to each other back in April. This exchanging of the written word has proven robust and frequent. Three months have passed and the letters still flow in both directions, often twice weekly. I don’t know what these two sweet peas are gabbing about, but it’s not waning. And I like it.

 

July 27 [Monday]

The newspapers to which I subscribe, New York Times and Washington Post, have beaten me down. I had to resort to subscribing to a third paper, the Wall Street Journal. It’s important to stay informed and get different perspectives, but if the messages too consistently carry the same tint, then they lack the balance I seek. Reading the New York Times and Washington Post through their steep tilt has taken its toll. I heard the WSJ provides a more balanced milieu, so a subscription has been tendered [despite lacking a Sunday Comics page!]. I will consume the three and digest a broader perspective.

 

July 28 [Tuesday]

We’re four months into Shelter In Place and the kids remain functional and mostly in good spirits. [The boy] bought a collection of King Crimson music CDs on EBay and is holed up in his room listening. [My daughter], meanwhile, started a Minecraft volunteering gig virtually supervising grade school kids while they Minecraft together in a group of ten. She emerges from each session with smiles of having enjoyed the interaction with the youngsters. Certainly my opinion is biased, but I’m thinking [Wife Klem] and I are doing a sufficient job parenting, evidenced by they’re not sleeping in until two in the afternoon bogged down in a quarantine-induced quagmire of depression. It’s perfectly understandable that they might not be happy with our circumstances [(The boy), actually, seems to prefer quarantine], but it would not be understandable to give this time away without finding some way to be productive or constructive.

 

July 30 [Thursday]

We’re on vacation! Well, not really, but at least I’m not working for the next week and a half. Yes, I took vacation time, and we have a few day trips planned, but this won’t be an immersive vacation of summers past. Anyway, so, I must do something out of the regular routine everyday to denote this as a vacation day. My assignment today, I went for a bike ride, ten miles round trip to the discount store. I know, that’s lame, the discount store. I’ll work to improve destination sites for future cycle trips.

 

July 31 [Friday]

[The boy] went to [his friend]’s house this afternoon. Four of his chums from high school were meeting up for a session of Dungeons & Dragons. I was happy to see the guy break from quarantine and venture out. He and his pals had discussed safety precautions; they socially distanced, stayed outside and did not share snacks or drinks avoiding a cross-pollination exposure. He was really stressed before. Anxiety maybe? He was out for four hours. Returning he said he preferred to hang out with his pals virtually on Discord, a website or App or some sort, rather than live. Hope my recluse changes that opinion at some point.

 

-klem