{"id":45308,"date":"2020-06-30T07:25:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T07:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/?p=45308"},"modified":"2020-06-30T14:28:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T14:28:15","slug":"karens-thoughts-isolation-part-vii-the-people-i-feel-bad-for-and-the-things-i-miss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/karens-thoughts-isolation-part-vii-the-people-i-feel-bad-for-and-the-things-i-miss\/","title":{"rendered":"KAREN’S THOUGHTS: ISOLATION PART VII\u2014THE PEOPLE I FEEL BAD FOR AND THE THINGS I MISS"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISOLATION PART VII\u2014THE PEOPLE I FEEL BAD FOR AND THE THINGS I MISS<\/h1>\n
\"What<\/a>

What we all feel like now, I’m assuming.<\/p><\/div>\n

As June is winding down, and I’ve been in the house for just about sixteen weeks now, I\u2019ve had tons of time to think about this entire \u201cstay at home\u201d situation.<\/p>\n

People keep thinking that I\u2019m missing so much in life for these past few months. They all assume my bon vivette self is going crazy in the house.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s all really quite the opposite. I\u2019m mostly enjoying just chilling and bonding with Mr. X. (And not having to do hair, make-up, and wardrobe for all these months!) And even when I do<\/em> get a tad nervous about life right now, I know that no matter how long I\u2019m stuck inside, I always have tons to do here. I have never<\/em> in all this time, for even one second<\/em>, felt bad for myself.<\/p>\n

But I feel awful<\/em> for all the people who…<\/p>\n

…really<\/em> need money to survive<\/p>\n

…can’t feed their families<\/p>\n

…don\u2019t have enough room to not fall all over each other<\/p>\n

\"Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-1080x630\"<\/a>…don\u2019t really know how to teach their children the school curriculum<\/p>\n

…are missing major events or milestones in their lives: weddings, graduations, Sweet 16s, Quincea\u00f1eras, anniversary parties\u2014you name it<\/p>\n

…are losing loved ones and can’t even bury them properly!<\/p>\n

…can\u2019t be with their loved ones in their final moments on this level of life<\/p>\n

…can\u2019t get the proper medical attention medical personnel who basically have<\/em> to work now, (like my new nurse friend, Betsy)<\/p>\n

\"Nurses-doctors-healthcare-VCH-Courtesy-Twitter-laragurneyRN\"<\/a>…have some other health issue that\u2019s not being properly attended to because the doctor\/hospital staff is overworked with the virus<\/p>\n

…have to work in places where there are no proper precautions taken, and alongside infected coworkers<\/p>\n

…are victims of domestic abuse and violence, and\u00a0can’t get away from their abusers because they\u2019re in a house together all the time now<\/p>\n

…are homeless<\/p>\n

…are jobless<\/p>\n

…are performers who were due to be in a Broadway show, which, for many, is their dream come true, and their shows are now cancelled<\/p>\n

…are non-famous musicians who don\u2019t have work now.<\/p>\n

I could go on. But I\u2019m assuming that we all feel the same way about what\u2019s happening, so you all get it.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t miss all my usual<\/em> events\u2014parties, screenings, play openings, gifting suites\u2014because…they\u2019re not happening right now! It\u2019s not like I\u2019m being left-out of anything\u2014there\u2019s nothing going on.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t even miss restaurants<\/em>, even though I\u2019ve been eatery-obsessed my entire life! I can tell you what I had for so many meals since I was two<\/em>! (But back then, all I ate was hot dogs, watermelon, and cucumbers! And chocolate milk and little soup crackers for my snacks.) I\u2019m just grateful that I\u2019m also just plain food<\/em>-obsessed, so I\u2019ve been content coming up with meals for Mr. X and me on my own. (I have to admit, though, that I will be thrilled when someone else does the cooking for me again!)<\/p>\n

\"No<\/a>

No Wimbledon this year. (And apparently, no one who can spell announcing that it was canceLLed!)<\/p><\/div>\n

At first, I was really miserable that all my favorite sporting events have gone by the wayside: March Madness, the Figure Skating World Championships, Wimbledon, (which has been cancelled for the first time since World War II!,) and\u2014I can barely even write this one\u2014the Olympics! I seriously have planned my life around watching these happenings for decades<\/em> now. I had even started writing my column proclaiming that March Madness was beginning. I got a knot in the pit of my stomach when I came upon that<\/em> now-unnecessary page the other day. [Note: the NBA Play-offs, the entire baseball season, and the Kentucky Derby and Preakness are just postponed<\/em>. But, in my humble opinion, baseball and basketball should just pack it in for this year. Just sayin\u2019.]<\/p>\n

The weird thing is that I\u2019m not really missing<\/em> them, per se, again because they\u2019re not happening. But I feel awful<\/em> for all those athletes who have missed-out on what are quite possibly chances of a lifetime. I don\u2019t watch sports for sports sake\u2014I care about the genre so much because I care about the people<\/em> and their journeys. That was most likely the last chance for the college basketball players, (and perhaps the football teams, as well,) but I hope the same Olympians will still get their opportunity when it\u2019s back on in a year from now. (From my mouth to God\u2019s ears!)<\/p>\n

But there is a growing list of some of the few things I do<\/em> miss.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>For example, I do feel a tad bad that all the events I had planned, from late March through July, didn\u2019t\/aren\u2019t going to happen. But oh well. That should be the worst of it for everyone. I\u2019ve been waiting ages to see the musical Once Upon An Island<\/em>, and have been feeling bad for a few years now that I had missed a few opportunities in the recent past. So I am totally disappointed that the production that was due to open at the Ahmanson Theatre in April had to be cancelled altogether, not just postponed. The irony is that it was due to open on April Fool\u2019s Day, so that\u2019s the biggest AFD joke to happen to me in quite awhile.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ve really begun to miss bumping into old friends. Or other first-nighters. Actually, the entire social scene, in general.<\/p>\n

And I really<\/em> miss my far-away friends, but I always<\/em> miss them! Especially my Aspen pals, who are now spread-out around the world: Gina and Aaron in New Zealand, Alex in Australia, Simone and Heinrich in Austria. Who knew they\u2019d all be grown-up parents since we were all last together?!<\/p>\n

I also haven\u2019t seen the uber-pleasant Mary since I stopped spending summers in Aspen, although she\u2019s still in that town, which is much closer than all the countries my other pals have settled in. And speaking of Colorado, my two Brooklyn besties, Carol and Patti, have been living near Denver for about a decade now, so I haven\u2019t seen them, either.<\/p>\n

I always miss my Rhode Island peeps, most of whom I haven\u2019t seen since Mother\u2019s Day 2013! I\u2019m always thankful I made that trip then.<\/p>\n

But none of those absences are due to the coronavirus pandemic; they\u2019re all just due to life<\/em>. I\u2019m always too busy to travel much, and now that I\u2019m not busy at all, there is no traveling to be done! It\u2019s such a catch 22.<\/p>\n

But right now, I\u2019m missing the New York<\/em> crowd; I was due to be spending the entire month of May there! I feel awful for my young pal, Caitlin, for whose wedding shower I was making the trip. Not only has she missed-out on those<\/em> festivities, but now her October wedding<\/em> is in doubt!<\/p>\n

So, in addition to here, right now I\u2019m also missing Sheila, Manny, Lauren, Jill, Betsy, Sharon, Helen, Taylor, Joan, and all the rest of the people I was planning to meet up with in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

And my friend Noelle was due to be here in LA this week, for the next fortnight, so I\u2019m really sad that\u2019s not happening anymore. We had planned it for so long!<\/p>\n

\"Karen<\/a>

Karen Salkin on the right, at a birthday dinner with friends in the good old days (of last year!) Photo by Dan Tana’s staff. That’s Karen Salkin at the top of this page, as well, looking sad about the world right now. (That photo is by Herb Weil.)<\/p><\/div>\n

But, luckily for me, that\u2019s the main thing in my \u201cmissing\u201d column: friends. I do occasionally think of someone here in LA, and picture running into them somewhere, as I always do when the world is normal, and just hugging them. And then I remember that stuff like that won\u2019t be happening again for at least another year. And that\u2019s the kind-of thing that makes me feel a tad down.<\/p>\n

And then this morning, I realized there\u2019s something else I, shockingly, kind-of miss–my old daily routine. It\u2019s no biggie, just something I had gotten used to for the decade that this e-zine has been in existence. This was it before: Getting up early to write before there are too many distractions, FaceTiming with Mr. X while he\u2019s being kind enough to shop for us, sneaking a bit of TV from the night before while he’s out, getting ready for two hours (at least,) and then going out for whatever adventure each night held for me.\u00a0 I really have almost forgotten how all that feels.\u00a0 But on the plus side, now<\/em> I get to sleep late; I get into bed between 1 and 2AM, don’t fall asleep until at least 4, and then sleep until between 10:30 and 2!\u00a0 Why rush to get up???<\/p>\n

Lastly, I know that some of America has re-opened recently, but it\u2019s very possible it will be closing again soon. The idiots who feel that they don\u2019t have to wear masks, and can congregate with hoards of people, are ruining it for everybody! So I\u2019m playing it smart and safe and will continue to stay in until the intelligent and knowledgable powers-that-be, like Dr. Fauci, Dr. Ferrer, Gavin Newsom, and Andrew\u00a0Cuomo, tell us otherwise. I hope everyone reading this everywhere will do the same.<\/p>\n

[Note: And if you\u2019re<\/em> missing me<\/em> right about now, because I haven\u2019t been publishing columns as often as before<\/em> the pandemic, you can always catch-up on the stories you may have missed before\u2014my archives are on the right side of this page. Or just watch my YouTube videos! They\u2019re all right here: www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCF7mwI2jwcB2xB9dBCBxLZg<\/a>. Just please don\u2019t judge my isolation looks!]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISOLATION PART VII\u2014THE PEOPLE I FEEL BAD FOR AND THE THINGS I MISS As June is winding down, and I’ve been in the house for just about sixteen weeks now, I\u2019ve had tons of time to think about this entire \u201cstay at home\u201d situation. People keep thinking that I\u2019m missing so much in life for<\/p>\n

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