Yesterday, I had dinner with a friend who knows me only as Marian, but knows that Mario exists. She is 80 years old, and has had her vaccinations against Covid. In passing, she mentioned that she has rarely gone out to eat with anyone since the pandemic started, and is masked going everywhere. So I was very glad that she took the chance to have a bite to eat with me.
Both of us know the risks of being unvaccinated, and are very upset at when is going on in this country. It doesn't take that much to reach a stage of normalcy - we've had it for a while in the Northeast due to our high rate of vaccination. But this could end very quickly if a variant were to breach the vaccines' defenses and get most people sick (with symptoms). At 80, my friend knows she has 10 years or so left to live a healthy life. But what about me? My dad lived to 92, and that gives me almost 30 years I should expect to live.
I know that I will eventually have problems getting out and about. And at that time, I will have some hard decisions to make.
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The other day, I interviewed with the NYS Court System for a position. Today, I got the rejection latter that I expected. (Can anyone say "Ageism?") Luckily, I didn't need the job, and I hope that it goes to someone who can be in that job for more than 5 years or so.
This event frees me up to plan for a Hawaii cruise later in the year. If people get smart, they will get vaccinated and will wear their masks - and the number of sick people will drop to levels where I will feel safe in taking the cruise. However, if people keep being stupid, I'll play it safe and book a different cruise when the illness rates are at a level I feel safe in booking a cruise.
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My friend Vicki and I have felt comfortable dining out throughout the pandemic. When the authorities loosened restrictions enough for us to dine indoors, that's what we did. But there are people who took unrealistic chances, such as members in one meetup group whose meetings I never attended and never will. I only wonder how many of these people will feel if they are told to isolate themselves again. Will they do so? Frankly, it's hard for me to give much of a damn, as I am not part of the group. However, what I'll miss is the chance to do things with Vicki.
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Life involves making choices and hoping for the best. One has to make tradeoffs. One person I know wants a soul mate to keep her from being lonely. The woman I dined with last night wouldn't know what to do with a man if one were interested in her - she doesn't want to become anyone's nurse at this stage of her life. She has chosen to be a complete person without a partner. She has made some important tradeoffs to do this. And I think she'll eventually die (hopefully, not for a long time) with few regrets in her life. Isn't this the type of person that can inspire us to be better versions of ourselves? I certainly think so.
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