I’ve been reflecting on life choices the last couple of days. I do that every once in a while. Wonder whether I’ve chosen the correct road through the yellow wood and if where I am is inevitable or if I had made a wiser choice at some point in the past I might be at some greater apogee of achievement. And then I think I’ve actually done OK by myself. The career has been relatively successful, I have a full life full of interesting activities and people, I have things to look forward to and (according to my quarterly statements), I need not panic about my finances yet. I suppose I have the mindset of those of us who belong to Generation Jones – that micro generation born 1957-65 who are nothing like the older boomers and not quite Generation X. Always Jonesing for something more and never quite content with what we have.
As far as a quick update goes, the medical work life is fairly placid. I’m a little tired of people taking a stupid pill before paging me or sending me a portal message but I can usually put on my professional demeanor and answer even the most inane questions with a quiet rationality. (Yes, you may take more than one pill for nausea a day if you’re still being bothered. It says so on the bottle. No, you need not worry that your cholesterol was a little high at the age of ninety-four. High cholesterol is linked to premature cardiovascular disease, a condition not possible at your stage of life. No, I cannot stop the ambulance that dad called for mom and reroute it to a different hospital.) Every month that goes by is a month closer to retirement. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.
My publisher and I have worked out a structure for the next book. It’s going to be a look, from five years on, at how the pandemic and Covid has changed us. It will be divided into a number of themed chapters, each looking at a different social aspect of the pandemic and what has ensued. There will be an introductory essay laying out the theme, a longer essay talking about the specifics of the pandemic, and an interview with an individual whose story of their experiences with the pandemic illustrates that change. If we can keep to schedule, we should have it done shortly after the new year.
I have a request of all of my readers. We will need about fifteen interviews/stories/narratives of people who were affected in some way by the pandemic or its aftermath. If you have an interesting or unique experience or know of someone who has or would just like more information, drop me a direct message. We would particularly like to talk to someone who had a major hospitalization, a long covid experience, a business that failed, a business that changed in some fundamental way, an experience of being trapped in a place during the shut down that made it difficult to get home, or anything else that might make compelling reading. We have a half dozen lined up and need more. I’ve written drafts of some of the essays and I may put them up somewhere for beta readers and comments.
Covid numbers are down (only about 1/80 people you meet are currently actively infectious compared to the 1/40 that was prevalent earlier this summer). They do, however, remain somewhat higher than they were a year ago and we’re still losing about 1,000 people a week nationwide to the disease. If annualized, this brings the death toll to roughly the same magnitude as breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and motor vehicle accidents. (All between 42,000 – 52,000 deaths a year in the US). Will we have another surge with winter weather? It’s still unknown. The newly formulated Covid booster is now widely available. (Most insurances are paying for one annual Covid booster, two if you’re over age 65). I had mine a month ago. I really have no interest in enjoying long Covid which is the major risk factor for most of us.
I sang tonight with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra chorus which joined together with Samford University’s A Cappella Choir and Orchestra for a brief program of music from the opera world. It’s been a while since I’ve done some serious singing. The voice lessons are helping a lot but I’m still having a lot of trouble when things go above an E-flat. Someday… Rehearsals for my next show start in a couple of weeks. Can’t really post anything about that yet. I have signed the contract but the theater hasn’t officially announced the cast list. Let’s just say it will keep me off the streets in November and early December.
Hurricane Helene made a mess of Appalachia last week and now Hurricane Milton threatens to make a mess of the Tampa Bay area this week. We used to come together in times of crisis and make sure our fellow countrymen were OK and helped them through the difficult times. Now I see bald faced and easily disprovable lies circulating for partisan political advantage everywhere I turn. When scoring political points becomes more important than helping those in need, there’s a serious sickness in society – and it seems to have infected even religious institutions. There are days when I want to retreat into my condo, lock the door and shut everyone out other than the door dash delivery person. And I don’t think it’s going to get any better the first week of November, no matter who wins. I fully expect it to actually get worse. Maybe it is time to let it all collapse and see if younger generations can pick up the pieces and build something better.
If I had a lawn, I’d be yelling at kids to get off it. I suppose I’m entering my geezer phase.
Life, The Universe, and Everything 