Last month, I neglected to acknowledge a significant milestone.
March 10, 2021, marked the anniversary of when I flew from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to visit Deb and Joe Dellaposta of Doing Better Business for our CR-CONNECT Dealer Tour.
When I visited DDB, little did any of us at The Cannata Report realize that it would be the last in person dealer tour visit for a long time. Since then, all CR-CONNECT Dealer Tour interviews have been virtual, and there are still no plans for a live visit outside of New Jersey in 2021.
I vividly remember that list trip, talking about the virus with my Uber driver on the way to the airport, oblivious to how dramatically the world would change over the next few days. I was cautious in the airport and on the plane, wiping down my seatbelt buckle and tray with antibacterial wipes. Wearing a mask was not even a consideration.
It was a tremendous visit. Deb, Joe, and I had a nice lunch, an excellent interview, and a great dinner. By the time I arrived at the airport early the next morning to fly home, I had a deep sense of foreboding. The virus was the lead story on the news broadcast on the television monitors at the airport. It was getting closer by the day.
More than a year later, I have not been on a plane. I am still not comfortable flying or taking public transportation, even though I have had two vaccine doses. I am thankful to live in a state and region of the country that, for the most part, takes the pandemic seriously. That’s why you won’t find me flying to industry events anytime soon. I don’t know when I’ll be comfortable traveling again or mixing in a large crowd. I trust myself; I’m less trusting of everybody else.
For me, it’s personal. I know people who have died from the virus, and my daughter, a healthcare worker in London, is a COVID long-hauler. You may remember I referenced her a few months ago in a previous column. Not much has changed since then. She’s had a fever since April of last year and still can’t go to work. She recently received her first vaccine dose and will get her second in May. Hopefully, she’ll do as well as the U.S. and U.K. COVID-19 long-haulers profiled in a recent article in The New York Times whose symptoms improved, sometimes significantly, after they got the vaccine.
Meanwhile, all I can do is be positive and look forward to the day when my daughter is healthy again and we can safely travel and hang out together at an industry event once again.
When that finally happens, the first drink is on me!
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