Which is pretty much what we're dealing with right now with Covid-19, isn't it? It can't be stopped. Many people...I've heard estimates that go to 50% and higher...are going to contract the virus. Many of them will get sick. Some of them will die. I am myself in three different high risk groups (age, heart disease, and former smoker). So...well, we all do what we can do. I don't go out much. In fact, in the past week the only place I've gone is Kroger's for food and medicine. Other than my kids, I've only had face to face contact with two people...and haven't been in close proximity to either of them. I have been washing my hands. I've been trying to be conscientious about not touching my face.
And, of course, I have thought several times a day, "Oh, my God, I've got it and I'm going to die."
I've watched the news on the three main national channels and two of the local ones. I've been reading articles in The Washington Post and The New York Times and The Atlantic. None of them give me much information beyond the most rudimentary stuff: wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, self-isolate. That may be what it takes, but it's not very comforting, is it?
But even with all of that information for context, it still took my breath away when I saw this post on my Facebook page this morning:
I have never set foot in The Jolly Roger, but I came close when I visited Sherkin Island a few years ago. I can't remember if I didn't go in because I was in a hurry (it was just a quick trip to the island) or because it wasn't open at the time. But I follow the pub on Facebook and I have often thought that if I go back to Baltimore, Ireland, I will most assuredly at least have a pint at The Jolly Roger. And I would very much like to spend a night or two on Sherkin Island. (In fact, if I were a young man, I would be attempting to enroll in the visual arts program based on Sherkin. But that ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, sunk, and had a billion dollar movie made about it.) Short version: I have great affection for both the island and the pub. It represents something dear to me.
But here's the thing: The Jolly Roger is a small pub on a small island (population 111)...
...which is part of a small country...
...in this great big world...
That kind of says it all, doesn't it?
I just sneezed twice.
Into my elbow, of course. That made me feel a lot better.
Still...it's going to be a long couple of weeks...months...who knows? You haven't really lived a full life until you've socially isolated with two autistic adults, my friends.
Hoping to hear from you, Moss.
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