Featured Refresh
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Have you been part of any social gatherings lately? If so, what was that like? What impact did the pandemic have, if any?
Indeed I have! After two years of limited and tentative get-togethers, it feels like there have hardly been any social opportunities I HAVEN'T taken advantage of In the past seven days I've: * Had a leisurely and entirely enjoyable hour and a half lunch with a colleague at a popular and busy restaurant * Attended a planning meeting for a weekend camping trip that subsequently got cancelled due to wildfires * Taken the day off from work to run errands, including buying chicken feed at a farm supply store, shopping for clothes at a second-hand store, and getting groceries at a big box store * Played board games for several hours at my friend's art gallery with two other friends * Hiked a seven mile trail in the mountains with a party of six * Watched a movie at the local art house theater All of these, except the hiking, was not possible at various points in the pandemic You better believe I appreciate the chance to do all the things now that restrictions have been lifted Is it risky? Sure! Do I know it could be rescinded at any moment if any variants around the world develop more threatening profiles? Yes! "You only live once" has never seemed more applicable
May 6, 2022
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I looked out my window this morning and what to my wondering eye did appear but the “Queen Mary 2” but no tiny reindeer. It’s been two years since the ocean liner docked at Brooklyn’s Ship Terminal on the East River as travel aboard ocean vessels was shut down by the pandemic and subsequent explosion of the coronavirus cases aboard ships at sea. My wondering mind questions the sanity of holiday travel on board the Queen Mary. The coronavirus surge we are experiencing now in New York is a ticking time bomb. The addition of passengers from the area mixed with crew and other passengers is an exploding bomb of breakthrough infections. No matter if people test negative, have had their vaccinations and their booster….don’t tell me that this sort of prolonged exposure to others will not turn Merry Christmas into the nightmare at New Years. I am astonished that our Mayor has not continued to keep this manner of travel into and out of New York shutdown. Has no one else seen the lines of people waiting for tests or vaccinations outside every pharmacy in New York? Has no one attempted to order antigen tests to learn that they are out of stock and when available, costly to the average person. I pray everyone on board the Queen Mary stays safe, keeps healthy and enjoys their holiday travel but I wonder? “And to all a good night…”
December 27, 2021