COVID Strikes Back
“This is the first summer where I’ve hung out with people and I haven’t thought about COVID.”
The clock was wound. The grave dug. It was only a matter of time.
I muttered those transcendent words at High Dive on an easy Saturday night with Greg and Meg. That audacious attitude led to a summer schedule that tried it’s best to make up for time lost during the pandemic.
The kiss of death came after a weekend featuring a cameo appearance from Bret and Lee. We endured an 18 hour long alcohol-fused adventure through Manhattan: Fraunces Tavern, Wall Street, Ground Zero, Chinatown, Little Italy, chess hustlers in Washington Square Park, drinks in the West Village, Texas football, Primal Cut Steakhouse, Jimmy’s Corner, Times Square at 4:00am.
The laughs on that day, the endless laughs. The adventure. The sense of love and belonging. I see these guys once every 15 years, and when I do, I feel right at home. Getting COVID sucked, but it’s a small price to pay for the weekend we shared, assuming I didn’t get anyone else sick.
That said, I can’t even definitively say I got the virus while out with Bret and Lee. I was out with people after work on Friday. I saw someone else from out of town on Sunday. As far as I know, no one got sick. It’s such a strange disease.
I knew something was off on Tuesday. Someone reheated fish in the microwave. The smell was noticeable but not offensive. The day progressed to hangover status, which, given the weekend, wasn’t absurd. That night though, lying in bed, the chills started. And aches. They woke me up. I knew. I did a test. Instant confirmation.
It was aches. Chills. Sore throat. The nasal congestion is what drove me crazy. Not being able to breath out of your nose is maddening. Also, I experienced the loss of smell/taste this go-around. It was partial. Only barely noticeable because there still were some smells. During my recovery, I cleaned the living room, guest room, and kitchen. Enterprising, but I failed to enjoy that bleach/pine-sol clean home smell.
Sleep prevailed. My mind was too muddled for books or guitar. Sopranos, soccer, college football, rugby, NFL did well to ease the muddledness. All-in-all, it sucked, but taking a few days off was really nice. Turn off the mind, turn off the phone. I’m on the otherside feeling surprisingly regresshed. And healthy. Ready for the fall. Also ready for the revaccination effects of this inoculation. It’ll be a fall where I can hang out with people and not have to think about COVID.