It feels like we are settling in for a long haul. An epidemiologist on the radio says that the vaccine and "return to normal" may be at the end of 2021. This current mode of existence may have to be endured for another year or more. Not complaining though: we have it much better off than most Americans, most people around the world.
Our weekly routines have changed drastically. I used to have to be out of the apartment by 8AM or earlier four days a week, for volunteering at the SOVA food pantry, or for classes. Now all of that is gone. The food pantry branch where I volunteered had very close contact between the clients and the staff and the volunteers. And most of the volunteers were over 65. So far, it is still closed with no forecast as to when it will open back up. And I probably will not return there even when it does. And so, my old Civic, which used to "get out" at least four days a week, is now sitting in its parked space for weeks at a time. As are many other cars in our neighborhood. My one remaining Torah study class is now on Zoom, and while it's not the same as in person, it is still a high point in my week.
One regular weekly event now is grocery shopping. Thursday mornings. Senior hours at Whole Foods from 7AM to 8AM. Old customers moving at a leisurely pace, and young “shoppers” hustling thru the aisles. All well organized. Then over to Trader Joes senior hours from 8AM to 9AM. We are home with the weekly load by 9AM.
So many small details of daily life have changed. Too old to try to change our reading habits, we still get the LATimes and the NYTimes in print editions, delivered to our apartment by 6:30 every morning. On days where there was a threat of rain (or perhaps on the rare day when it actually did rain), they each used to come in a separate wrapper; blue for the NYTimes, clear for the LATimes. Now they are so small they come in the same wrapper.
Likewise, our mail deliveries are much smaller than "Before". Fewer catalogues, fewer of everything in the mail. And slower. For our annual license renewal on the CRV, I mailed the form and the check to the DMV on August 20; it was due on September 2. As of September 16, the DMV has yet to cash the check. Now I am thinking that we will be billed an extra $40 or $50 for submitting our renewal late? We'll see.
Some things seem frozen in time. Billboards in our neighborhood are still advertising movies that came out early this year. Likewise on the marque of the multiplex at the Grove.
Yet, some things in the neighborhood are moving forward, as before. Particularly construction projects. A 25-story new residence building on Curson, between 6th and Wilshire is just finishing up. Another one is going up at Wilshire and La Jolla. Three new subway stations are in work (and have been for over a year), at Wilshire and La Brea, and at Wilshire and Fairfax, and at Wilshire and La Cienaga. The demolition of the three original (c. 1960's) LACMA buildings is underway, to make way for a new LACMA that will span across Wilshire Boulevard. And the new film academy is underway, as they convert the old May Co. building at Wilshire and Fairfax (where my first wife and I bought our first bed frame and mattress).
We miss LACMA. I am not in a hurry to visit art museums. My tastes in visual arts are few: photo exhibits, Hockney landscapes, Hopper paintings. But we so much enjoyed the free weekly concerts at LACMA: chamber music inside on Sunday nights at 6PM, Latin jazz on summer afternoons outside. We miss these a lot. Nixed by the double whammy of the construction project and the coronavirus.
Some things are coming back to life, after a coronavirus hibernation. The county library is back in business, sort of. No going in and just browsing. But, you can order books on the website, and when they arrive at your local branch, your get notified and you can pick them up at a table set up in the entry way. The book is handed to you in a paper bag with your name written on the outside. For me, this is a blessing. I have come to love the library and the services it provides.
It strikes me that this pandemic is the first national event in my lifetime that has impacted almost all Americans, regardless on our station in life, since World War II. I was almost 6 when WWII started, and 9 when it ended. Sure, there have been many other momentous events since then: Korean War, Vietnam, Watergate, 9/11, the 2008 financial meltdown and recession. But, honestly, these had little direct impact on my everyday life; I was aware of them, but my life did not change much because of them. Now it has.
Stay safe and sane.
For our Jewish friends, Shanah Tovah: the New Year starts on Friday night.
May it bring some hope and security and relief for the future of all peoples everywhere.
Coleman
