I went out and did exciting things yesterday, at least by pandemic standards. I should be champing at the bit to write yet I’ve waiting till the afternoon. It is now half an hour since I wrote that. My bit is unchamped. I did some research. The original idiom was “champ at the bit.” The problem is that use of champ to mean bite on has disappeared outside of the idiom, so people usually write chomp which means just what champ used to mean. What I read says that “champ” is preferred in written English, but George Orwell would argue against that is nobody knows what champ means now. I decided that for now it’s champ with an explanation. This is an excellent example of my inner dialogue.
Yesterday I made my third expedition to Brooklyn to hear the porch jam at Glenn’s. Most years on this or the previous weekend I’m attending Katherine and Deb’s annual picnic, but COVID-19 put the kibosh on that. Feel free to use COVID put the kibosh as song title or lyric; I promise to not sue, take this as my explicit permission. The reason I bring it up is that Katherine and three other usual attendees were there, Glenn, Dot, and Alan. It’s how I know Glenn and maybe how I know Dot. I might have met her at Jalopy.
The set list had more classic country content than usual. Off the top of my head there was Cry Cry Cry, Fulsom Prison Blues, Mama Tried, and Walking After Midnight. That’s just what I remember, that’s four songs more than I usually remember. It was nice to get to talk to Stephanie Marie who I met at the last jam. This is how I make friends and why my social circle is incestuous.
I had a commuting first, I used OMNY to board the subway. That’s the new system the MTA is starting, instead of a MetroCard you use the chip in your credit or debit card or a phone app. I used my debit card to get on the subway. It’s much nicer than swiping the MetroCard, which often doesn’t get read correctly. With the phone app you can get unlimited cards, and senior and fare fairs discounts. Starting today they will be charging for the bus again, so I have to get used to paying. I’ll also go back to walking more.
I took many pictures during the jam but didn’t post any. I’m going to take my time and edit them today before posting. I haven’t done that in ages; I enjoy photography, I shouldn’t have been lazy. I could have carried my camera, the only other thing I was carrying other than my backpack was my camp chair. This was the first time that I didn’t get halfway to the subway before noticing that I forgot it.
As we Katherine was packing up I noticed bubbles floating my way. It was mother and child with a bubble wand, the kind that makes a plethora of bubbles. The pure joy of that 5-year-old girl was invigorating. It’s one reason I love being around kids. While watching, I shared her joie de vivre.
As usual after the jam I walked with Katherine back to her neighborhood and we dined outdoors on Cortelyou. This time we had Thai. These are the only days that I get to live my normal life. I am careful but feel comfortable with outdoor dining with a limited number of people. New York is safe enough that it’s not a big risk, given that you are dining with someone else who is always careful. There was an excellent piece of Dr. Aaron Carroll about balancing risks in yesterdays New York Times, When It Comes to Covid-19, Most of Us Have Risk Exactly Backward. The takeaway is that doing one low medium risk things is not license to do another. It’s not if I can do X, why can’t I do Y? The right way to think is, “I did X, so I better not do Y.”
After having my fill of music, conversation, and food I headed home. The station there hadn’t installed OMNY yet, so I had to put money on my MetroCard. I was unhappy about that but pleased to see that they installed it in my poor minority neighborhood before the more affluent and whiter Ditmas Park. That’s not the way things usually work.
Do you know what was missing from yesterday? Hugs. I miss hugs. I know what I have to do, arrange to get tested the same day as a friend soon before I plan on seeing each other. Then it should be safe to hug. It’s not zero risk but low enough that I’d do it. Maybe we’ll reach the point that we can have immediate results inexpensive testing. Then we can all get tested right as we get together. If it were cheap and reliable enough we could pretty much reopen everything. The tests don’t need to be 100% accurate. The ones they miss are people that aren’t shedding virus and so won’t transmit it to others. Imagine getting your daily test along with an authentication card that allows you to enter movies, restaurants, schools, sporting events, and stores for just that day.
That’s it for today My Gentle Readers. I hope you have a day as good as mine and find as much joy out of life as the little girl found in her bubbles.
Wise Madness 