I went back to that week and the last photos I took were of the first match San Diego's new football team (soccer). It was one of the few things I was excited about in 2020. I got season tickets. I bought the debut kit. And then after that first match the whole season was put on hold and effectively didn't happen.
In many ways those photos remind me of a dream that died. The team folded last year. We had to move away from California. It was humbling. It reminded me that all the beautiful things I have today have been risen from many dead dreams.
I vividly remember being in a Publix grocery store in Florida just before the real lockdown hit. The paper aisle was completely wiped out, but so was the snack aisle (more obesity coming out of Covid? how did that happen?) and the big bags of rice and dried beans that all Florida grocery stores carry were completely gone. At the checkout, I was behind a woman with a cart overflowing with root vegetables; she was desperately trying to buy every carrot, potato and parsnip in the place. Quite a time. Your essay was excellent for bringing up the many memories from that critical March four years ago.
Thanks, Drake! What a wild time it was. I remember feeling calm in Paris but then seeing social media kicking off about food shortages and feeling anxiety start to bubble up. Fortunately, people in France remained calm and told me not to doom scroll, haha.
I had plans to travel from New York to Florida for a Board of Directors meeting and came to the conclusion that things were likely to get worse rather than better. We packed up a lot of stuff, and my wife, dog and I flew to beautiful Winter Park, FL for the meeting. After the meeting, we just stayed on in Florida. And, when we tried to return to New York City months later, we learned that coming in from Florida would require a two-week quarantine but that we could go back and forth from Connecticut. We felt betrayed by New York and the city had become something very different from what we had left. It had become much more dangerous and with a greater sense of tribalism and control. We are now happy to be in coastal Connecticut and Florida and our time in New York City is now just a fond memory.
Somehow seeing this comment a year late, Drake! lol but love the insights. New York strikes me as utter madness at the best of times so I can’t fathom what it would’ve been like mid-pandemic. 🙈
I left Paris for a similar reason. Montreal/the countryside just beyond it was way calmer! Plus my family is here.
I visited NYC most recently in December 2021 pre-Christmas and that was bucket list cool!
I used to dream of living in NYC when I was younger but now, it’s way too much for me.
I loved London and Paris too in my twenties.
But I prefer a slower pace at this stage of life. And more nature.
All this to say, Florida sounds heavenly! I would love to evade Canadian winters there by jumping on the “snow bird” train in the near future. 🙏 😂
"It made us cognizant of how even though most of us think of places other than our hometown, city, or country as our new home, where you bolt to when the world is in an upheaval reveals where your heart truly lies." wow this is true. When the borders were closing in, I was with my family in Indonesia and packed N95 masks back to Hong Kong where I worked. We all thought it was going to blow over in 2 months and I'd see my parents again in March or April. I didn't get to see them again until end-2022. COVID was wild but a lot of the upheaval changed me for the better.
Only seeing this comment now somehow Becky — a year later! lol but regardless, appreciate you sharing. So interesting to hear different accounts! Expectations and realities sure did vary. 😅
What I remember is my last speaking gig. I was flying home from a keynote in Washington DC (for Johns Hopkins hospital ironically) when the covid news wave broke. All the gigs that I had booked for the rest of the year got cancelled from my calendar within a few weeks of March 13th. My last picture would have been happily speaking to that group with a smile on my face. Pictures of my bank account plummeting for the next 2 years were not pretty ones.
That’s profound! I’m so glad you realized that. I read something recently on thinking of the “shit” thrown at us like manure we can either complain about or use as fertilizer for new, good things to crop up. Made me smile because it’s true.
I went back to that week and the last photos I took were of the first match San Diego's new football team (soccer). It was one of the few things I was excited about in 2020. I got season tickets. I bought the debut kit. And then after that first match the whole season was put on hold and effectively didn't happen.
In many ways those photos remind me of a dream that died. The team folded last year. We had to move away from California. It was humbling. It reminded me that all the beautiful things I have today have been risen from many dead dreams.
And a comment on your "P.S."
I vividly remember being in a Publix grocery store in Florida just before the real lockdown hit. The paper aisle was completely wiped out, but so was the snack aisle (more obesity coming out of Covid? how did that happen?) and the big bags of rice and dried beans that all Florida grocery stores carry were completely gone. At the checkout, I was behind a woman with a cart overflowing with root vegetables; she was desperately trying to buy every carrot, potato and parsnip in the place. Quite a time. Your essay was excellent for bringing up the many memories from that critical March four years ago.
Thanks, Drake! What a wild time it was. I remember feeling calm in Paris but then seeing social media kicking off about food shortages and feeling anxiety start to bubble up. Fortunately, people in France remained calm and told me not to doom scroll, haha.
I had plans to travel from New York to Florida for a Board of Directors meeting and came to the conclusion that things were likely to get worse rather than better. We packed up a lot of stuff, and my wife, dog and I flew to beautiful Winter Park, FL for the meeting. After the meeting, we just stayed on in Florida. And, when we tried to return to New York City months later, we learned that coming in from Florida would require a two-week quarantine but that we could go back and forth from Connecticut. We felt betrayed by New York and the city had become something very different from what we had left. It had become much more dangerous and with a greater sense of tribalism and control. We are now happy to be in coastal Connecticut and Florida and our time in New York City is now just a fond memory.
Somehow seeing this comment a year late, Drake! lol but love the insights. New York strikes me as utter madness at the best of times so I can’t fathom what it would’ve been like mid-pandemic. 🙈
I left Paris for a similar reason. Montreal/the countryside just beyond it was way calmer! Plus my family is here.
I visited NYC most recently in December 2021 pre-Christmas and that was bucket list cool!
I used to dream of living in NYC when I was younger but now, it’s way too much for me.
I loved London and Paris too in my twenties.
But I prefer a slower pace at this stage of life. And more nature.
All this to say, Florida sounds heavenly! I would love to evade Canadian winters there by jumping on the “snow bird” train in the near future. 🙏 😂
"It made us cognizant of how even though most of us think of places other than our hometown, city, or country as our new home, where you bolt to when the world is in an upheaval reveals where your heart truly lies." wow this is true. When the borders were closing in, I was with my family in Indonesia and packed N95 masks back to Hong Kong where I worked. We all thought it was going to blow over in 2 months and I'd see my parents again in March or April. I didn't get to see them again until end-2022. COVID was wild but a lot of the upheaval changed me for the better.
Only seeing this comment now somehow Becky — a year later! lol but regardless, appreciate you sharing. So interesting to hear different accounts! Expectations and realities sure did vary. 😅
What I remember is my last speaking gig. I was flying home from a keynote in Washington DC (for Johns Hopkins hospital ironically) when the covid news wave broke. All the gigs that I had booked for the rest of the year got cancelled from my calendar within a few weeks of March 13th. My last picture would have been happily speaking to that group with a smile on my face. Pictures of my bank account plummeting for the next 2 years were not pretty ones.
Wow, that sounds like a brilliant event for a brilliant group, Rick!
(Hope you got to see a bit of Washington while you were there. I still need to visit someday.)
The mass cancellations must’ve been awful. Similar to the tour guide who basically said, “what now?”
I’m so glad you had the vision and energy to pivot during that time and I’m blown away by all you’ve achieved since. Kudos! 🎉
That’s profound! I’m so glad you realized that. I read something recently on thinking of the “shit” thrown at us like manure we can either complain about or use as fertilizer for new, good things to crop up. Made me smile because it’s true.