September 28, 2021 – Sometimes mom asks, “Do you have a minute?” That’s my queue that she wants to ask me a question, show me some bizarre deal on facebook, a questionable email, or, sometimes, it’s something going on outside.
In the beginning, she would just point to something and say, “Look.” I’d be staring blankly at a screen or outside and I’d have no idea what I’m supposed to be seeing. I’d look. Sometimes I could figure out what she was asking. Sometimes I couldn’t. When I couldn’t, she’d point and say, “Look harder!” Sometimes that worked – I’d notice the anomaly. Sometimes it didn’t. I’d sadly have to say, “I have no idea what I’m supposed to be seeing here” and then she’d explain. After viewing whatever it was, I’d try to rationalize/explain what she was seeing. Sometimes I’d say to mom that it would save us both a lot of time if she would just tell me what she’s seeing and then ask me to take a look.
It’s gotten to the point where as soon as she asks me if I have a minute, I pause or mute whatever I’m watching/doing so that I can give her my full attention. On Sunday morning, she asked me if I had a minute. She said that a restaurant was still open at 3am that morning. I asked how she knew that – after all, the restaurant was a block away and on our side of the street. She didn’t have line of sight to the establishment. She said that she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep. So she was on her computer and looked out the window. She said she saw that cars were still parked in the lot in front of our building. She deduced that these cars belonged to the restaurant’s patrons. She said the restaurant was open and they were all supposed to close at 10 pm. So began my review of the current protocols in place. After about 15 minutes of searching, I found the relevant information. I explained to mom that restaurants who are complying with verifying that all patrons are fully-vaccinated can serve dine-in customers, as long as they remain socially distant, and they can remain open for their full hours. If the restaurant is not verifying status, then they can’t have dine-in and can only serve take-out or delivery. I said, clearly the restaurant is following the protocols. Mom looked at me skeptically. I said “Yes. We have to assume that they’re following the protocols. But we don’t really know if they are unless we pay them a visit.”
Last night, after dinner, I was sitting watching TV. Mom asked if I had a minute. Per usual, I muted the TV and said, “Sure.” She said, “I want you to look at something.” I got up off of the couch and started to walk towards her. I asked, “What am I looking at?” She didn’t say anything. I looked at her. She said, “A dead body!” I said, “What?” She said, “There’s a man lying on the ground between our building and the lot next door. He hasn’t moved. I think he’s dead!” So I looked out her window and, sure enough, there was somebody on the ground. So I asked for her binoculars (yes, mom has binoculars). I couldn’t really see much from her window. So I told her I was going to my room and see if I could get a better view from my window.
My heart started racing as I walked into my room. I looked out my window and couldn’t see too much more than what mom was seeing. I put the binoculars to my eyes. I zoomed in on the man. As I started to adjust the binoculars, I could see that he wasn’t lying on the ground but he was on his hands and knees. I tried to look for signs of distress. Was he injured or needing some kind of assistance? I went back to the couch and grabbed my phone. “Well?” “He’s on his hands and knees. I can’t tell if he needs help. I’m going to try to get a better look and then I’ll call 911.” “He has a friend with him now.” “What?” “Another man is there.”
I went back into my bedroom. I took the binoculars and looked again. The man was still on his hands and knees. The ‘friend’ was leaning against one of the planters and looking down at him. The man, on his knees, was hunched over a piece of foil. I put the binoculars down and walked back into the livingroom. “He’s fine. He’s doing drugs.” Mom breathed a sigh of relief. I tried not to look annoyed.
Diary of a DOW 