Category: COVID-19

Ring! Ring!

“Hello?”

“You are home!”

It was my old buddy Stan.

“Uh, Stan…”

“Yeah?”

“Everyone is.”

Most everyone that is. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, much of the country is under stay-at-home orders and some are handling it better than others. I knew Stan would be okay for a while, but a while ended over a week ago.

“I don’t know who I am anymore,” he whined.

Conversations with Stan often go like this.  You have to give him time before he makes sense – and then he often makes rather profound sense.

“Remember what the cops used to say about people? Who you are depends on where you are and who you are with?”

“Yes, I do.”

The guy leaning against the bar on Saturday night is not the same guy nodding in church the next morning. People tend to blend into their environment. One’s behavior and even personality often changes radically depending on where they are and who they are with.”

“How about the guy stuck home with his wife?”

“Are you and Daphne getting on each other’s nerves?”

“No kidding. She is driving me nuts.”

“How so?”

“She wants to use this time to get to know each other better.”

“So?”

“What do I do?”

“Just be yourself.”

“Dude, you are not listening. How can I be myself if I don’t know who stay-at-home Stan is?”

“You will have to ask yourself that.”

“I am asking you.”

“Uh…”

“Think about it. I got to go.”

A few minutes later.

Ring! Ring!

“Hi Daphne?”

“You are home!”

“What can I do for you?”

“You need to tell Stan who he is?”

“Look Daphne, a lot of people are feeling lost these days. Stan is not used to being home. He is used to being out and about, working hard and drinking at The Pit. That is who he is. I’ll guess it is true with you too. You have your friends and hobbies and you have grown accustom to the way things normally are, but everything has changed. You see, people are who they are depending on where they and who…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. He doesn’t know who he is anymore… blah, blah, blah.”

“Exactly.”

“So if he doesn’t know and I don’t know and you don’t know, what are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know.”

“How about you make something up?”

“Oh, I see where this is going. Do you have any ideas that might help?”

“I thought you would never ask.”

(a sheet of paper rattles on her end of the line)

“Let’s review my notes.”