A tale of two pandemics!

Happy to report that everyone is healthy and I will be an uncle!!

What struck me most was how relatively normal life is in the old country.

Yes, you need to wear a mask and show your vaccination passport at every restaurant, gym and even book stores.

Restaurants do have shorter hours, but those hours are packed. Gyms were well attended , the gains train never stops!

Guess you could say life is normal for the vaccinated which makes sense since the non vaccinated are anything but.

What I did not see was the devastation we have in NY where entire city blocks are shuttered, business closed , homelessness on the rise and the like.

So does that mean that one had it tougher than the other?

Not sure.. but I do think that every covid experience is different for everyone depending on geography, employment and relationship status.

This isnt ” my corona was worse than yours” but what do we learn from all this?

1. We all suffered. Even Jeff Bezos got divorced

2. Everyone had some sort of loss, whether it is a loved one, your own health, finances or damaged relationships.

3. This is not over and will be with us for a while.

4, We are better off than last year in the sense that we have vaccines, more tests, fewer hospitalizations and a somewhat stable economy.

5. We are not going back to the way things were in 2019. What do I mean by this? A lot of behaviors have changed such as the way we shop or work. Online shopping and part time remote work are here to stay whereas going to a restaurant or working out at a gym is back in style ( Phew).

It is a new world we are living and we all have to adjust.

Should we cancel Christmas because of Omicron?

Absolutely not!

With proper precautions it will be fine.

We are closer to the finish line than last year. I remember vividly writing the newsletters back then from a war zone like midtown without traffic , tourists or any of the lovely NY street noises ( watch it jackass!)

This year feels more cautiously optimistic. Do I know what will happen with Omicron? Absolutely not, I am not an immunologist or virologist but a bodybuilding coach.

But if you draw a trendline from MArch 2020 to december 2021 you will see an upswing. And the trend is your friend!

This time next year, this should be behind us so we can celebrate Germany winning the soccer world cup in Qatar!

Froehliche Weihnachten!

Your team from 57th Street.