Today is Saturday, August 21, 2021. One of the worst things about the pandemic has been the travel restrictions. Today I'm returning to Connecticut (in a car) 🚗 from Fort Washington, Maryland. On Thursday, I took an Amtrack train 🚉 from Windsor, Connecticut to Washington, DC. I miss the act of traveling and I miss visiting people. This summer I was able to visit some people after more than a year of staying home. But, my family skipped a trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts because the pandemic is getting worse again. Also, my Church suspended in person services starting tomorrow. School starts next week and one of the vaccines may receive non-emergency approval soon. I'll be glad when the pandemic is behind us.
August 23, 2021
Thick plastic separates me from the taxi driver. He speaks with a strong accent, and the plastic muffles the sound so much that we can hardly understand each other. He's taking me home from the airport, where I've just returned from my mother's funeral. She died of COVID a month ago, and with everyone's vaccine schedules this was the earliest we could have a service. When the driver had politely opened the door for me and asked if my trip was for work or pleasure, I didn't even know what to say. I reminded myself that he's from a different culture and language, and it's just small talk after all. But once he was in the driver's seat, it took a lot of shouting and gesticulating through the plastic to get home. A masked funeral, COVID, losing my mom, delivering a eulogy, the awkward reunions with long-lost relatives, all of it is impossible to describe. But something about that plastic was almost as disturbing, and it was hard not to cry.
May 7, 2021