The Beginning of a Lost Year?
March 13, 2020. The day Covid was officially declared a national emergency. Lockdown and a lost year. Strange days indeed.
The past four years have passed in a blur. Maybe it's worse, and the last fifty years have been a blur. I decided to look back. A year in a life. One year. March, 2020 through March, 2021.
The world quickly changed. The future unclear. Traveling, going out for dinner, live music. All gone. The workplace and schools, both now remote. Food shopping, a logistical challenge. March Madness canceled. Government stimulus checks. Some fool suggests hydroxychloroquine to kill the virus. Major league sports seasons modified. The first Covid vaccinations in December. 2020 was the year that changed America forever.
But was it a lost year? Looking back, it appears we were able to make lemonade out of a big, f........ lemon? Life went on. The Friday Night Supper Club continued, but on Zoom. The New Orleans JazzFest was canceled, and the New Orleans Social Club, Zoom version, was born. And Granddaughter Reading Sessions went virtual.
As mask and distancing protocols were established, outdoor dining provided relief and offered some sense of normalcy. With renewed vigor, the Ashland Tour de Burger continued its quest.
The Town and the Select Board conducted business. Funding was authorized for both a new Public Safety building and a new MIndess School.
The 2020 Ashland Farmers Market season opened as scheduled with protocols to accommodate masking and social distancing. The Dragonfly Festival and WACA-TV collaborated on a virtual event.
Clearly, the lockdown impacted us differently. Some were able to make lemonade, but others suffered through isolation, melancholy, or depression. A NYT article from April, 2021 speaks about languishing: "It wasn’t burnout — we still had energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing". A sense of Meh, of apathy and indifference.
Covid is still very much a part of life. Reported Covid cases, hospitalizations, and death numbers are reported daily. We may know folks who suffer from long Covid, who lost a family members to the virus, whose child's educational progress was and continues to be impacted, and whose workplace suddenly shifted to remote work. There is a plethora (love this word) of articles and commentary about the social impacts of Covid, in the workplace, and the education system.
And to add insult to injury, the country was also subjected to "The Big Lie". The US Capital and Democracy under attack. And now, four years later, the country continues to be polarized over a "stolen" election, and a presidential candidate continues to campaign on "The Big Lie". I'm not sure how lemonade can possibly be made with this lemon.
Covid changed the world. Are we an angrier society due to Covid? Or are we angrier because a former President and current candidate continues to fuel anger, division, racism, and lies? This is The Big Lemon.
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