The Lonely Road Back to “Normal” — We’re lonely and getting lonelier. Well before the coronavirus pandemic forced us all into social isolation, mounting research pointed to a loneliness epidemic in America. The results of a widely-cited survey conducted by Cigna and released in January of this year found that 61% of the more than 10,000 Americans surveyed were lonely, which was…

The Stories We Weave — Last weekend came and went, and with it went the counting of days. There doesn’t seem much point any more. This pandemic will last however long it lasts — 30, 100, 500 days. Many experts say this will continue to impact our lives for several years, until a vaccine can…

Uncontrollable Awkwardness — Awkwardness. I’m talking about good old-fashioned teenage awkwardness. That’s what has come over me in the last few days. Awkward on a friend’s Zoom birthday call. Awkward on a group call for a volunteer project I’m helping with. Awkward on a phone date with a woman I met online. Many…

What Day Is It? — I first experienced it in 2017. I was sitting on a bus going…somewhere in Africa or Asia and I thought to myself, “What day is it?” Unlike other times that I’ve asked myself that question, an answer didn’t follow within the first few seconds. …

How the CDC Says to Communicate in a Crisis — Dr. Anthony Fauci has been one of the most reliable public faces of the pandemic in the U.S. In his media appearances, he has consistently provided honest and direct assessments of the situation that don’t withhold information or overly reassure the public. …

Remembering South African Road Trips and Planning for More — My phone lit up last week in the middle of what felt like one never-ending day. Not used to getting calls out of the blue, I knew it could only be a handful of people if it wasn’t a spam caller. Speaking of which, has anybody else noticed a decline…

A Socially Distant Easter Weekend — Each trip to the grocery store is getting more stressful. I stood in line for 30 minutes on Saturday just to get into Trader Joe’s. It felt like waiting for a Disneyland ride. In fact, some generous soul had written encouraging chalk messages on the sidewalk giving updates on the…

What About Flattening the Other Curve? — We’ve spent the past several weeks talking a lot about flattening the curve. We’re all doing our part to slow the spread of the virus so our health systems can keep up with demand. Social isolation has been our most effective way to do that. This graphic started making the…

The Light at the End of the Tunnel? — Each time I write a new post, I have to go back to my published stories to see what day we’re on. There’s very little to distinguish today from yesterday or Tuesday. I couldn’t even tell you what I did on Tuesday without going back and reading what I wrote. …