This is the third time you have shined those shoes,” she said, as I looked at her incredulously. “And you haven’t worn those shoes in 10 years,” she added. My wife was correct. I had cleaned my closet and the garage twice, rearranged the kitchen utensils drawer, and vacuumed both cars three times. When I started to walk down the street with my wet/dry vac in hand looking for cars, my neighbors locked their car doors and retreated into their homes. I was on a tear.
COVD-19 has raised the concept of stircrazy to new heights. At my advanced age, retired, and with my COPD, my wife will not allow me to go anywhere, not to play poker, not even to visit my favorite haunts - the hardware store and the dollar store. And she is beginning to lose patience with my lingering at home. When I think of visiting an old friend or old haunt, I am told I am still on parole.
I read a book a week and have watched every rerun of The Andy Griffith Show (for mental health purposes only). The political situation is too painful to discuss, and I have reduced my news exposure to 15 minutes per day. What can we do? What should we do? I took my old trumpet out of the closet and started playing from scratch. I polished my old golf clubs and painted a landscape that looks like a blurred vision.
As I fall into a routine, I believe that we need two attributes to survive this pandemic - discipline and imagination. Discipline to keep our physical and mental faculties healthy with routines, and imagination to come up with new ways to make the day interesting, like taking a long motor trip to a different place each day. Try it. I must go. The mail person is coming down the street and I like to follow her to the mailboxes. Stay well.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
