Monday Morning Musings

Posted on November 29, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Covid Crazy

 

“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you,

If you’re young at heart,

For it’s hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind,

If you’re young at heart.”

Young at Heart (as sung by Frank Sinatra)

Oldies for oldies.

That’s not quite how it’s advertised on Sirius XM radio, but I will claim copyrights on the title. One of the great joys of spending this year in a colleague’s home while she’s away on sabbatical is having access to satellite radio. I miss having cable TV, but it is a small price to pay when I get to listen to wonderful music on demand, across many genres. I start every day listening to Symphony Hall. I believe it is an important component of my own self-care, to start each day in a calm state… before all hell breaks loose at school!

When I get home from school, my music tastes can go all the way from rock and roll, to folk, to gospel and everything in between. Lately, I stumbled upon a channel devoted almost exclusively to the music of Frank Sinatra. Now there are some who might question his sketchy dealings with some nefarious folks, but the man could sing. The Frank Sinatra channel also features other singers from that era. Two of my absolute favourites were, and still are, Perry Como and Johnny Mathis. Their voices were woven in silk. I chuckled to myself the other day when one of these artists was performing the old Fats Waller tune “Ain’t Misbehaving”. It’s rather hard to misbehave in the north when all you want to do after a day at school is sleep!

But, back to young at heart. I’m guessing that if you polled 1,000 senior citizens, 999 of them would say the same thing. “I don’t feel my age”. Of course, when they say this, they are talking about their mental outlook. Those same 999 would also be quick to point out that physically they feel closer to 100 on many days. What is it about our brains that makes us feel “young at heart” even when reality tells us differently?

In some ways, I think I am doing a version of Benjamin Buttons, in regards to my work career. Most of us eased into the workforce in our early teens doing easy work like delivering newspapers, babysitting, cutting lawns, pumping gas, or shovelling people’s driveways in the winter. In our 20s, we began our work careers in earnest and from 30-60, we were going full throttle. Entering our 60s, we started gearing down and then finally retired. Then why in the hell am I working harder than I could ever have imagined at the age of 70? Part of it is fate and part of it is that I feel young at heart.

Covid crazies.

I have all but stopped consuming Covid news. The only thing I look at daily are the Covid numbers in Nunavik. At the present time, we have no Covid cases in our village which is rather remarkable when the vaccination rate is still hovering around 35%. I still find it a bit bizarre watching 6-year-old students getting off the bus every morning fully masked. Everyone in the school with the exception of kindergarten children must wear masks all day except when they’re eating or drinking. Speaking of the youngsters, I have been asked to set up a Covid vaccination room in the school as the health authority rolls out vaccine to the 5-11 year old cohort.

I left school last Friday and ripped off my mask. It must be akin to a woman tearing off her bra. My relief was short lived as a few minutes later, I stopped at one of our two grocery stores to pick up some snacks. The mask went back on. I rarely buy junk food. As I have mentioned before, much of the healthy food is subsidized by the government making it possible to eat fresh fruit and vegetables at prices very similar to the south. I planned on visiting friends after supper and didn’t want to go empty handed, so I picked up two, 235g bags of potato chips and a jar of peanuts. The total came to $28.90. Luckily my CPP cheque paid for this larceny. Honestly, I have stopped caring about the price of things in the grocery store. The things I consume most of the time are very reasonably priced so that when I treat myself, I don’t blink when I see the price. An EKG might show otherwise.

I left the store fully masked and drove home. Yes, drove. Shocking at this may sound to those of you who know me as an avid walker, but after an exhausting week at school, taking one of the school trucks home is more dignified than crawling. I kicked off my boots, threw my backpack on the floor, turned up the thermostat… and exhaled. After about 10 minutes, something didn’t feel quite right. It was 4:10 and pitch dark but that wasn’t it. I flicked on the radio. Johnny Mathis was singing “Chances Are”, one of my favorites. https://youtu.be/NEH3uqbpsm8 Slap on some headphones and give it a listen. It might bring back memories of falling in love. “Shit, Len. Keep your focus”.

It was only when I went into my bedroom to get out of my work clothes that I realized I had been wearing my mask around the house. Oh dear, it has come to this.

“Chances are…” I’ve gone Covid crazy!

Have a great week.

December lurks in the shadows.

P.S. I’ll be back in Nova Scotia in 18 days and three hours but who’s counting!