GOT THE TIME?

GOT THE TIME?

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Recently, I have discovered that time flies when you’re not having that much fun.  However, I guess fun is something like, “One man’s junk, is another mans treasure.” It’s what you make of it. No matter how much time we have on our hands, or how much soap we use, or how hard we scrub, it’s impossible to wash time off.

So, what does my day look like in these wear-a-mask-stay-at-home- COVID-19-keep- away-from-people days? I wake up with the birds, pull up the shade and check on the 5:30 a.m. construction crew across the street. Yep, they’re there alright.

Then, I grab a quick cup of coffee, put on my hiking boots, and meet a friend for our 6 a.m. morning walk on the paths around our community. If we are lucky, we will run into some of the wildlife such as deer, javelina, or an occasional rabbit.  If not, we will surely meet some sleepy neighbors being dragged around by their cute little pups.  My joy is that I can pet them (the dogs not the neighbors) and send them on their way without scooping poop.

When the walk is concluded at 7:30 a.m. I ring the bell at the main entrance. The concierge buzzes me in, and hits me on the head with a thermometer. She assures me that I have passed the test, and then I pump some Purell from the disinfecting machine before punching the elevator button with my elbow. I wipe my elbow, enter the apartment and remove my hiking shoes. Now what?  I look for my slippers, which I have misplaced. Misplacing is my new hobby.

By this time, my computer is calling me, but friends phoning from the East Coast take precedence. Sometimes, that 3-hour time difference is a blessing, and  Yes!  Some of my friends still know how to use a telephone. After chatting and checking my e-mails, it’s already 10 a.m. Time for the exercise lady on my television set.  So, I jump around a bit with her. She is waving her arms and kicking her legs in her living room, and she is always cheerful. My favorite part is when her shaggy dog wanders into the room and puts his nose on the camera.

Exercise is over, and I have worked up an appetite for lunch, as well as my morning newspaper. Today, I discover that 1/2 of a hummingbird’s weight is in sugar. That explains a lot, with all of the cookies I have been eating. There must be a hummingbird in my ancestry. I have learned one new thing today. That is enough!

Lunch is over. I look outside to see how much the construction crew has accomplished. The mail has arrived. I put on my mask and ride the elevator back down to the mailroom, take my mail out of my assigned box, take it upstairs and throw it away.  Now it’s time to turn on the Television News. Now it’s time to turn off Television news! Time for soft music instead. However, now my TV remote isn’t working, because I tried to change channels with my  telephone.

Okay, now I have soft music and a website story to write, but first I have to start the laundry, empty the dishwasher, and trim my bangs. Now, it’s time to start writing the story. Hooray!  My son and daughter-in-law are calling me from Fairfax, Virginia. Time for Face Time!  We chat and laugh. After I hang up, the doorbell rings. Dinner has been dropped at my front door.
Dr. Zhivago is on my TV. He is the one from Russia not the CDC. Well, that’s 3 hours of fun for me. However, poor Dr. Zhivago had no fun at all.

I guess my website story will have to wait. After all, as Scarlett, O’Hara would say, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Esther Blumenfeld