Eye of the storm

One of my best friends who lives in Georgia recently sent me a link to a potential beach house rental along the gorgeous Florida Gulf Coast where we (family and friends who are now family) have vacationed over many summers.  Man, would we slay a vacation right now!  But over the past few days, the invite really got me thinking about the country and how different our lives can be depending on who we are and where we live.  In every day life, how regional is reality?

Spare tires and a note on 2nd Avenue

As of today, the US of A is experiencing rising coronavirus cases in 20+ states.  And the thought occurred to me to ask my buddy: if I had invited all of you to come to NYC in April or May for a beach vacation, would you have considered it (assuming all things being equal: affordable flights, accommodation, good weather)?  NYC was the world's epicenter of coronavirus at that point, and I regularly got worried messages from loved ones making sure we were safe.  And thankfully, we were and are (knock wood).  NY leadership has relied upon information from specific data, scientists, and health care professionals to guide the state throughout this crisis.  Cuomo and De Blasio, love 'em or hate 'em, held daily press conferences to advise all New Yorkers across regions, and 100+ days later, the state's numbers across the board have continued to steadily decline.  And now NYC, the country's most populous city, is slated to enter Phase 3 of reopening on July 6th.  For me, my main job could reopen at half capacity as of Phase 3 but has chosen to stay closed through the fall.  Summer was usually the slowest time, especially August...so, I'm bummed and gotta spruce up my resumé, but understand.  But back to my point, Big Apple to FL oranges, is it a good idea to head into the eye of the storm for a vacay?  And also, is the rest of the country and world as worried by the recent spikes elsewhere as we are up here?

With other states now witnessing spikes like those the tristate area endured starting back in March, in a sad twist of fate, the governors of NY, NJ, and CT recently decided together to place quarantine restrictions on travelers from many of those states (Florida included).  Thinking about a possible vacation then made me wonder, do people in other cities not see this virus as a real and serious threat?  I remember and likely wrote about how strange it is to fear something that remains invisible.  No one in my immediate circle had been impacted in the beginning.  But resources started to become scarce, businesses closed, everyone wore masks up here, and stayed home.  Reports on the news were devastating, makeshift morgues built in hospital parks under tents.  Asymptomatic spreading only making the virus more elusive.  And then a few friends and co-workers started to talk about symptoms, and then positive test results, ushered by more symptoms for most.  One friend works for the Air Force and had been on international flights.  Another had also flown a bunch.  And another's significant other is a Corrections Officer (who also tested positive).  They all recovered at home, glory be.  And talking with friends and family who work in health care...surely, they have PTSD from what they’ve seen fighting this disease over months.  Watching people die in total isolation with no comfort, kind words, even hugs from loved ones in the last moments.  Day after day, hour by hour.  And having vowed to help, and yet unable to, ill-equipped, overworked, and desperate for relief themselves.  With no cure in sight, talk about a no-win situation.

It got me thinking more broadly about reality.  Is this pandemic one of those things that people only believe once it's happened to them, their community, their city?  Are firsthand accounts of this disease's carnage from other impacted regions insufficient to believe it's real and can hit anywhere?  Across the country, there are reports of people referring to this as a “scamdemic.”  So, how much does where you live impact what you hear about what's happening and where?  What are my friends across the country hearing from their states' governors, health officials, and media?  And more so, as this virus is devastating communities, and with cases to spiking in Florida particularly, wouldn't it be risky to rent a house (who knows who's rented it previously, who cleaned it and with what safety protocol?) with friends from different states (obviously us included) who have not quarantined together, if quarantined at all?  And then I looked into how we'd even get to Florida with NY IDs.  Would we have to be smuggled?  Wink, wink.  We have had such good times on these vacations over the years.  But then, I got a little pissed at myself for trying to figure out how we'd swing it.  Right now, is taking this vacation smart?  Is it wise?  Is it...appropriate?

In addition to the health crisis, the world is also in the throws of a massive cultural uprising, with many people referring to the continued murders of Black people in the US as the pandemic within a pandemic.  And with video capturing George Floyd's murder having been shown in every living room, it's as if America and the world have finally chosen to do something about the fact that, while it is stated that "all men are created equal," clearly, not all are treated equally.  I'll never forget watching a grown man calling out for his mother as a police officer choked the life out of him.  I'll never forget urine trickling down the concrete, watching with horror the realtime evidence that this man had lost bodily function and died.  How do you explain this?  How do you justify the murder we all just saw?  And George Floyd is the latest victim in a long list of the names of only those we know were murdered.  Scary to think about what happens when there are no cameras.  Insult to injury, African American communities have been hardest hit by coronavirus.

And another mitigating factor that is further impacting the nation and world...?  Unemployment.  The US unemployment rate the highest rate since the Depression, millions have lost their livelihoods.  As of March 2020, this college-educated, 40-something, white woman who had been working three jobs in NYC found herself unemployed from all of them because of a pandemic, and uninsured because health care benefits were through her employer.  COBRA premiums to extend health coverage would have eaten almost a third of my monthly unemployment (I get the maximum allotment, which ain't enough).  After subtracting out my Manhattan studio apartment monthly rent, I'd have $188 to live on monthly.  My monthly electric bill usually exceeds that amount, especially now that I'm always home.  Never mind food.  So, shout out to Obama for the Affordable Care Act.  NY state runs its own Health Care Marketplace, a regional reality, and I was able to enroll in health care coverage for a modest premium.  I don't want to get political...oops, too late...but, as of last night, Trump filed to have the Supreme Court put an end the ACA.  In the middle of a pandemic, this man's priority is to get rid of health care that covers millions of Americans?  Wow.

Live long and prosper, Dr. Fauci!

So, in the midst of a deadly, global pandemic, a global Black Lives Matter movement further incensed by video of George Floyd's murder by cops, the highest unemployment rate in the country since the Depression, and the potential loss of health care for millions, the thought of vacation is, from one moment to the next, the last and first thing on my mind.  We've all earned a break after the changes 2020 has ushered in thus far.  But more than that, this year's consideration of a beach vacay speaks to what a privilege it is to be able to even contemplate it during one of the country's most devastating and trying times. 

All things considered, I think I'm gonna wait.  I'd rather all of us still hunker down, and ride this storm out a bit more before we, including our most vulnerable, venture back out into the world.  But, again, I can't help but admit that my opinion is shaped by what's happened regionally up here. I want to hunker down still because that's what has been effective in New York, at least so far.  Aside: while writing this, Pence is speaking at his first coronavirus task force briefing in months.  And he claimed the tristate's decrease in numbers as a victory for the White House.  Sorry, bro.  No dice.  The tristate area had to fight tooth and nail for any and every bit of support.  Remember the phrase "blue state bailouts"?  Heaven forbid red states now finds themselves in need.  As the federal government continues to abdicate responsibility, states will further be left to fend for themselves.  So, as much I'd love a return to the annual beach vacation, for now I have to pass.  We could be risking our health to travel to states where cases are only rising.  More so, we could be risking everyone else's health on vacation with us (as well as anyone else we encounter along the way) if we traveled.  And I’m definitely too scared that me traveling could negatively impact someone else.  All in all, I'll keep trucking, wearing my mask, washing my hands, and trying to think good thoughts.  For all regions and (most) realities.