Dear Editor,
Of course, COVID-19 is a killer pandemic, and must be taken seriously.
I certainly am. I am over the age of 70, immune compromised and full time in a wheelchair. Given that risk profile, I am sticking close to home.
I have only been past my front door once since mid-August and seven times since March (akin to house arrest!).
I most miss spending time with friends and family. I have several young grandchildren whom I have not seen in months.
The youngest is four months old and lives only one kilometre away, and I have yet to hold her. I especially miss hugging and singing to them.
It would be easy to wallow in self pity, or lash out.
But I have a full belly (maybe too full!), warm and dry housing, lots of books to read, a computer on which I can research and write, a TV and radio that work, an attentive wife and children, and regular electronic contact with friends and other family across the country.
So I really mustn’t complain. And the “inconveniences” are likely to be over within months — it is not forever.
Maybe the old joke is more appropriate now than ever: the only w(h)ine in which anyone is interested comes in a bottle!
Ian C. MacLeod
RICHMOND
