1) Today I had to leave the house for the first time since Tuesday, to pick up a prescription at the pharmarcy at ye Instytytte. I timed my departure for after rush hour, knowing that there wouldn’t really be much of a rush anyway. I was only the fourth person in my subway car about 9:30, and there weren’t many more as the train got closer to town.
1a) This, of course, on the Ligne d’Orange. The Ligne Rouge was fuller.
2) Medical at ye Instytytte was practically on lockdown. Only two entrances open, and when I got into the proper one, a masked staffer standing there IMMEDIATELY asked me “Are you going to the pharmacy?!” And of course I was, so everything was all right. But they’ve let the world know that walk-in appointments are NOT possible, and they are ready to enforce.
3) The pharmacist was very nice, but looked suspiciously at my cash when she asked “Do you have credit?” To prevent transmission yet another degree, they are almost enforcing payment by credit card, so that no one has to handle cash, even with gloves. Somehow I hadn’t considered that.
3a) I thanked her and said “You all are doing the Lord’s work, staying open for all of us.” “We try, all of us, the doctors and nurses and [Insert All Medical Professions Here],” she replied. And then I shot back my standard response to “I try:” “Well, you remember what Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca? "‘We all try. YOU succeed.’” And her demeanor flowered. Clearly a new level of response from a patient, and she obviously appreciated it.
4) Ran errands on Centre Street before coming home, especially getting a takeout burrito for lunch at ye Pyrple Cytcysse. I think it was the owner who waited on me at the counter, and we ended up talking about coronavirus coverage in the Times.
5) Now this evening was a nearly non-stop series of conversations, both scheduled and unscheduled. At 5:30, FaceTime cocktails with my best friends. Eventually I had to sign off to begin making dinner, which was actually delayed by a surprise phone call from my old neighbors . . . because the children wanted to find out how I was! Isn’t that sweet?! So we had a nice conversation. And then once dinner was on the stove I FaceTimed another friend on the spur of the moment, inspired by some content on Instygrymme. And then after dinner at 9 PM pre-scheduled after-dinner drinks with another friend, which ended up just being audio because of a microphone fail on my part.
5a) I enjoyed every bit of all this, and I’m sure I will not be alone in this was we continue through this indefinite, possibly eternal period of isolation.
6) This afternoon, and night, have been unseasonably warm, but I just remembered to bring in the white poinsettia from the back porch, where I’d put it this afternoon to get some outdoor exposure. I’ve killed many house plants in my time, but I really love this poinsettia and I want it to last. Certainly its leaves look stronger and firmer than hitherto!