The Come-Back, Day 22. June.
It's June, the best month of the year. The days are the longest, the weather should be the finest, and everything is just right. Almost. As I turned the calendar page this morning, I saw that I had marked from the 22nd to the 30th as my summer vacation.
I buy my calendar every year from a publishing company in Massachusetts. Ever since I visited Boston in 2005, and bought the following year's calendar with pictures of Boston, I have been buying by mail either a Massachusetts, Boston, or New England calendar.
When it arrives, I go marking the holidays we have with a red marker. It's not confusing, because the calendar only uses black ink, even for Sundays. I also write in dates that I know of in advance, such as the local festival, and my vacations, which follow the school holidays.
This year, it doesn't matter that I marked it. I truly counted my chickens before they've been hatched, this time. I've been on holiday since mid-March, except for an hour or two most days, when I have a class by video call. According to the news, I will be able to travel around Galicia or even to neighboring Asturias by then, though I don't know if I will want to. Travel to Portugal is iffy because the opening date of the border is not yet known. It also doesn't matter that the 24th is marked in red; it's the regional holiday of St. John. There will be no bonfires on St. John's Eve, unless families make their own private ones. There will probably be no sardines, either, to roast on the coals. They're selling for eight euros a kilo now. By then, they'll probably be well over ten euros a kilo. Too expensive.
The concert we were going to this Saturday has been postponed to next March. Others we might have attended are most likely not going to be held. Local festivals have been cancelled well into the summer. Our town's Guadalupe festival in September is up in the air.
My summer classes are up in the air, too. I give classes in July and August, every year. I don't know if many parents will be okay with sending their children to a class of any kind this summer. I have seen some mums, and we've talked about the situation. I mentioned, each time, that when it is allowed and safe to do so, I'll be here for classes. But, even if it's allowed, will it really be safe?
Things have been softening, and our regional government has declared that if we pass to Phase Three next Monday, we will be allowed to travel among the four provinces of Galicia. At the moment, I think there have been no new contagions in the region these past few days. But people are still recuperating from the virus, either in the hospitals or at home. It takes just one person breaking quarantine, because they feel better, to start infecting again. That's what one guy from Madrid did last week. Despite being told to wait on the results of his Covid-19 test, he decided to get on a crowded plane and fly to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. While en route, the result came back positive. The plane was met on the tarmac, and all the passengers on that flight were ordered to quarantine at home. One other passenger has already tested positive. That is the problem, that there are stupid people out there. They are the virus' greatest ally.
But, it's still June, and it's still the best month of the year.
Life continues.
I buy my calendar every year from a publishing company in Massachusetts. Ever since I visited Boston in 2005, and bought the following year's calendar with pictures of Boston, I have been buying by mail either a Massachusetts, Boston, or New England calendar.
When it arrives, I go marking the holidays we have with a red marker. It's not confusing, because the calendar only uses black ink, even for Sundays. I also write in dates that I know of in advance, such as the local festival, and my vacations, which follow the school holidays.
This year, it doesn't matter that I marked it. I truly counted my chickens before they've been hatched, this time. I've been on holiday since mid-March, except for an hour or two most days, when I have a class by video call. According to the news, I will be able to travel around Galicia or even to neighboring Asturias by then, though I don't know if I will want to. Travel to Portugal is iffy because the opening date of the border is not yet known. It also doesn't matter that the 24th is marked in red; it's the regional holiday of St. John. There will be no bonfires on St. John's Eve, unless families make their own private ones. There will probably be no sardines, either, to roast on the coals. They're selling for eight euros a kilo now. By then, they'll probably be well over ten euros a kilo. Too expensive.
The concert we were going to this Saturday has been postponed to next March. Others we might have attended are most likely not going to be held. Local festivals have been cancelled well into the summer. Our town's Guadalupe festival in September is up in the air.
My summer classes are up in the air, too. I give classes in July and August, every year. I don't know if many parents will be okay with sending their children to a class of any kind this summer. I have seen some mums, and we've talked about the situation. I mentioned, each time, that when it is allowed and safe to do so, I'll be here for classes. But, even if it's allowed, will it really be safe?
Things have been softening, and our regional government has declared that if we pass to Phase Three next Monday, we will be allowed to travel among the four provinces of Galicia. At the moment, I think there have been no new contagions in the region these past few days. But people are still recuperating from the virus, either in the hospitals or at home. It takes just one person breaking quarantine, because they feel better, to start infecting again. That's what one guy from Madrid did last week. Despite being told to wait on the results of his Covid-19 test, he decided to get on a crowded plane and fly to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. While en route, the result came back positive. The plane was met on the tarmac, and all the passengers on that flight were ordered to quarantine at home. One other passenger has already tested positive. That is the problem, that there are stupid people out there. They are the virus' greatest ally.
But, it's still June, and it's still the best month of the year.
Life continues.
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| Taken on my morning walk. |
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