As you know, I had some thoughts the other day about people who exhibited what I felt was a lack of walking etiquette.
But was I being too hard on them?
In The New York Times, Michelle Goldberg writes, “It is only natural that after almost two months of something like house arrest, people are starting to lose their minds,” especially when there seems to be no end in sight, so there are better people to blame and shame than those who don’t wear masks in public, gather in groups that are too large or write unfortunate tweets.
“We are people, and we are scared, and sometimes when people are scared, they say things they don’t mean, or they lash out when they shouldn’t, or they act erratically. Everyone is going through their own private battle right now, and those battles can ebb and flow.”
Leitch’s weekly newsletter begins with a carpet saleswoman coming to his door, without a mask, who didn’t seem quite cognizant of why he wouldn’t let her in his house.
(By the way, Leitch’s newsletters gave me the idea to do these Sunday posts, but he’s about a million times better at it because he’s Will Leitch and I’m … well … not.)
My blogging buddy Becky of Strikeouts + Sprinkles referred to being “blah,” and was kind of relieved to find that others felt the same way.
Meanwhile, Alicia of Life of Alicia knows that the lockdown is the right thing to do, but still laments the time she’ll never get back, even though she knows that sounds selfish.
As for the folks on our walk, I still think they were clueless, even if they weren’t malicious.
However, it doesn’t hurt to remember that everyone is going through a lousy time — even if we and everyone we know is healthy — and some days are just going to be rough.
That being said, don’t be these people.
HAVE I MENTIONED I’M DOING A CHARITY 5K?
Yes, yes I have. But I’ll mention it again.
DREAMING OF LIFE AFTER QUARANTINE
My blogging buddy Renata over at Buffalo Sauce Everywhere put out a challenge for people to imagine the first weekend after quarantine ends. Here’s her entry.
I’m one of the people she challenged, and I imagined Suzi and I taking a road trip to see our families once we were free again to do whatever we wanted.
Emily at That Weird Girl Life also answered Renata’s challenge, and she plans on having a really good time when this is all over.
I hope more people meet the challenge, and they continue to challenge others, because I’m looking forward to seeing what people come up with.
STUFF I WROTE
… when I wasn’t imagining the end of quarantine or complaining about other walkers.
Once it starts, it never stops — The one thing that finishing yardwork guarantees is … more yardwork.
The moments we’ve lost — There was a parade on my street the other day.
Great baseball, poor service — Dodger Stadium was a beautiful ballpark, but “customer service” wasn’t much of a thing.
STUFF I READ
The Eternal Winter Of My Discontent (The Return of the Modern Philosopher) — On top of everything else, snow in May just seems unfair.
Trusting a fart, and nine other things I’ll never do again (Bumbling Dad) — They’re funny. They just are.
Junction 20A (Emma Leeming Writes) — As someone who basically had the route to college memorized, I can relate.
Saying bye to our first home (Sunshine With Savannah) — They’re saying goodbye to their first home … because they’re saying hello to the one they just bought.
Lucy Goes … Singles Wine Tasting (Lucy Goes Dating) — This sounds like proper nightmare fuel.
4 Years On The Job (Rosie Culture) — It appears to be working out so far.
Karma doing its thing … (Millennial Life Crisis) — It usually does.
Shelter (Allison Hantschel for First Draft) — “We have never needed our home to be enough before.”
Falling Asleep in 2012 (The Captain’s Speech) — No, it’s not in the hopes that falling asleep eight years ago would mean waking up to something different now.
Why writing a dating blog is bad for dating (A Dating Dad) — “Having 10,000 spoons when all you need is knife isn’t ironic, it’s bad planning by the caterers.”
It’s hard not to be angry when you read this. (I’m friends with one of the writers.)
TWEETS I LIKED
I can be very cynical about my fellow humans, but here’s a reminder of how good people can be.
Almost any Yankees fan in his or her mid-to-late 40s will probably say the same thing.
Speaking of my generation, if you’re part of it, you know this song.
My usual response is “You just did,” but this also works.
Important to remember.
Smart kid who really needs to get back to playing.
I have either thought of or figured out how to write multiple posts recently between the time I start to wake up in the morning and roll out of bed.
Yeah … things didn’t quite work out that way.
Between this and Renata discovering the joys of coconut in her oatmeal, I’m wondering if there’s a coconut memo out there that I missed.
Yes, and there’s no cure.
How much you want to bet she wasn’t nearly as organized at other parts of her life?
A Silly Place 
Thanks for participating in the challenge, Bill! I’m hoping it keeps going as well ☺️
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Thanks for sharing all of this- hang in there!
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Thanks! You too!
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Thanks for the shoutout! This was a great weekly roundup.
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Thanks! There were a lot more pieces to it than normal, but I think it worked out well!
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