I just received a reminder of my reservation for Monday night at the Sofitel Heathrow. Sigh. I have moved it to September 2021 with only a hint of optimism. I accept that it might be years for me, for whatever reason, before I travel. One year of no travel for events outside everyone's control is not a big deal, IMO, but as it continues, habits change. I also think that I will wear masks in public transport situations maybe from here on in, as they are likely to help with regular travel illnesses as well. As far as my independent or solo travel, masks are problematic as when outside I already need to wear dark sunglasses and a hat. Add the mask to this and I look ridiculous, secluded and have created a huge wall between me and people I meet, which defeats one of the enjoyable aspects of solo travel.
As a very young child, I remember the polio epidemic in the 50's to a limited degree. For years my grandmother used to take us to Crescent Park. It seemed for years I was told that next year I'd be tall enough to go on the fun rides. The year that it seemed I would finally be tall enough to go on the rides with all my other cousins (I was the youngest), polio happened and we didn't go to any public place again for years; it seemed like anyway. Crescent Park essentially went out of business before the vaccine allowed a change back to the old, which never happened, as amusement parks closed or became really depressing in our area, so we did not revisit them again. I digressed, I think. Businesses come and go, and the trajectory of life changes. We just don't know and all the guessing in the world will not change it. Over time the fact that we got the polio shot and it's little plastic bubble on top of it, allowed us out, but we then went to different places, never to revisit the old. What did return for our parents is a certain sense of safety, I think.
