Last 365 days felt like 365 years; I burned a ton of wood
Well, that’s been a long 365 days, eh?
Time being what it is, you just never know how an experience is going to age in your brain. And when it comes to the last year, well … I don’t know about you, but 9/11 (as in, 2001) feels like yesterday, whereas 3/11 (as in, last year) the day the NBA shut down and Tom Hanks announced he was COVID-19 positive - well, that feels like 20 years ago.
I mean, for crying all night, “The Tiger King” didn’t debut until March 20.
In short: It’s been a long, long, long, long, long year. For me, for you, for everyone. And I’ve been one of the lucky ones: I didn’t get the coronavirus, no members of my immediate family got the coronavirus, I don’t know anyone personally who died from the coronavirus.
Again: Lucky.
But good golly, this has been a long go.
I was looking at pictures on my phone the other day. I’m not a prolific picture-taker, but glancing at the pics - and the dates - tells the story of my year. A sampling …
March 7, 2020: I took my son to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Cure Arena. I remember balking about going due to the coronavirus, but in the end, figured what’s the worst that could happen. Innocent times.
March 12: A series of pictures of my dog, as I was writing a column about him in an effort to stop writing about the coronavirus. Again: Innocent times.
March 14: Screenshots of Mexican soccer daily fantasy lineups. I was hard up for action since the NBA shut down a few days earlier, ergo Mexican soccer. Very quickly, innocence gone.
March 15 - March 26: Numerous pictures of family nature walks. Everyone was taking family nature walks in the last two weeks of March. The last time there were this many people walking through the woods it was 30,000 years ago.
March 27: Video of me, visibly drunk. There was a lot of drinking around this time. A lot. Like, a whole lot. I gained my COVID-19 in bourbon and beer.
March 30: Picture of me and my “long” hair.” I wouldn’t get it cut again until October, when I looked like a cross between a quickly-aging yacht rock artist and a guy who “kinda looks like Chris Hansen is going to be in his kitchen at some point in the not-too distant future.”
April 1 - May 30: So many pictures of my family in our backyard. Started out on swingsets, ended up with family fires. A lot of backyard time. So lucky to have a backyard. May 31: Rhinos, zebras, etc. We went to the safari at Great Adventure. First time we had all been out in the car since lockdown.
July 5: Our pool opened, and we went. Spent all day. First picture of someone in my Google Photos who I didn’t live with. Also, a picture of my youngest passed out in bed. It was a good day. Felt like normalcy had returned.
July 6 - Sept. 14: Basically, every picture is either at the pool or at the beach, including a pre-dawn run to Belmar, which was legitimately the best day of my year. Overall, summer felt OK. It felt normalish. It felt like the worst was behind us. It felt like the longrumored second wave was fiction. Innocence, again.
Oct 24: Halloween time rolling around. All my kids had costumes that utilized masks. Second wave, engage.
Nov. 8: Picture of a potato chip that kinda looks like the shape of New Jersey. Boredom setting in again.
Nov. 26 - present: Fires. So many backyard fires. You have no idea how much money I’ve spent on wood in the last four months. I dream in smoke. It’s been a long year.
I look forward to looking at my pictures again next year. I hope to see a lot fewer fires and a lot more smiles. I have hope and confidence.
We’re almost there. Almost there. Almost there.