NJM 2020, Entry 20 - Superspreading in These Foolish Things

I don’t know, man. I can’t stop thinking/talking/writing about Covid.

Today at the office, there were maybe 15 of us (in normal times there would be about 120 of us), so our CEO decided that she wanted to have a socially distanced Thanksgiving “celebration lunch” for the people in the office. It was actually quite nice - turkey and all the trimmings. The execs did all of the serving so that it wasn’t a buffet. Tables and seating were VERY spread out so that none of us was less than 6-8 feet apart. It seemed pretty safe-ish?? I mean, there’s NO way we could have had a lunch with the whole office, but like I said, there were 15 of us in a huge space.

Still, I can’t really get over the thought of the whole office coming back right after the Thanksgiving break. RIGHT after everyone has welcomed their college-aged kids back from all over the country. RIGHT after Uncle Joe, who thinks that Covid is fake news, coughs all over one of my co-workers and they bring it back to the office because it is going to be required for all of us to come back to an office setting in the middle of the largest spike of this pandemic.

Yes, the vaccine is on the way…HOORAY!

But what happens in the months before we are all saved?

I imagine lots of heartaches (and stuffy headaches and just aches in general).

Tonight as I took the dog out on her last walk of the day, we walked through a park and along a sidewalk that led to something that seemed like a candlelight vigil of some sort. There were about 200 people sitting on a hillside in the park with candles lit and they were being totally quiet. No singing, no prayers, no movement, no signs, no nothing. So I had no idea what they were doing and I wasn’t going to ask someone, though I did take a couple of photos. They were young people - I’m guessing they were all in their early 20s - some were wearing masks, but most were not.

WHAT THE HELL, you guys??!! Did you not get the memo?

So many people just don’t give a fuck.

And then. There’s a local influencer that I follow on Instagram. Last night she had her glorious Friendsgiving inside her gorgeous apartment at The Ritz. She posted a photo of a table set for 15 people - NOT socially distanced at all. Granted, it was a stunning set up and I was taking mental notes about how I’d love to have a Friendsgiving all up in my own space with the fall leaves and the autumnal colors and the gold flatware and metallic chargers and warm, fuzzy seating, maybe next YEAR. But to do that shit NOW? Just. No.

And the more painful it is to see and then watch the news every morning and hear the counts go higher and higher, the more I realize that there is absolutely nothing that I can do about this except take care of my own self. And just ride this wave under the surface where it’s not so rough and angry. I’m tired of being angry about this and pushing against it. People are going t do what they are going to do with their selfish selves. I can only do my own part not to spread this stuff.

I must stop obsessing. I must stop writing about it because writing about it makes it a thing. And yes it is a thing that we must be aware of and careful about, but uggghhhh. I’m just so sick of myself and the fact that this is the MOST IMPORTANT thing rattling around in my brain.

It’s time to think of other things. And others.

Enough,
GS