Saturday sophorisms

As I mentioned, I've got shingles. Front and back. So many I could redo the roof. And they hurt and they are uncomfortable. But in terms of pain, I have had way worse in my life, including my first case of shingles in my mouth as a kid. The pain is bearable, it is just hard to sleep. Not even top five on my life's pain charts.

Although I am your garden variety agnostic/atheist I can still imagine the skygod sitting on a cloud somewhere muttering, something about you Sommers, it just really pisses me off.  Cancer, shingles and the covid apocalypse in the same year. Brother, who did I piss off?

It is certainly no walk in the park and I hope it doesn't get in my eye but it is something that I think I can deal with pain wise. I take a couple ibuprofen when it gets too intense. Lysine three times a day, capsaicin cream, aloe vera and lidocaine on top of the antivirals.  Leslie ordered a colloidal silver homeopathic treatment as well but we haven't received it yet. Someone told me to try cbd cream but I don't want to get my skin addicted and I hear it's a gateway drug. Next thing you know my big toe will be ordering ice cream and wanting to rip bong loads.

I have been thinking about our global conundrum and how it is changing our lives so drastically. And one thing I was thinking about was that in our normal lives we are thrown together with people based on geographic proximity. Your pals at the golf course, or store, the folks you run into on a daily basis. Sort of cast together by fate and circumstance.

And maybe you would and maybe you wouldn't select them if you were building a new friend team from scratch but it is like family, you just don't get a choice of parents or siblings. Some fraternity is chosen by random error. But now with sequestration, the person in San Mateo or Thailand or Bumfrick Egypt that you email, text or call, their friendship becomes equal if not greater in importance to you than those that might be more geographically close. Does this make any sense? Because we are all now equally remote and we live in an age of instant communication, we get more freedom to pick.

Maybe it is just me but I find myself relying on my oldest and tightest compadres more during this lockdown. Looking forward to great relations with everybody one day, near and far, but I am restricting more of my communication to my absolute rock solids, whose relationships with me have stood the test of time and space.

It is going to take some used to being with people again, even in small groups. I have experienced it and close friends have experienced it. First, the quick are you a potential carrier? assessment, than how close is too close and is it proper and safe to not have a mask on? But not just that, we are now used to solitude and does it just plain make you uncomfortable to be around people right now? Then how long is too long a visit and wouldn't you honestly rather go back to being by yourself?

It is going to be really interesting.