Wake me up When September Ends

 

September 28, 2020

Wake me up When September Ends

This has been yet another crazy month in a line of them since March. As much as some people would like to believe that the global pandemic is all but over and that we can resume life as somewhat normal, that is far from true and the truth is people are suffering from Covid exhaustion, where many are just sick and tired of living with the precautions that we have been following since March. While locally the numbers have dropped to a more manageable rate, September is also traditionally the slowest month of the year in the Keys so you would expect that anyway.

Our terrible Governor of the State of Florida, Ron DeSantis has lifted most of the restrictions on capacity for restaurants, sporting events, concerts and more. Reopened the bars and stopped communities from being able to fine individuals for not wearing masks, which basically gives them free rein to abandon mask protocols except in private businesses that mandate them and over which the Governor thankfully has no jurisdiction.

The virus though has other plans and it seems that the much-discussed fall surge may be underway in many places across the country, though the first stage never really ended. The current numbers continue to be staggering as there have been 7,115,046 confirmed cases in the United States with a shocking 204,756 deaths. Locally the case count in Monroe County is up to 1,828 with 827 of those being in Key West and sadly 22 deaths locally.

My family was once again affected as our friend Bryan Fonseca succumbed to the virus in Indianapolis after a long stay in the hospital. Another friend, Danny Weed also passed away in Indianapolis, not of Covid, but the bad news seems to just keep coming this year that has been full of death, illness and misery. If that wasn’t enough to keep us occupied and concerned, this year has been the most active Hurricane season in years as they have already run through the complete alphabet of names and begun using Greek letters to refer to them. Our streak of missing out was broken sort of suddenly when Tropical Storm Sally formed basically right on top of us, drenching Key West in almost twelve inches of rain in a single day. Massive flooding on our street had water all the way up into our yard and flooded our rental unit next door. It pretty much sucked.

Danny Weed

On top of that during the cleanup the following day, Kathy blew her knee out and has spent the past two weeks waiting for an appointment with a surgeon while using crutches, being in massive pain and altering our plans for the entire fall season. It has been pretty awful.

It hasn’t been all bad news as we have celebrated the birthdays of three of our good friends this month, beginning with our dear friend Gae. We hosted a socially distant outside gathering for about seven of us in what was the first somewhat big gathering of friends at our house. We had food catered from the Seagrass Asian restaurant and enjoyed a great evening with friends.

   Gae

Our friend Caitlin celebrated her birthday with an outdoor picnic with friends and family at sunset at the Truman Waterfront. It was yet another fun evening that Kathy sadly missed due to her knee injury, but spending time with friends, especially those we have not seen most of the year has been really enjoyable. The final birthday was a dinner gathering to celebrate the birthday of my long-time close friend Shanda at the Thirsty Mermaid restaurant. Her boyfriend Martin organized a small group of long-time friends in what was another bright moment in a month that has seen far too few.

Finally, this month has seen a ratcheting up of election mania as what is one of the most critical and important elections of my lifetime on November 3^rd fast approaches. I attended the local Hometown event with local candidates being queried about their positions at a candidate forum for about half of the local races. It included the most controversial ballot amendments in years here locally as Key Westers will have three opportunities to limit the size, scope and type of cruise ships that visit the island.

 

Kathy and I are big supporters of voting yes to limit the ships, but fierce opposition has been formed by much of the business community and it figures to be a very interesting vote. We have more candidate signs up at our house than we ever have as the election just seems so monumental and our country just seems so fractured and divided. I won’t elaborate on our selections but urge everyone to participate by voting. It may be the most important thing you do all year.