MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, PART 743: PAUL MCCARTNEY WAS RIGHT

"I think if you work at home,” reads a 1986 quote from Paul McCartney, “it’s very difficult because the two lives blend into each other, and it becomes neither a home life nor a work life.” I came across those words in our just-released 34th Anniversary Issue, and found them to be quite profound.

That seems to be exactly what we are facing, as the end of summer moves rapidly into the beginning of fall, and as the New Normal has simply become our “abnormal normal.” We work at home, continuously on our phones or iPads until late at night and again from early the next morning. Our children go to school at home. We eat most or all of our meals at home. We shop from home. We occasionally relax at home, but our home life has been changed. Perhaps irrevocably.

Yes, at some point in the future, the strictures will loosen. We will feel safer. There will be vaccinations, as there were when I was a child during the polio epidemic. But will it be the same as it was before? Maybe, but not for quite a long time. So how do we adapt for the long term?

I loved going to the movies, always have. I loved attending Clippers games with my friends, children and grandchildren (although that is a story for another time). I really loved my daily trips to the supermarket, as the key family provider. I enjoyed sitting in people’s offices at work and being up to date on everything that was happening. I enjoyed seeing peoples’ mouths, as funny as that sounds. I never know if someone is smiling. I miss facial expressions.

I growled at the traffic on my drives to and from the office, but I had my favorites on the radio in the morning, and often listened to Yankees games on the way home.

I enjoyed my life. and I miss it.

I’ve found ways to feel engaged and productive amid the blah of quarantine, but the totality of what we’re facing can overwhelm you unexpectedly.

Sir Paul was right. And now I’m asking for some help. I’ve been writing suggestions for how to continue since this started. But I feel stuck in the quicksand right now. Send me some suggestions at [email protected].

As has been the theme since day one, Maybe just maybe we are all really friends. Right now I could use a little help from my friends.