Insult to Injury

Insult to Injury

Over the weekend, I found myself shopping for cat food at one of the local pet stores and happened to overhear a mother and daughter lamenting the fact that save for the little metal wheel, a cage of hamsters lacked a variety of activities to keep them occupied.

“What do they do all day?” asked the girl.

Beneath my COVID-19 mask I managed to muffle a laugh, but when I got to the car, I realized that my current situation, along with millions of others was not all that different from those pint-sized rodents.

Basically, home-bound with a break here and there for a walk, I sort of related to their plight. It’s amazing how three people telecommuting from home can shrink the size of a house to claustrophobic proportions. Wires and power strips now occupy much of the open floor space and to my surprise, folding snack tables can serve adequately as desks.

The noise level between regular Zoom meetings and my spouse and daughter shouting at often ineffectual co-workers has, on occasion, reminded my eardrums of those long-ago KISS and Ted Nugent concerts.

But the real kicker regarding my home-bound status came this week courtesy of the U.S. Post Office.

As the weather in the Northeast slowly slides toward summer, I received my annual application to our town pool. For a more than reasonable fee of $200, I get the chance to swim as often as I like from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And, at the end of an 8-9-hour shift in front of a computer, that’s about as relaxing as it gets.

However, with a pre-COVID-19 projected opening date of May 23, I’m not about to pull my bathing suit, tank top and flip-flops out of winter storage just yet. In fact, I would be delighted if I can dip my toe in the water prior to July 4.

But that paled in comparison what arrived the very next day –our travel brochures for a planned summer trip to Greece. I’m not a gambler but I think I can safely wager that our two-week sojourn to Athens, Crete and Mykonos will be put on hold at least until 2021. So much for sitting at the beach with a bottle of Assrytiko or Ouzo.

For now, I’ll have to settle for a virtual vacation unless the pandemic situation changes dramatically. But on a brighter note, my daughter announced she’s going back to her Manhattan apartment. After a month of staring at her parents, she needs the company of contemporaries.

So, the at home workforce at Chez Carlino is reduced by one.

And one more to go.