I recently had my second bout with Covid...still zero stars, do not recommend

Terry and I both contracted Covid back in January 2021 and were down and out for a solid week. I was kind of hoping that would be my one and only experience with it.

But the virus was nice enough to mutate and hit me again last month. And once again, it took a solid week (and then some) for me to come back. This time, for good measure, I also experienced the loss of taste and smell I had somehow avoided with the first go-round.

Everyone who gets Covid seems to have somewhat different experiences. For me, both times it has been a combination of a nasty head cold with flu-like symptoms that have included fever/chills and a general feeling of extreme "blah," if you know what I mean.

Sickness of any type tries my patience. I simply don't have time for illness, which is why, by day #3 of Covid the Sequel, I was antsy and annoyed. I had work to do. I was missing PA announcing gigs and the income that goes with them. I got tired just cleaning a single toilet, let alone an entire bathroom.

When I get sick, I don't become self-pitying so much as bitter and angry. I HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS.

Speaking of PA announcing, the previous weekend's assignments are likely where I picked up this latest round of Covid. That Friday I had announced a Wickliffe football game, and the next day I did both college volleyball at Cleveland State University and a band festival in the nearby town of Solon.

At some point during one of those events, some attendee unknowingly shared the virus with me. I'm all for sharing, but you can keep this particular gift to yourself, Patient Zero.

I will go way out on a limb to give you this expert medical opinion: Covid sucks. Do not get it.

We're halfway through 2021: How does it compare with last year?

Much time and many tweets were expended last December saying goodbye and good riddance to 2020. And with good reasons, really, almost all of them having to do with a little thing called COVID-19 (you may have heard of it...it’s been in all the papers).

This was not only cathartic for a lot of people, it also put pressure on 2021 to be better. Much better. Having reached the halfway point of the year, here's what we can say about it:

Good Things About 2021 So Far

• We're "emerging from the pandemic," as the phrase goes. Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are all down. This is undoubtedly great news.
• On Jan. 10th, my Cleveland Browns defeated the team from Pittsburgh in a playoff game. It is always encouraging to know that, at least occasionally, good wins out over evil.
• Celebrity deaths seem to be down from last year, I think? Not that celebrities' lives are any more valuable than any other lives, but if nothing else, we use them as barometers for how old we ourselves are. Last year it seemed like a movie star was dying every 24 hours.
• The U.N. declared this the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. This designation is virtually meaningless, I know, but I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and feel like they deserve their own year.

Bad Things About 2021 So Far

• We (and by "we" I mean Americans, though I think this is probably also globally applicable) still seem to be yelling at each other a lot and mistrusting each other and generally feeling smug and superior to those who do not happen to share our worldview. This may never go away, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be raised as a depressing, terrible thing, which it is.
• There are still COVID variants in many parts of the world, and while it's human nature to just want to move on and forget about the virus, many people can't. And you have to assume those variants are going to take root here.
• In that same vein, my daughter Melanie had the virus in January and still cannot smell. This doesn't seem to bother her in the least, but it bothers me.
• I know I'm not alone in this, but I ate way too much cake in the first half of 2021. My cake consumption needs to come down. (I tend to eat as much cake as I do fruits and vegetables. I don't think it balances out well.)

How intensely will we appreciate the most mundane things once "normal" returns?

Back in 2012, Hurricane Sandy blew far enough inland to affect Northeast Ohio, where I live.

It is the only time I ever remember a hurricane reaching us, even if it had significantly weakened by the time it got here. Trees were blown over, rain came down in buckets, and we lost power for something like five days.

We had never before (and haven't since) experienced a power outage anywhere near that long. It spanned Halloween and lasted until Nov. 2, the day Terry and I were scheduled to leave our kids at home and fly to San Francisco. Fortunately, the lights came on not long before we were supposed to leave for the airport.

At the time, I said I would never take electricity for granted again.

Within two weeks, I would say, I started taking electricity for granted again.

Which is understandable, right? We should always be grateful for the many blessings in our lives, but it's difficult to consciously think about everything on the list all of the time.

Which brings us to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the most disruptive event of our collective lives, right? Individuals undergo all sorts of trials and tribulations that are worse every day, but as a people, this has changed our lives as much as any other event since maybe World War II?

At some point we'll be able to go to stores without wearing a mask, visit our loved ones in nursing homes, and eat at restaurants like we used to.

When that day comes, I really want to make sure I appreciate every bit of it. The most inconsequential errands will be a joy...at least for a time.

The reality is, it won't be long before we all proceed with our lives as they were and actively try and forget about coronavirus. Again, this may not be that bad a thing. It's very human.

But can we at least make a point of thinking more often about how fortunate we are? I don't know that we need a "COVID Remembrance Day" every year, but rather just a small change in mindset.

It's that "attitude of gratitude" you sometimes hear about.

In the meantime, man, what I wouldn't give to be on the P.A. mic for a basketball game where the stands are packed with maskless people.

It's coming.

It is a small sacrifice my son makes in the face of COVID-19, but I still feel for him

Once or twice a week, I see my son Jared meticulously going through his meal prep routine in our kitchen. This involves cooking copious amounts of chicken, rice, and vegetables, measuring out precise portions of each, and placing those portions in plastic containers for storage in our garage refrigerator.

He does this for two reasons that I know of:

(1) He is in ridiculously good shape and he wants to prolong this state of affairs through proper nutrition.

(2) To a very real extent, thanks to COVID-19, he doesn't have that much on his to-do list these days, so he can spend an hour or more on this ritual as needed.

Pre-pandemic, Jared was a crazy busy person. As a sports management major, he was picking up internships and professional experiences any place he could. He served as communications manager for the Mentor Ice Breakers pro hockey team at the ripe old age of 20. He was supposed to have spent this past summer in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as the PR intern for the Eau Claire Express baseball team. He was also looking to catch on as an intern with one of the big three pro sports teams here in Cleveland.

But COVID scrapped those plans thoroughly. The Ice Breakers franchise has folded, the Express didn't have a season, and right now it's pretty difficult for Jared or anyone else to get internships with pro teams experiencing delayed, reduced, or even non-existent seasons.

Jared has maintained a job with a moving company throughout the pandemic, and he does have online college classes. For the most part, though, he is a man who has been stripped of his purpose.

As I've noted before, this is of course a very first-world problem. Some people are fighting for their lives, or in the case of our health care workers, trying to help others save theirs. Some are without an income and struggling just to get by.

Jared's sacrifice is very minimal in comparison, but he was on such a roll that I hate to see it come to a crashing halt like this.

It will all eventually fade away, I know, and Jared will be free again to work toward his goal of becoming a college/university sports information director. This is a job that requires lots of hours and crazy hard work sometimes, but I don't worry when it comes to Jared. He'll do whatever is required.

In the meantime, he makes his meals. He works out. He does his school work. He occasionally goes out and helps rich people move. And he waits.

Like all of us, he waits.