Scurvy and Storms

I know, I know.  I'm not even going to look at the date of the last post.  I've been focused on a trip west that turned out a little differently than planned, and now that I'm back home, I find myself just entirely exhausted and, to be honest, a little depressed about politics - which up until recently, was the air I breathed - and life in general during... what?  The Pandemic That Never Ended?  The Oh, Look - It's The Consequences of Someone Else's Behavior?  [John Goodman racks slide] Am I The Only One Around Here Who Remembers Human Decency?

Sorry.  

The most proximate stimulus for a new post was an e-mail I got today, from Larry, our tour boss at Hyde Hall, a 200 year old English Country House outside of Cooperstown, where I am a docent/site interpreter/tour guide.  It seems it is time to mask up again.  All staff are vaccinated (required), as are most guests, but from today on everyone - staff and guests - will be wearing masks when inside.  Our tours begin at the Visitor's Center, which is, of course, inside, and then they go up to the house which, of course, is inside.  

This is not necessarily the worst thing that could happen.  The rest of the staff did it this way all last year, a year during which I took a "I don't want to get it" sabbatical.  But I'm so tired of this.  I do the job because I love it, and I get paid just over minimum wage, so, man, I do not want to argue with some moron who has rights and won't wear a mask. 

I'm sure we'll do fine.  I love showing off the house, and I really like all the folks I work with.  We'll get through it, I guess, as long as there's an end somewhere up ahead.

Which, of course, reminds me of the point of writing this blog.  I started with a voyage of discovery, on Columbus's ship the "Santa Maria," wondering what the new world would be like, after we were done with the virus.  I kept that going as long as I could, but really, the crew has all died of scurvy and the ghostly ships have gone down in one storm or another.  The Admiral of the Ocean Sea is a distant memory, a throwback to more innocent times, when we knew that persistence and a little heroism would pull us through in no time.

There may be no new world - it may be endless ocean, forever.  

Either way, I'll be looking for what other people say about the road ahead, and reporting back.