The Other Side of the Glass

STORIES FOR THE TIMES:

Sitting at my computer in the condo, the east wall of my living room is almost entirely glass: three bays of floor, almost to ceiling glass.

One bay has a huge, heavy sliding glass door that goes out to the balcony, overlooking the third-floor rooftop garden. Lovely trees, bushes, and in spring and summer a variety of flowers pass through the days to cheer one up.

The second bay has two panels of fixed glass on top and two tip-in windows on the bottom with screens to keep out the bugs.

The third bay has two smaller, inoperable panels on top.

The place, on bright sunny days, is bright and sunny. A second sunrise occurs when the sun goes down behind the condo building and is reflected off the buildings to the east and into my living room.

Why did I spend all this time painting a picture of my condo living room for you?

For two reasons, first, because I love my condo; it is clean and nicely laid out with many of my collections on display on walls and table surfaces. All surfaces are covered! While there are many, many items on display, the room feels well organized and not at all chaotic but rather peaceful and welcoming.

The second reason for sharing is that as I am sitting here, looking out the windows, I am thinking about what is going on the other side of my windows, with COVID 19 looming large in other condos, on the streets, in grocery stores, in now for delivery-only restaurants, in small businesses around the state, country, and world, in the lives of so many.

I think about the people who are not as fortunate as I am to live in a safe, comfortable, supportive environment; those living on the streets or in sheltered doorways or on the train grabbing some shut-eye between stops.

I think of those who have lost their jobs or if lucky those working at home. I think about those who are in isolation, sick at home, or in hospitals. Those who are dying or who have died and the grief of their families, if they were lucky enough to not be alienated from their families.

A third reason I am sharing is that I am astounded at how removed I feel from all of the COVID 19 going on around me. While sheltered at home and only going out, quickly, for a grocery list or to pick up medication from CVS, my life is much the same as it was before the advent of the escalating deadly virus that is poised to destroy not only life but our economy and life as we know it!

The main difference between BC (before virus) and AD (after virus) is that during the winter I find it preferable to hibernate at home, turn inward. Being winter I only go out when I have to, enjoy working in my condo on various projects, cooking dinners, talking to friends on the phone, and watching TV or movies, reading a good book. Naps figure into my days and my kitties (really cats but I still call them kitties) keep me not only busy maintaining their lives but also cheered as they purr while being pet.

Other differences of which I am aware as affecting me, include the arrival of social distancing, not eating out (which I haven't been doing much since I got my new "Smart Oven," the absence of being with people in person, and not attending theater and opera.

But otherwise, my life is much the same.

So here I sit at my computer, in my sunny living room, enjoying my condo and kitties and dinner while staring out the window at the trees which are about to bud, the grass which is about to green, the bushes and flowers which are about to bloom and I feel joy and happiness and the COVID 19 (at least at this point) is something that seems to be on the other side of the glass and not part of my world!