Going with the flow

This is reading week for me, so last weekend I took a short trip to Toronto to say the boys.  In many ways, it was a rather weird experience, but I'm glad I made the trip and that I am close enough to do so.

Other than somewhat thinner traffic on the highway, the drive was uneventful.  Hwy 401 is just this long stretch of road that borders on monotony, with Formula 1 wanna-bees going at breakneck speed just because they could.  In case you're wondering, I no longer drive at excessive speeds.  These days I hardly ever go above 75 (~125 km), so most of the time I stayed on the slow lane.  Yup.  Kid you not.

There was this surreal feeling, you know, as I drove down the highway.  Passing places I'd been.  Brought back memories and stuff.  Made me wonder if things will ever get back to "normal" again.

It's been a while since I'd been to Toronto.  Come to think of it, it's been something like 9-10 months?  The last time I went was before this Covid shit storm.  And that seems like eons ago.  No indoor dining.  The hotel didn't even offer room service.  No valet parking.  I asked the front desk person what the occupancy rate was, and he told me that for the weekend, they were having maybe 7-8%.  Holy crap.  That's below breakeven. Even those who remained on the job must be wondering when that might end...

Had some fun patio dining experience while there (yeah, patio dining was allowed, but no indoor).  Was it fucking cold.  I don't know how these patios will manage when winter actually comes.  Seriously, even in Toronto, winter temps can get way below freezing.  No outdoor heater is going to keep the cold out.  And worse, think Ottawa when winter temps dip to -25 or lower, how the hell will they (or the diners) survive?  

Well, I had a nice break from my Ottawa routine, so that was good.  But now back in Ottawa, I have to actual "read" during reading week, for as I told you, I have a week from hell coming up.  That should be fun.

In Ontario, we are now experiencing the second wave, and new cases are averaging something like 800-900 a day.  That's alarming, especially when you consider that a couple months back, we were having as low as 100 a day.  But then putting it in perspective, I realize that 800 or so is what Maryland experiences these days, only that MD's population is only 1/3 that of Ontario's.  So that means the infection rate per capita is three times worse.  And Maryland is one of the states that are doing relatively well.

I read the other day that Green Bay, my old haunt, is averaging 230 new cases a year.  Green Bay, my friends, has a population of under 100,000.  You do the math.  I have a dear good friend who still lives and works there.  And his college has him teaching classes in person.  WTF.  

Well, to all you readers out there (I mean, the three of you or something), please stay safe and be cheerful.  Things could always be worse.  One day at a time, my friends.  One day at a time.