May 10, 2020
The Long Haul
Day 52
Happy Mother’s Day!
Vermont is staring intently into the jaws of the new normal and I have no idea how to behave.
My pals are all planning to play tennis Wednesday. Tennis is a real passion; I like the game, the social interaction and the exercise. I play year-round but in this unforgiving climate the outdoor season is short and precious, each opportunity to play under the sun is to be seized and savored.
The tennis emails have been flying since Governor Phil Scott announced earlier this week that some outdoor, recreational activities could resume as long as masks are worn and social distancing rules are followed. He mentioned golf but not tennis but my friends, all seniors, see that as an omission not a restriction.
Next came the news that the nets were going back up at the local high school. A private clay court that we use was set to open this weekend.
The outdoor season is upon us. Still I am reluctant to play.
As the pandemic rages elsewhere, Vermont is in better shape than most states. We have been locked down since mid-March and Vermonters for the most part followed the rules. Consequently as this is written the state has had less than 1,000 cases and just 53 deaths. Today there are only five Covid-19 patients in Vermont hospitals. Daily cases have been in the single digits for more than a week and one day last week there were no new cases.Testing here is on the high side of the 50-state median and more tests are being administered every day.
Our politicians have worked together. Vermont has a Republican governor and a Democrat-controlled House and Senate. There has been no Covid-19-partisan acrimony.
Most of our deaths have been in the Burlington area and most of those have been in nursing homes. Finally the state is still shut down. If you come here from anywhere you are supposed to self quarantine for 14 days.
So Vermont is in good shape. So why not show up Wednesday and play? Like the good analyst I pretend to be I weighed the pros and cons. The pros are all cited above. Here are the cons exactly as they appear in my notes:
* Get sick.
* Worry about getting sick.
* Where have those guys been?
* Who have they been in contact with?
* What are the new rules? Do we wear masks, bring our own balls?
* Where do I sit or when do I sit or do I sit at all when I am not playing?
Sigh! As you can see I am concerned that my friends are all thoughtless, Covid-19-infected-carrion looking for an easy mark.
The list continues.
* Do we need a contact tracer before we play? Or at least a report?
* Which one of them is a superspreader?
Superspreaders are a big concern, Covid-19 is really infectious but experts cannot tell us how bad the spread really is. Some warn one case in an area is worrisome, two is an outbreak.
So who is the superspreader in our group? Nat, the group organizer, with family in Boston, a Covid-19 epicenter. Kate’s distant cousin and good friend Steve with family in Plymouth, a disease hotbed. Or Nancy who homeschools her grandkids.
Well this is crazy. I have family in Boston. Kate has family near Plymouth. We homeschool our grandkids. I imagine, no I believe our entire tennis group is as responsible as we are.
But then we are overly careful. We are locked down with our grandchildren and have left the farm only a handful of times since mid March. When we do go out we wear masks and are armed with hand sanitizer, gloves and wipes. We keep our distance and rush home as soon as the errand that forced us out is complete. Everything we have touched gets sanitized.
So why not play tennis? I may! I cannot stay locked down forever. But I am cautious and in many blogs I have been preachy about protecting seniors. I have argued that protecting yourself and others from you is everyone’s responsibility. I am trying to practice what I preach.
Also, I am content. I am happy at home. I miss my other children and their families and do not expect to see any of them before late summer. But that is really the only serious drawback for me.
We live in a nice place, we have family up the hill, we have farm work to do and we are safe. Twin baby lambs were born in our barn overnight, a Mother’s Day surprise! What’s not to like?
Finally there is another reason not to rush off to play tennis.
It snowed five inches Friday night and then two more on Saturday!
Be safe!
The Long Haul
Day 52
Happy Mother’s Day!
Vermont is staring intently into the jaws of the new normal and I have no idea how to behave.
My pals are all planning to play tennis Wednesday. Tennis is a real passion; I like the game, the social interaction and the exercise. I play year-round but in this unforgiving climate the outdoor season is short and precious, each opportunity to play under the sun is to be seized and savored.
The tennis emails have been flying since Governor Phil Scott announced earlier this week that some outdoor, recreational activities could resume as long as masks are worn and social distancing rules are followed. He mentioned golf but not tennis but my friends, all seniors, see that as an omission not a restriction.
Next came the news that the nets were going back up at the local high school. A private clay court that we use was set to open this weekend.
The outdoor season is upon us. Still I am reluctant to play.
As the pandemic rages elsewhere, Vermont is in better shape than most states. We have been locked down since mid-March and Vermonters for the most part followed the rules. Consequently as this is written the state has had less than 1,000 cases and just 53 deaths. Today there are only five Covid-19 patients in Vermont hospitals. Daily cases have been in the single digits for more than a week and one day last week there were no new cases.Testing here is on the high side of the 50-state median and more tests are being administered every day.
Our politicians have worked together. Vermont has a Republican governor and a Democrat-controlled House and Senate. There has been no Covid-19-partisan acrimony.
Most of our deaths have been in the Burlington area and most of those have been in nursing homes. Finally the state is still shut down. If you come here from anywhere you are supposed to self quarantine for 14 days.
So Vermont is in good shape. So why not show up Wednesday and play? Like the good analyst I pretend to be I weighed the pros and cons. The pros are all cited above. Here are the cons exactly as they appear in my notes:
* Get sick.
* Worry about getting sick.
* Where have those guys been?
* Who have they been in contact with?
* What are the new rules? Do we wear masks, bring our own balls?
* Where do I sit or when do I sit or do I sit at all when I am not playing?
Sigh! As you can see I am concerned that my friends are all thoughtless, Covid-19-infected-carrion looking for an easy mark.
The list continues.
* Do we need a contact tracer before we play? Or at least a report?
* Which one of them is a superspreader?
Superspreaders are a big concern, Covid-19 is really infectious but experts cannot tell us how bad the spread really is. Some warn one case in an area is worrisome, two is an outbreak.
So who is the superspreader in our group? Nat, the group organizer, with family in Boston, a Covid-19 epicenter. Kate’s distant cousin and good friend Steve with family in Plymouth, a disease hotbed. Or Nancy who homeschools her grandkids.
Well this is crazy. I have family in Boston. Kate has family near Plymouth. We homeschool our grandkids. I imagine, no I believe our entire tennis group is as responsible as we are.
But then we are overly careful. We are locked down with our grandchildren and have left the farm only a handful of times since mid March. When we do go out we wear masks and are armed with hand sanitizer, gloves and wipes. We keep our distance and rush home as soon as the errand that forced us out is complete. Everything we have touched gets sanitized.
So why not play tennis? I may! I cannot stay locked down forever. But I am cautious and in many blogs I have been preachy about protecting seniors. I have argued that protecting yourself and others from you is everyone’s responsibility. I am trying to practice what I preach.
Also, I am content. I am happy at home. I miss my other children and their families and do not expect to see any of them before late summer. But that is really the only serious drawback for me.
We live in a nice place, we have family up the hill, we have farm work to do and we are safe. Twin baby lambs were born in our barn overnight, a Mother’s Day surprise! What’s not to like?
Finally there is another reason not to rush off to play tennis.
It snowed five inches Friday night and then two more on Saturday!
Be safe!
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