The plan for yesterday was relatively simple: get my flu vaccine and have dinner with a dear friend. Nothing complicated. Just an everyday medical errand followed by a little personal joy.
Well, let’s just say plans changed fast. Moments after rolling down my sleeve from the flu shot, I got a text from my roommate that he’d tested positive for COVID.
Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Once I finished cursing in the parking lot, I quickly shifted into pandemic autopilot. First, I called my friend to reschedule dinner. Then I grabbed my mask, picked up some COVID tests, and started mentally planning out the next few days.
The good news is that both my roommate and I recently had our vaccine boosters, which helps take the edge off the worry. His symptoms are mild. And I feel fine. No sign of the virus. Knock on wood.
Still, it’s hard not to feel the ripple effect of disruption that comes with even the possibility of being sick. Plans get paused. Routines wobble. The world tilts, just enough to remind you that you’re not really the one in charge.
And because the universe loves a theme, the “news” headlines yesterday were also full of chatter about yet another government shutdown.
In my opinion, it’s political theater at its worst, performed by some of the worst.
The timing almost feels symbolic: personal quarantine on the micro level, political dysfunction on the macro. Both serve as reminders of just how fragile “stability” can be—and how quickly we’re forced to adjust when life doesn’t go according to plan.
So for now, I’ll stay home. I’ll test again tonight, mask up if I need to step outside, and wait to see what tomorrow brings.
I’m treating this short quarantine with quiet seriousness—out of an abundance of caution. Better safe than sorry, right? In the meantime, I’m cheering my roommate on from across the backyard, sending encouragement from a safe distance.
If only politicians could take a page from that same playbook—prioritize prevention, minimize harm, and think beyond themselves—the world might be a better place.
But we all know that’s a fever dream. So I’ll focus on controlling what I can actually control, and hope the politicians start doing their damn jobs sooner than later.
In the meantime, I’ll be here doing what we’ve all gotten pretty good at over the last few years: adjusting, waiting, and trying to keep a sense of humor about it all.
Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 2
BIRTHDAYS
1800 = Nat Turner = American slave and uprising leader
1846 = Claude Phillips = British writer, historian and critic 🌈
1869 = Mahatma Gandhi = Indian freedom fighter, activist, and philosopher
1890 = Groucho Marx = American comedian and actor
1904 = Graham Greene = English novelist, playwright, and critic
1909 = Alex Raymond = American cartoonist and Flash Gordon creator
1926 = Jan Morris = Welsh writer and historian 🌈
1928 = George McFarland = American actor
1938 = Rex Reed = American film critic 🌈
1945 = Don McLean = American singer-songwriter
1948 = Avery Brooks = American actor
1948 = Donna Karan = American fashion designer
1949 = Annie Leibovitz = American photographer 🌈
1951 = Sting = English singer-songwriter and actor
1954 = Lorraine Bracco = American actor
1955 = Paula Ettelbrick = American lawyer and activist 🌈
1970 = Kelly Ripa = American actor and talk show host
1971 = Tiffany Darwish = American singer-songwriter
1988 = Brittany Howard = American singer-songwriter 🌈
EVENTS
1789 = The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification.
1919 = Seven days after suffering a “physical collapse“ following a speech in Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson has a catastrophic stroke at the White House, leaving him physically and mentally incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency.
1957 = The Bridge on the River Kwai premieres in London.
1959 = The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS.
1967 = Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of the SCOTUS.
1985 = Rock Hudson dies of complications from AIDS in Beverly Hills, CA, at the age of 59.
2018 = The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“I can’t fly a flag for monogamy or whatever the opposite is; it depends on the person and on the situation.”
Sting
“When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around.”
Sting
Hoping you continue to stay clear. X
Hoping you continue to test negative, Clint, I'll distract you a bit by asking you to add a rainbow icon to Rex Reed's name. Not that he's a shining exemplar of community brotherhood. Cheers and distanced hugs, dear man.