Life and Time

I remember vividly way back when in the early days of this pandemic, working from home in the early spring days of March and April, eagerly looking forward to the summer.  Understanding even then that this summer would be "unusual", "atypical", or "weird" (take your pick and feel free to insert your own description in place of any of these three options), I nevertheless knew in my bones that I needed to spend long summer days sitting on the beach, recharging the batteries of my body and my soul.  I could not wait to do it. I have enjoyed every precious minute of it thus far. 

Wilma and I often comment upon the fact that if you are not a beach or Jersey Shore person, then you might have difficulty appreciating what those of us who are never take for granted, which is that between Memorial Day and Labor Day there are only fifteen or sixteen weekends.  Here, unlike Southern California or Florida or Hawaii, there is no "endless summer".  

As a kid, I enjoyed fall almost as much as summer.  Not so much because of school, for I was a good but indifferent student, but because all through high school I played soccer, which was a fall sport. I also love the colors of autumn.  Thirty-five-plus years removed from the soccer pitch, I still enjoy autumn because New Jersey in autumn is awash in color and is simply beautiful, but my appreciation for it is not what it once was.  That is especially so this year. 

What seemed unlikely to me, way back when in March and April, has morphed into a sad reality these past few months.  In spite of DJT's prediction in February that once warm weather arrived, COVID-19 would beat a hasty retreat, it has somehow managed to not simply survive but to thrive in warm-weather climes such as Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas.  Candidly, it is hanging tough here in the State of Concrete Gardens, notwithstanding the plethora of hot, humid weather we have enjoyed - as per usual - this summer.  It arrived in the winter. It was here in the spring. It is here in the summer. It shall be here in the fall.   Who knew that changes in the temperature absent changes in human behavior would fail to quell the continuing spread of COVID-19?  

[Spoiler alert:  That was a rhetorical question but if you raised your hand...well you have answered it, have you not?]

It is the knowledge that COVID-19 shall be here in the fall that makes me want to squeeze as much out of the summer as I can.  Labor Day Weekend is just four weekends away.  I am hoping, perhaps against hope the way 2020 has played out thus far, for a repeat of last September's weather.  I smile at the memory of Margaret and I sitting on Bluffs Beach in Bay Head with Jill and Joe in late September while Rita and Sam lounged nearby, relaxing for repeated, spirited rounds of puppy play. 

Last September, I loved it. This September I need it...  

...And, perhaps, this October too.

-AK