The last few weeks have been among the strangest of my life and I’m sure I’m not alone. As the Coronavirus ravages the health of the world and gazillions of words have been written about it, I thought it might be therapeutic to write about my experiences of the last few weeks. So, to paraphrase the Grateful Dead song, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”
When I last wrote, I had just returned home from my winter sabbatical in Henderson, NV, a suburb of Las Vegas. The first few weeks of my visit were pretty good as I checked out some spectacular sites like Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon and Death Valley. I started taking some non-credit classes at UNLV and getting to know the city.
By late February, I began to get more concerned about the news reports concerning the spread of the Coronavirus throughout the US and the world. After all, Las Vegas is a major tourist destination and an estimated 40 million people from all over the US and many from other countries visit each year. Vegas also hosts hundreds of conventions and trade shows every year.
I was concerned about going out to places that were crowded and getting ill while I was away from home. I decided to leave 17 days early and drive home, even though I had a return flight reservation on Southwest. I figured that between the $450 extra it cost to change my car rental so I could drive it to Ohio and three nights in motels, meals and gas the total would be close to $1,000 and it was. But, I would be alone during the trip avoiding a crowded airplane, airports and restaurants.
The week I got home, Ohio was one of the first states go on virtual lockdown as Governor Mike DeWine ordered schools, restaurants, bars and sporting events to shut down as well as nearly any other activity that would draw more than 10 people at one time.
Because I am over 70 and have a history of asthma and respiratory issues, I am considered to be in the high-risk category for contracting the disease. So, I am spending nearly all of my time at home and missing out on my weekly workouts at my fitness center, coffee or lunches with friends and my monthly poker sessions. I also miss friends I see each week at church.
What’s my daily schedule like now? When I first get up, I make sure to get the coffee pot going or heat up coffee from the previous day. Since neither Pam nor Brian drink it, a pot lasts me two days. Then I go out to the mailbox to get the Akron Beacon Journal. A confession here, first, I still read an old-fashioned newspaper and, second, I usually go out to the mailbox out at the curb in pajama bottoms and a coat.
After my first cup of java (I wonder why that’s a nickname for coffee), I make some breakfast and a second cup of coffee and look at the web and messages on my phone. Then, I try to think about the rest of my day. I might go down to the basement and use my exercycle or do some work with a set of weight bands I own.
In normal times, I would head over to Akron General Lifestyles to work out a couple of days a week, but that facility is closed for who knows how long. On days I don’t exercise, I surf the web on my laptop to get more news or checkup on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. or do some reading.
Right now I am reading “Douglas MacArthur, American Warrior” by Arthur Herman published in 2016. I like historical biographies and this one is an interesting profile that mixes personal details about his life and great details about his wartime actions.
If the weather is nice, I may go for a short walk after lunch or take a drive. My two favorite routes are through the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area or travel east from my house through the farmland in Portage County. Then, it’s time for my afternoon nap of 15-30 minutes—one of the perks of being retired.
A lot of people are binge-watching on Netflix or one of the other streaming services. While I was in Vegas I started watching “Peaky Blinders” on Netflix, the story of gang warfare in Birmingham, England after World War I and into the 1920s. “Peaky Blinders” is extremely violent and contains a lot of references to the Irish and Gypsy origins of the gang in the title. The story follows their battles with other gangs of various ethnic origins and the rise of the Communists in 1920s England.
As a counter point, I started to watch “Cheers” the hit sitcom of the early 1990s and the antithesis of “Peaky.” After I got home, I watched the third season of “Ozark” on Netflix and continued to watch “Cheers.”
When late afternoon approaches, it’s Happy Hour and my current drink of choice is Evan Williams Kentucky bourbon. Occasionally, I’ll have rum and Coke, but “Evan” has become my real Coronavirus friend. In March, according to the Ohio Department of Liquor Control, sales of hard liquor in the state were 50-percent more than for March, 2019. So, a lot of other Ohioans have new “friends” too.
After dinner, Pam and I search for a movie to watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime. She is continuing to teach a beginning accounting course online at the University of Akron, so she sometimes has to work on her class. Like most colleges and universities, UA has gone almost completely online and that has been an adjustment for her.
Fortunately, the textbook she is using is online and it has a lot of tools for assignments and tests. Also, to keep her connected, she went to training with the people I used to work with at UA and learned how to record lectures online that include her voice and her PowerPoint slides.
Meanwhile, I have cleaned up my home office a bit and am contemplating other tasks to use time at home. I want to take another Improvisational acting class, but that will have to wait awhile like a lot of other things. Mostly, I am looking forward to better weather so I can spend more time outside on our deck.
Here’s hoping you stay healthy and safe until we meet again.
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