I posted this on FB

Covid Diaries: What Counts?

Note: I write this for me, as a reminder to my future self on what was in my mind. There is no plot; this is just the ramblings of a man recovering from a virus. Read it at your pleasure or your peril.

I’m getting better, but doing anything is still a struggle. I have a sink full of dishes that I will get to soon enough. I sleep during the day and can’t sleep at night. It’s not healthy, but I can’t seem to reverse the pattern. Since I have no taste, and no morning ritual, I often forget to brush my teeth in the morning/afternoon. Thank god for masks.

What counts? At first I wanted to be counted, as a survivor of Covid-19. I have all the symptoms, but have never been tested. They are only testing the really sick. So, I have it, can’t “prove it” and realize it really doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters to me, and the few that love me, is to stay off the list of the dead that is growing on a daily basis.

I must confess, I check the number of dead before I go so sleep and when I wake up. I have no idea what the number means or how to give it meaning I just know that every one of those numbers represents a human that has left behind loved ones and I’m lucky not to be counted on the list.

On social media I hear people who can’t wait to “get back to normal.”

1) There is no going back.
2) Normal wasn’t that great to begin with.
This is not to say that I wouldn’t love to be at Yankee Stadium enjoying a beer. Sounds great, but I think we can, and must do, better than normal. We can make some changes and protect the planet and help those that need it. It’s will not be easy, but either is this. In short, going back to normal is like flying to Paris to eat at MacDonald’s and immediately returning home. It’s going to the prom with your sister…

We can do better.

Stuart

PS Perhaps in my next update I will post a pic. I haven’t shaved since ????