It seems that, at least in the United States, we are slowly seeing that “light at the end of the tunnel” that we keep hearing about as we hopefully put the pandemic behind us and return to some form of normalcy. Will we ever be completely normal? Probably not, but that’s ok. Some things shouldn’t go back to normal, but some things must return.

A return to the ball park or stadium
A return to the art museum
A return to live music
A return to socializing

Many things need to return to pre-pandemic times (We have used A.D. and B.C….will future generations refer to this as P.P.??). The other day, my wife was talking about how great it would be to seethe play Wicked, which announced its return tour to Broadway. My immediate reaction to her was that it will probably be another year before we’d even be able to get tickets for something like this because people will be flooding the ticket office to go see anything live again. Then I started to think – would they? I got worried for a quick second and then rationally (or wishfully) thought, the inevitable return of some of our greatest pleasures will happen – some faster than others. After attending a few of my children’s sports activities, I envision sports venues being the first to fill up – college athletics, national sports should all see an uptick immediately.  Then I believe movies, plays, and concerts will quickly follow, just a step or two behind sports. Then the small venue attractions, avant- garde’ and other types of special events would be next in line.

There is no science or research based on my above thoughts, just my own theories (guess that’s why I have a blog!). Watching and talking to people and getting their sense of what a return looks like for them. The thoughts of doing any of the above activities gives a sense of anticipation, joy and freedom – invoking the feeling that we take many things in life for granted and we don’t cherish the things or people that are in our lives.

I think we can all agree that COVID has done some major damage to people and families, but also many industries throughout the world. Small businesses have permanently closed and I fear more will become casualties even as we draw closer to the end of this nightmare.

We can not forget about our favorite businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues we enjoyed so frequently before the pandemic. We need to help and support these institutions which in many ways are economic drivers. This means, unless you have chronic health issues, start to go back to the places you once loved. Also, try to investigate new places that perhaps you thought about going to, but hadn’t for whatever reason.

Finally, pay particular attention to the arts, they have had some devastating blows not
an easy industry that can pick up by their bootstraps so easily. As an example, musicians have had to sell their instruments to survive because as individuals, they didn’t qualify for unemployment. They need audiences to play for so please support some of the smaller venues that support live music.

The return will happen.