the toa newsletter, may 2021

I sensed throughout the week that I was going to have a hard time with this one, and when I woke up yesterday I realized I was right - nothing happened in April, so I had nothing for the newsletter. We are now all a year into this pandemic, and I think we understand what I mean when I speak of this feeling - weeks and weeks can go by without a single noteworthy event. I spent the morning dealing with various admin - including but not limited to The Big Admin, aka taxes - while in the back of my mind I considered various options for this post. I went out for a run in the early afternoon to think it over and finalize my topic.

It was one of those spring days that earns a majority of its rave reviews from behind closed windows - bright, sunny, and almost warm, but far too windy, the equivalent of watching the movie instead of reading the book (though not in the sense of Nomadland, I suppose). Still, April 30 will go down as a small local milestone in the battle against COVID-19: today was the first day of the commonwealth's relaxed mask measures for outdoor settings. I went through my five minute stretching and warm-up routine, then I walked to the northbound side of the Longfellow Bridge and started my run. After a few strides, I glanced around to see if the coast was clear, then I grabbed my mask and pulled...

I know this is the point where I'm supposed to wax poetic about The Great Mask Liberation of 2021. Oh, the freedom! Ohhh, the sunshine on my face!! Ohhhhh, the clean air filling my lungs, like water rushing across parched farmland!!! Surely I burst into tears as I thought about the last thirteen months? TOA readers will know better. Instead, I'm here to share the one observation from my run where, for the most part, I kept my mask down - everyone was still wearing a mask. This isn't a comment about other people. My point is that up until yesterday the only thing I noticed was the exact opposite. How much of my perspective is tinted by the shaded lens of tribalism? As always, I am humbled by these gentle reminders of the limits to self-awareness.

Thanks for reading. See you in May, here or in person!