I couldn’t get myself out of the house yesterday until my nighttime adventure. I had planned on walking to Aldi for some much-needed groceries but that didn’t happen. My evening plans started at 9 PM yet I never made dinner. I didn’t blog. Saturday was not a shining day for me. My adventure was going to Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar on Second Ave to see a good friend and favorite performer. Before the plague I went there often, this is my first time in a year in a half. I had a non-spectacular dinner plan, 7-11. I enjoy some of their sausages which are inexpensive and made worthwhile by the hot cheese sauce. When I got there, it was crowded and there was a line, so I didn’t go in. I planned on a late dinner after the show. When I arrived at Paddy Reilly’s the place was packed and the singer was into her first song. I was surprised that nobody was taking money at the door. That probably had something to do with it being packed. I was dismayed that nobody was checking vaccination status. Checking is mandatory for bars in New York City. I made my way to the stage and saw that nobody in the bar was masked. I’m vaccinated and boosted but I still did not feel comfortable there; not for myself but for others I’m going to be in contact with. I am going to the Knick game tonight and on Tuesday I have to pick up friends from cataract surgery and then go to the Knick game. After a song and a half I decided that it wasn’t right to stay so I left. I traveled an hour to get there to spend ten minutes at the bar. I needed the music and talking to my friend during the break but that’s not as important as public health. I’m not sitting here terrified that I might have COVID-19. I am fully vaxxed, I was wearing a KN95 mask, and I was there for just ten minutes. The time of exposure has a large effect on the risk. Testing wouldn’t show if I caught it until after Tuesday, on the other hand if it won’t show up in testing, I can’t transmit it. Again, quantity matters, one virion enters your body, and you aren’t getting COVID-19. I texted my friend and explained what happened as soon as I was outside.
The entire evening was discouraging in terms of COVID-19 protocols. The subway was filled with unmasked people. One was loudly rapping in Spanish. The Spanish is important as I couldn’t tell he was rapping, it sounded like ordinary speech. The woman next to me told me when I tried talking to him. On the way home I walked up to Grand Central Station to get some exercise in and to enjoy the beautiful building. Most people were unmasked, and nobody was enforcing the protocols. I just realized that the difference between this and most of my experience being out is that it was Saturday night and filled with people out to party.
This morning I called 311 and reported the bar for non-compliance of the vaccine mandate. They that easy. You have to go through the usual phone menu, but all things COVID-19 related are in one menu and it specifically mentions non-compliance to the mandate. If you go to a place that doesn’t check, report them. Do not feel like a rat, rats spread disease, you are reporting the disease spreaders. If you see something say, say something. COVID-19 is a much bigger threat than terrorism ever was.
I don’t think I’ll make it to Aldi today as I have to be at Madison Square Garden by 6 PM. I’ll try. We set the clocks back an hour last night. That in no way gave me an extra hour sleep. I slept until I woke up. What it did was mean that I woke up an hour earlier. I slept late which otherwise would have been 10 AM, as it was it was only 9 AM. That led to me finishing this at 11:03 AM. I can make my brunch and head out of here. Let’s see if I can get myself moving. That’s a big if.
Wise Madness 