Now?

Now? Too soon. Well how about now? No, not quite. Maybe now? No, still in progress. OK, how about now? Well, maybe, this time. Yes? Yes. Now? Now.

That's kind of the back and forth has been happening in all of our heads over the last two years.  No one's fault, no one did anything wrong, but it was one step forward and two steps back. Each time we thought that we were getting a handle on things, each time we found a solution (vaccine) there was a complication (Delta, Omicron). We rode the waves, reveling in the lulls and retreating in the peaks. Call it what you will: whiplash, seasick, vertigo. It was the same feeling I used to get sitting in the backseat of my grandfather's car, speeding up, then slowing down, then doing it again and again. Call it queasy.

But it's starting to feel like the runway is clearing up. The trains and subways and planes are filling up, offices are welcoming people back, schools are back in session. That's not to say that there hasn't been a huge amount of collateral damage and adjustment.  A walk down any street in any town or city finds empty storefronts and closed restaurants. Jobs in highly affected industries like hospitality, travel and events have been hammered and only now are starting to come back.  And the literally millions of people who got sick or died add up to an unimaginable human cost.

Still, just like it felt as if the world turned on a dime and shut down on that day in March 2020, so too does it suddenly like feel the dime flipped over and everything is opening up on this day in March 2022. Yes, you still have to wear masks on planes and trains, you still need vax cards to get into some places, you still need to be careful if you have health issues. But I can't be the only person who wonders if they missed the memo that says it's time to move on. 

It's also hard not to note that it's almost two years to the day that the change has occurred. Reports call it an anniversary, as if it's something joyful or dreadful that we will celebrate annually going forward. Rather, it feels more like a business meeting that was scheduled and expanded due to the subject matter: "Let's see, looks like March 9 2020 will be as clear a spot as we'll find. Looking at the agenda we should probably allow a year. What? The variants? Forgot about those. So maybe we add some pad. Let's make it for two years, and if we get done sooner, that'll be great. I'll send out a planner for your books. See you then." Guess we didn't wrap early.

There is a certain time machine quality to it all. A year ago I was in a Manhattan office tower and it felt like it was the aftermath of chemical attack. Desks were empty, plants were dead, desks looked like the occupants had just gotten up and walked away. We could have played soccer in the halls without bothering a soul. Then 2 months ago in the same setting there were some modifications to floor plans with a more streamlined layout, and just a few desk dwellers spaced far apart. And this week a more routinely functioning space, with admittedly less than a full house, but for the first time in a long time a line to get to the coffee pot in the cafeteria. Progress of a sort, I guess.

Perhaps most notably, the focus has shifted. The war in Ukraine dominates, with its spinoff effects the only topics of discussion. Masks, vaccines, social distancing? Not completely faded yet, but think cassette tapes, bell bottoms and pagers. All the rage at one time, maybe make a return appearance at some future date, but for now something to which only your cohort can relate. Someday you will tell your grandchildren, "Yes, we had to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart. Silly huh?"

No, it's not silly nor is it completely over: 1200 or more people die from COVID each day, second only to heart disease and cancer. It's hardly nothing, even if we are just treating it that way. So, yes. Now. Or perhaps more correctly, at least for now.

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Marc Wollin of Bedford is starting to get back to what passes as normal. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.