Deciding how I would react to that outstretched hand waiting to be shook, the last nine months of norm shattering behavior hit me with full force. It's safe to say 2020 will never be a year that blurs with others.
What was the last large public event you attended? When did you last dine in a restaurant, indoors? When did you last shake a hand?
In mid-March, I saw Invisible Man in a theater in Eatontown, NJ. Immediately following, my wife and I and two friends had a late lunch in a nearby restaurant, the last time I've eaten indoors.
Yesterday was the first time I've shaken a hand - twice - since March. And this simple ritual being worthy of a blog post? What year of your life competes with 2020 for weirdness?
My side gig for a while here in Las Vegas has been working as a suited security guard at conventions and trade shows. I work for one company predominantly, and several others to fill in gaps in scheduling. It's is (was) pretty interesting both from the stand point of meeting an interesting cross section of working class men and women working hard just to make ends meet and witnessing some pretty incredible displays of, well you name it and Las Vegas hosts a convention for it. The convention business of course completely fell off a cliff with Covid-19 lock down. It's hard to make comparisons regarding the sheer size of the convention venues but if you need the exercise, pace off an area of about 2 million square feet. That's just the Las Vegas Convention Center. Mandalay Bay and Sands, are almost as large. The average adult male has about a 2.5 foot stride. Most of the trucks that deliver the materials for the conventions are the usual 53 foot long semis you see on the highway. If you walk the length of the truck trailer and you are a man, that's about 22 paces. We guards chalked up many miles just walking back and forth between the command post and our guard positions multiple times a day. Just getting back and forth from distant parking lots to get to work involved more walking. Anyway, the last guard gig I worked was at the MGM Convention Center for the Re/Max convention. A relatively small show with about 6,500 attendees. That was in in late February. Then the Covid-19 lock down went into effect in Nevada on March 17. Since then there has been zero convention business which has taken a huge toll on the economy of Las Vegas. It is amazing to have witnessed the huge crowds attending the convention venues and now to imagine the completely empty cavernous spaces. If nothing else had occurred in my life this year, just the end of the conventions would be enough to make it a most memorable year.
ReplyDeleteSteve; It would be difficult to over-state how pleased I am when someone takes the time to respond to one of my ramblings here. Thanks (again) for being such a loyal supporter of my blog. And this anecdote - about the toll this pandemic has had on the businesses where near where you live - is moving AND comprehensive.
DeleteFor me also, no competition. The last time I dined indoors was on my birthday in January. I can't remember the last time I shook someone's hand let alone hug someone. I shared a piece with you that I wrote called: We took hugging for granted. It certainly is weird with no clear "end" in sight.
ReplyDeleteInes; Thanks for comment. Although I didn't recall your piece on hugging when I wrote this post last night, our reflections do overlap.
DeleteThe last large event that I attended was ELO at MSG (love how that sounds - lol). In person events, concerts, theater, etc, are so greatly missed that words to properly describe it fail me. Shaken a hand - can’t remember. A year that equals the weirdness of 2020? I hope to never know one. One of the things that I really miss is being involved in theater. Being part of a production is one of the greatest feelings ever. Being around the theater, being in a theatre, being with my theater family... I miss that so much and cannot wait to be able to do this again.
ReplyDeleteRRGRMG; ELO @ MSG. huh? Who opened for them? CSNY? ELP? Was the show SRO? How good was the PA? Was there an MC for that ELO show you saw? BTW, or FYI, if you prefer, when JFK was POTUS how many U.S. soldiers were MIA in Vietnam? LBJ (JFK's VP), wouldn't reveal those exact numbers when he became president and the FBI and CIA certainly wouldn't help. LOL.
DeleteI kneel before the ‘Acronym Master’ LOL
DeleteI remember so distinctly the weekend before things shut down we went to a party for some friends of ours who were set to be married that May. Everyone had conversations about the virus but in a "huh isn't it crazy. What if..." way. Then that Wednesday we went to a bar and played trivia with some friends and by then things already seemed so much more serious and worse. I can't wait until it's safe to go and play trivia with my friends again like that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't shaken any hands since then! I would be fine if we stop that forever, honestly!
Gina; Thanks for comment. I miss the regular interaction (without worrying) with my friends as well. And I get the sentiment about being done with shaking hands. More of a guy thing, I guess?
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