Orion's Belt from a Different Vantage Point

Here I sit, at a different shoreline, 2 hours across the peninsula of Florida.  It is both different from Hollywood Beach, my home beach, and the beach at Hilton Head Island, which I may come to think of as my beach during the height of the pandemic, since we went there in September of 2020 and May of 2021.  Or maybe I will look back at those times and laugh at myself for thinking we were at the height of the pandemic.

If the pandemic continues to mutate and spread, it will be because of beaches like this one.  Yesterday my spouse and I went for an afternoon walk, the way we did at Hilton Head when we were there.  But unlike Hilton Head, this beach at Marco Island is absolutely packed.  We quickly went back to our timeshare condo at the resort, where we can practice social distancing from all these far-flung hordes of people.  

I felt similarly when we went out at Hollywood Beach, but we went to a restaurant at an off hour.  We went to the brewery that has outdoor dining that is elevated--from the passersby, that is, not food that is elevated.  It felt fairly safe for us personally, but not for the larger world, since so many people were mingling--both their breath and I suspect later, their body fluids.  I am so old, and grateful not to feel the need to be part of that scene.

It is good to be here, however, good to have a change of scenery, good to be with family.  I haven't seen my nephew in 2 years, since the last time we vacationed here together.  In some ways, not much has changed.  In some ways, so much has changed.

In the middle of the night, I looked out of the window to see Orion, so low on the horizon and so close that I felt like I could reach out and touch the stars in that iconic belt.  I wondered if I was dreaming.  It was different from the starscapes of childhood, where there were so many bright stars in the sky.  It was different than the night skies of Hollywood, where every star looks dull and distant. 

I am relishing the opportunity to be here, to have time to read, to decompress a bit, to get ready for all the next rounds that are coming our way.