That morning, 50 background actors had just dressed in our 50's era costumes. The women had had their hair done (hair in curlers since the night before), men clean shaved and hair shellacked. We sat down for breakfast before a long day of filming when a production assistant hurried into holding and said, "That's it. It's wrap. The -- studio has just shut down all of their productions until further notice due to the coronavirus."
Coronavirus had impacted me prior to this day: my wife's office had all employees working from home since the previous Monday; my son's school had effectively closed two days earlier; and I had been taking daily shopping trips looking for toilet paper. Oh, and the stock market had dropped over 30% over the previous three weeks.
But now, I was out of work. The mayor of Los Angeles effectively shutdown the city. Everything that used to be done indoors like haircuts, shopping, eating at restaurants, going to movies, museums, and working unless it was for an essential business was closed. It seemed like the only businesses a person could leave their house to visit were grocery stores and take out restaurants. We couldn't even visit family members who did not live in our dwelling. In Spain quarantining was so strict that some people used fake dogs so they could leave their house if only for five minutes a day.
Of course there was a valid reason for these precautions.
According to worldmeter.com, as of today, 2,658,861 people have died from coronavirus. In the United States, the number is 546,557. The total number of reported covid-19 cases in the U.S.is 30,043,115, or about 10% of the population.
Wow. Just, wow.
So where are we now one year later?
In a record amount of time, the world has created a vaccine, as our former President dubbed the effort, "Operation Warp Speed." Millions of people within the United States have been vaccinated. Our current President said that every American over 18 years of age will be able to make an appointment for the vaccine beginning May 1, 2021.
Grocery stores are fully stocked. The stock market is back to pre-coronavirus levels, as are gas prices, but thankfully, traffic is still not quite as bad as many people work from home now.
But things will not be back to the old normal any time soon.
Los Angeles still does not allow indoor dining, going to the movies, or exercising in an indoor gym, and my son still has to receive his education through distance learning as public high schools in Los Angeles County are still closed. However, it appears that Los Angeles will be lifting many of these restrictions soon. Cruise ships are still dead in the water with booking dates consistently being pushed back and international travel is still heavily restricted.
Yet, sets are open again, with everyone wearing masks, face shields, and some crew wearing full-on helmets. Coronavirus testing is a way of life whether in the mouth, nose, or what feels like the brain sometimes. My friend asked me the other day how many coronavirus test have I have had. The answer is 32, not including rapid tests on the days that I worked on set.
My wife and friend are still working from home as their companies' physical offices are closed and have told them that it will be at least summer before they can return to the office.
I will say that my family of 4 has definitely grown closer together by talking daily, eating meals together, working out together, watching t.v., etc. Life has slowed down. It has allowed me to focus on my goals and rebalance priorities in life. There is always a light somewhere, even during the darkest times.
It has been a year for the ages. I hope the next one is as well - but crazy happy instead of just plain crazy.
Take care and be safe.
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