As the pandemic wanes and the coronavirus slowly disappears from existence, we can now look back at some covid memories with fondness and even humour. And rest assured, this is the last wave, as I’ve told my co-workers numerous times over the last couple years. Hospitalizations and deaths may still be rising, but take heart, our officials tell us we've plateaued. It’s clear sailing from here on in, folks.
I’ll touch on a few memories that are forever imprinted on my mind, although I must say, these last two years have been a bit of a blur...
Remember when we feared shopping? Remember dousing the groceries with various chemical sprays, then letting them sit on the floor for days until we felt we could touch them again safely? This was followed by the sorting of rotten fruits and vegetables and the salvaging of edible meat and dairy. Mmm, I can still smell those day-old eggs.
Remember when there were no cars on the road and too many people on the walkways? During the first lockdown, I would go for walks in the middle of the street as almost every car in our neighbourhood sat idle. I also recall seeing a middle-aged woman stand lifelessly in her front yard with a mask on, staring blankly into space. She scared me.
After three weeks of lockdown, the weather improved and everyone went outside to escape from their holes. It was a disaster. I’ve never seen our walkways so full. My wife got clipped by another biker who couldn’t wait long enough for her to make a left turn. It got so bad, the city invoked a one-way only walking direction around Wascana Lake – a policy that lasted for an entire year. So traumatizing was it that to this day I still walk in the pandemic’s clockwise direction.
Remember when we first wore masks? Before any mask mandates, I remember my dad deliberating aloud before going into a store: “Mask or no mask? Um, mask!” I thought it was funny. Surely, we won’t all have to wear masks one day, I thought to myself. All the research says they don’t work! How naïve we were.
Once the mask mandate was in place, the opposite effect took hold – you felt naked if you weren’t wearing one. I recall a funny incident where a man entered a small clothing store bare-faced. The owner, who was standing next to me, spotted him immediately and asked if he had a mask to wear. The man looked at us with shock and embarrassment, then covered his mouth with his hand and ran out of the store as if he had actually been caught with his pants down.
Remember when a hundred covid cases per day meant, "Run for the hills!"? Now we're hitting a thousand and the response is more like, "Meh, I'll get another booster." A year ago there were signs outside our city with warnings: "Covid Alert! Avoid travel in city!" It was like we had the plague, and I guess we did. My parents were so scared, they wouldn't even stop for gas while travelling through – the very thought of touching a Regina gas pump was enough to induce infection. Those were the days, when fear kept us safe.
Speaking of fear, remember when we didn’t really worry about dying? I don’t want to downplay the trauma some people have had to live through these past years, with loved ones getting sick and even dying, but it’s true that most of us hardly ever think about death.
Interestingly, it’s the people who fear the virus the most who have the least to fear; they’re likely vaccinated and cautious in their interactions with others. It's those who end up in the hospital and still refuse a vaccine who need a little, uh, life coaching?
For most of us this was a wake-up call, showing how our Golden Age can quickly take a turn for the worse. We’re still susceptible to the forces of nature. We are mortal.
On that uplifting note, get boosted if you haven't already and, as they used to say during the pandemic, stay safe! Maybe one day we’ll be able to live again like it’s 2019.
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