It's the unofficial start of summer...
That's what you would usually be hearing this time of year in the news, along with images of the sun-obsessed making their first pilgrimages to the beach (even though it's still spring and too early to dive into the ocean.)
From the look of things this weekend, a majority of people in this country aren't going to let things like a pesky viral pandemic get in the way of their good time. I guess doing so would be un-American.
Memorial Day Weekend could not have come at the worst time this year. It's hitting right at the 10-week mark of lockdown to ensure that social distancing helps to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases across the country and while it has been working, it's at a glacial pace. We still have a long way to go before we have a semblance of normal life and that's just the fact of the matter. But the reality is that everyone (myself included) has hit quarantine fatigue.
A lot of people are fed up and many are using this weekend to dip their toes in the proverbial water. Here in New Jersey and New York, it's a time-honored tradition to hit places like the Shore, The Hamptons, or Montauk on Memorial Day Weekend.
A way to ring in the coming summer season. The crowds of people move from the city to the coast with many looking to start the warmer months with a loud booming start. Coronavirus be damned! People want their sun and surf (and let's be honest, binge drinking)!
The feeling I've been getting this weekend is that people are starting to feel brave or at the very least, saying "Fuck it! Summer's here!" and moving back to life before corona.
I don't mean those people who have been protesting at various state houses that their freedoms are being taken away. That's a result of ignorance. I'm talking about the rest of us. Those who are sick and tired of being on lockdown. We are desperate for some normalcy and this weekend has turned out to be the perfect time for a revolt.
Not to rain on anyone's beach day, but we should be asking ourselves if it's too soon.
Things ARE getting better but we are nowhere out of the woods yet. This country has not done a stellar job when it has come to its handle of the outbreak. Take a look at states, like Texas and Georgia where they opened things up a few weeks back. They have seen an increase in infections.
There's still so much we don't know about this damn virus. One day we're told that it can be contracted touching surfaces and the next, we're told that we can't. They told us that masks wouldn't do much in the way of prevention. Now we are practically mandated to wear them every time we leave the house.
Even the numbers of infections are in question. Earlier this week, the CDC admitted that their tally was a mistaken combination of the number of those who contracted corona with those who took anti-body tests. Those are two very different figures.
It's too soon to get back to normal life no matter how much I want to.
It's hard to sit here and get invites from friends to meet up this weekend. They too are quarantine fatigued and I'd love to see them and enjoy drinks in the yard or at the local bar, but I'm not comfortable yet to do so.
I don't have a great track record following the rules, but I believe it's important to take precautions. I'm not living in fear but rather with reason. I'm not ready to say fuck it. I've stayed healthy so far and I'd like to keep it up.
Time will only tell if we see a spike in infections here in the New York area this weekend as a result of everyone trying to salvage the summer. We likely will, but I hope I'm wrong.
I'd like to make it to the beach sometime soon.
-30-