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Join Jim and Greg as they serve up three crazy martinis! First, they note New York City Mayor Eric Adams demanding that people remove their masks before entering stores. It’s an effort to identify shoplifters and looters, which is good, but it wasn’t long ago that that you couldn’t do much of anything in the Big Apple unless you were masked up. They also shake their heads as China makes another overt threat towards Taiwan, mentioning a blacklist of Taiwanese figures to kill during the coming invasion. Finally, there’s less than thrilled that the Republican who lost the Pennsylvania governor’s race last year is thinking about running for U.S. Senate next year.
Before the pandemic, I’d perform on cruise ships every few weeks. It’s a great gig: well-paying, responsive audiences and an opportunity to visit places as diverse as Ushuaia and Singapore. While I’m certain that restrictions such as lockdowns impacted others more than me, they certainly changed my life significantly. Much of it was for the good: I began spending more time with my wife and children than ever. I learned to cook – and to love it. I spent months intensely rehabilitating an injury to my foot and then seamlessly transitioning to another rehab after surgery on my knee, culminating in the completion of my second marathon. (Pro-tip: getting physically stronger is the closest thing to a cure-all for aches and pains.) I’m now again fully fit and looking forward to our family’s skiing trip.
Increasingly, I’ve been alarmed at the number of people in my own circle who wear their symbols of fear: the mask. They are all smart women, rational under most life circumstances, but refuse to let go of wearing their masks. It is like a comfort blanket, even an amulet, that will protect them from the evil forces of COVID. No matter how much information they receive on the minimal protection that masks provide, they persist. My biggest concern is that these people are living in a hyper condition of fear, and they don’t even recognize it. It’s also interesting that they will sacrifice wearing their masks in certain circumstances. I wanted to explore whether prolonging the donning of masks, which could be practiced for the foreseeable future, might have a permanent negative effect on their well-being. The news does not suggest a bright future.
In an effort to follow through on her promised transition from defunding to refunding the police, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that the city would take a zero-tolerance approach to maskless shoplifting, promising stiffer sentences for those who fail to properly mask up when relieving stores of hundreds of dollars in merchandise the proceeds from which are then fenced and laundered before you’re back from lunch.
CDC director Rochelle Wallensky announced today that when it comes to reducing the threat from COVID-19, exercise, a well-rounded diet rich in nutrients and a generally healthy lifestyle are no substitutes for receiving a vaccine booster every seven months.