A lot has changed in the past year or so. My one year anniversary in my current role was last week, and to be honest with you, my new boss is the best I've ever had.

There are some images of the pandemic and some images of the reopening that stick in my mind as I keep my fingers crossed, along with you, that there is no more spike, no more pain, and no more challenges associated with this thing we call Covid.

Sometimes in this space I share stories, sometimes I share lessons I've learned, and sometimes I just share my observations.

A few of my thoughts follow. Feel free to share yours.

Yogi Berra also famously said, ‘it’s not over until it’s over.’ The pandemic lockdowns are easing for most areas of my world. I’ve been to full capacity restaurants, clubs, and Fenway Park. I’ve put my mask on as I hopped out of my car, only to stuff it back in my pocket, only to put it on again.

My fully vaccinated self has been in supermarkets, office buildings, and other locations without a mask. It still feels strange and a little bit uncomfortable. As society fully re-opens and more and more in-person gatherings start to take place, you have to wonder when we will recover psychologically from the last 15 months. 

Just as it took time to adjust to the lockdowns and new rules regarding travel and interaction, I think it is going to take me a little while to fully adjust to life with three dimensions.

This blog goes all over this country and to a small international audience, and I realize that the pandemic isn’t over everywhere. Some countries are still in serious trouble, and others are not out of the woods yet. Here in New England, almost everything is open and moving. There is a high vaccination rate, a low infection rate, and warm weather, all positive indicators.

Here are ten random thoughts I've had at this point in the 'recovery.'

School Busses: I used to be the kind of driver who cursed his luck because I was stuck behind a school bus stopping every quarter mile. Now, when I see a school bus, I smile because it is a symbol that we are moving forward. I don’t mind the new/old pace at all. I’m glad the busses are running. (Note: there are two ways to spell the plural of the word 'bus' you can use one 's' or two in the middle.)

Black Tarps? You know the people in Zoom meetings who don’t turn on their cameras? (You may be one of them). What will those folks do when they join face to face meetings? Will they bring a black tarp with their name in white letters on it and drape it over their heads? Just asking.

Masks: Locally we have been referred to as ‘Maskachusetts’ but there are fewer and fewer masks around. I’ve noticed that in full houses of anything, some people are still wearing masks. I guess there might not be a need for vaccine passports: it seems to be easy to tell who hasn’t been vaccinated. They are the ones wearing masks?

QR Code Menus. Who knew that hard copy menus were such a threat to the health and safety of all and that QR Codes taped to the tables would be the next wave of menu development? How many people over 30 knew what a QR code was a year ago? How many over 60 know how to use one?

Plexiglass: We all have regrets of some type and I wish I had bought stock in a plexiglass company in 2019. Who knew? That stuff was everywhere, although there didn’t seem to be a manual for its use.

At some places I’ve observed plexiglass separating patrons at the bar, in other places, I’ve observed plexiglass separating patrons from the bartender. I haven’t seen the combination yet, but it seems to me that a plastic hockey facemask might have been the simpler solution.

Questionnaires. Doctor offices, dentist practices, and government buildings. No, I don’t have a fever. No, I haven’t been exposed. No, I haven’t been out of the country, I’ve barely been out of the neighborhood. Thank you for asking.

Light Traffic. The only good part of the pandemic from my perspective was the lack of traffic.  Now, I’m back to listening to traffic reports again. Locally they describe traffic using markers like the following that I have to remember again: The Gas Tank; The Supermarket; The Braintree Split; The Lower Deck; The River Roads: The Jug Handle.

 Dress Shirts. I have saved a ton of money on laundering shirts. I didn't send my button-downs to the cleaners for more than a year-first load went this week. I only used a couple of shirts a week because on Zoom, you can’t tell if they are lightly starched or wrinkle free. 

We’ve been in the ‘hang ‘em up out of the dryer and touch them up if necessary’ mode. Just kept one on a hook and put it on when it was Zoom time. Sometimes, don’t think less of me, I wore the same shirt multiple days in a row.       

Dress Shoes. What a pleasure not wearing shoes for a year. Really. I just wore an old pair of running shoes everywhere. I think I wore dress/work shoes three or four times during the pandemic and couldn’t believe how much foot pain I was in the habit of ignoring.

You’re on Mute: I was in a conversation the other day, and someone three feet away was speaking too softly for me to hear, and I instinctively said to them. “You’re on mute,” because now, that is a synonym for “I can’t hear you.”

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