Life in the Age of Corona

A Daily Diary

Saturday, June 28th, 2020

Outings

Today was another beautiful summer day. We had made plans to meet the family of our social distance pod at Lake Arrowhead for a fun filled day in the water, a wine tasting afterwards and then maybe a light dinner.

The day turned out somewhat different as planned. Because we turned back after a mile for a bathroom break at home, we were late leaving, and our companions had a head start. We were therefore surprised to arrive at our destination before they did. Turns out they were at Lake Anna, when the meeting place was the parking lot of Lake Arrowhead. Bummer. We send the google maps pin of our location and our friends decided to make the one-hour drive to join, just to end up at Big Lake Arrowhead, an hour and a half away from where we were. They gave up and we enjoy the afternoon swimming and playing in the lake.

Heading back, we stopped at some local farms and picked up a steak sauce and some salad dressings. Also, there was a vineyard on the way with whose name I had been intrigued – Gray Ghost. We stopped, thinking we may grab lunch, but no one either in the garden or the tasting room was wearing a mask, which made us feel decidedly uncomfortable, so we left without the anticipated snack or the wine tasting. Instead we stopped at Wegmans and invested some funds in food and wine.

The South African Chenin Blanc I pick up turned out to be great choice as I brought a bottle to Becky’s house where I met with her and another girl friend for a thoroughly enjoyable evening around the fire pit. It felt like an almost normal day. We all agreed that we will need to get used to living with the virus, making choices of which risks we are willing to take and what we will not do. In that spirit I have decided to order outdoor heaters for socially distanced event once autumn and winter hit us, now is the time to buy as I am sure these goods will become rare items come October.

Conversation tonight quickly turned to the unknown species of men, especially in the context of divorce. All those people who appeared to have happy marriages are getting divorced, with the men turning mostly stingy and men while showing little interest in their offspring. I find what I miss most is someone to relate to, to discuss daily events, politics with. As I read the news there is just so much going through my mind and there are times, when I find it would be nice to share them with another adult. I do discuss with EM, but it is a very different conversation then with an intellectual equal. I do hope though she benefits from our discussions. I would like for her to understand discrepancies, reflect on right or wrong and consistency of argument; question positions. She is an amazing young adult and I am proud of her. But she is not and should not be in the role of a partner. I try very hard to let her evolve into her own person, encourage her to form her own opinions.

Corona, whether we like it or not, will continue to define our lives until a viable vaccine is found. Research indicates that the short and long term solutions may differ. The USA continues to perform badly on every level. Total infections reported today are at 2.56 million, up by 44k compared to yesterday and a 127k dead, that is a quarter of the worldwide reported infection rate of 9.95 million. The USA also accounts for 25% of all death, America First is clearly working here.