I am every bit a spectator in my involvement with the Coronavirus activity. I have not been directly affected by it in that my routine hasn’t changed. Yesterday, though, was a real eye opener. Pete and I had eye examinations scheduled for midafternoon. I didn’t want to go at all; in fact, I wanted to put it off. But as I realized, perhaps it was better to have this done at this time rather than during a viral surge. We really have no idea when they’re going to occur.

We put on our respective masks before entering the building.

I felt in stepping into the Wolf Vision Center like I had just come out of deep freeze. And in a way, I had. I had not been in any public places since last February, the one exception being the recycling center. Pete has been the errand front runner.

I walk in the door and see the check in area has been moved to the very front of the building. There are about six clerks, all are wearing masks and about six feet apart. I’m told, when I go to fill out my form, that the pens have been sanitized. Both Pete and I are asked virus-related questions. We finish providing the clerks with the necessary information and then take seats, which are six feet apart. As I sit there, I wonder, how did they figure out how to arrange the place?

Eye exams are the same old same old except that the techs and the optometrist sanitize all the equipment before checking my eyes. And they too are wearing masks. We were both told that our vision is much the same; Pete has the beginnings of cataracts. This surprised me because he’s so judicious about wearing his sunglasses.

We checked out eyewear after. Something struck me as strange, I wasn’t able to pinpoint it until today. This was that the opticians, if you want to call them that, were rather indifferent and not at all helpful. Maybe it was because they have to keep their distance, which is something that eyewear sales people don’t usually do. Or maybe it was because they really didn’t care about giving us an assist. Or maybe it was that we have to wait until July 1, 2020 before our insurance will pay for new glasses.

In the past, the eyewear salespeople at the Wolf Vision Center have seemed to be distant, so much so that we usually go to the Palmer Vision Center to get our frames. Looks like we’ll be going there again soon.

I walked out of that place for the first time thinking that things are sure different. However, the enormity of the situation dawned on me today. Social distancing is going to change our relations with others in a big way. Our relations with others are never, ever going to be the same again.

It also feels to me like the beginning of the end. We as a species are really in for it now. A very scary thought.

Next: 143. 5/23/20: The Time Thief