Well.  I’m back. Did you miss me?  That rascally Covid thing messed some things up, but here we are.  Hope you’re well.

This thing has been something, hasn’t it? The virus seems to be going along, doing its thing while all sorts of things have been put in place, modified, challenged in court, modified again, suspended, reinstated, mandated, then overruled in courts.  It’s an ever-changing situation. 

What I find fascinating about the whole thing is how it has polarized the population.  It’s sad that friends and family no longer associate with each other over a virus.  I don’t get that at all.

One of the catch phrases with this has been “Follow the science.”  But of course, as it always does, science changes. That’s what it does.  Scientists are always looking deeper and studying to learn more and when they learn more, the science changes.

What was considered science two years ago is different from what is considered science today, but some people are still so angry at other people, they can’t let it go. 

As you get more years behind you and accept that there are fewer years ahead, I think your perspective changes.  At least mine has. Say, you’re 25 and expect to live to 75.  You have 50 years of living ahead of you.  If you got angry with a friend or they got angry with you and you did nothing for a year, you lost 1/50th of your possible time together.  Now, suppose you’re 75 and expect to live to 85. That year is now 1/10th of your life.  How important is that position to you now?

This thing has been tough on everyone. Lots of people have been sick. Many people have died. What we should do to keep ourselves safe has been sketchy at best and changing all the time.  Here’s what I would say: You do what you feel keeps you safe.  Don’t go to places or events that make you uncomfortable.  There is enough history now for you to understand what you think is safe and what you think is unsafe.  You don’t need talking heads on the TV telling what you should or shouldn’t do.

In the middle of this whole thing, we had an election. Now, that was something. As if we weren’t at each other’s throats enough, that sealed the deal. Some people were happy. Others were not. It happens in every election. 

This one was different because the people that were unhappy were extremely unhappy with the people that were happy.  Of course, this upset the happy people and just when we were about to get along again, another train wreck. 

All the while the politicians in their neat suits are trying to get to the bottom of things, but while they have hearings and talk a lot, it’s hard for them to admit that they are the problem, so not much changes.

While we had to make some adjustments, the rental office stayed open during the pandemic. People still had needs and we did our best to fulfill their needs.  I recently received a check from the state for working through the pandemic. The check from the state was actually a transfer of money from the federal government to the state and while I don’t want to seem ungrateful, it reminded me of someone leaving a one-dollar tip for a restaurant meal that they weren’t satisfied with.

If they were not happy with the service of the meal, don’t leave any tip, but if they were, tip appropriately.

Businesses spent millions of dollars here in Maine to monitor us for following rules that the government made.  We paid for all of that, so the payments were really a slap in the face as far as I’m concerned. The extra cost of everything to citizens to cover the cost of someone counting customers in Hannaford or managing the checkout line far exceeded $285.

It’s good to be back. Sadly, I think the virus is going to be around for quite a while. The daily counting will likely go away along with the testing frenzy, but the virus will probably be with us for some time.  We’re all going to have to learn to live with it, whatever that means. 

It’s going to mean something different to everyone and that’s OK.

IF there ever was a time where “Live and let live” was an appropriate philosophy, this is it.  Stay safe.  Do what you need to do to protect yourself, but don’t ruin relationships with family and friends that do different things.  Even though it seems like it’s been going on forever, it’s still very new.  Only time will tell what was right and what was not.