Ours, we are told repeatedly, is a consumer society. And if this is true, and obviously it is, what is a sane person to do? That is to say, being a sane person (supposedly) how do I not fall into the collective attitudinal trap?

I refer, of course, to COVID-19. As we all know, the Delta variant has undermined whatever optimism the collective had. Now we have to face unpleasant facts. And frankly, no one is having a harder time than I am. Really, I have things to do. Things to enjoy. Does this mean I have to start putting on a mask, staying more at home much than I would like? Who do I blame for this? At times, I am convinced it’s Jane. She says she gets twitchy going into restaurants. And this might be a good thing. Maybe instead of looking for blame, I might be looking for insight.

So my excursion yesterday morning to the Nicaraguan restaurant La Santaneca certainly proved diverting and excellent blog fodder. But at the moment, such adventures are beginning to feel risky. OK, yes, it’s a matter of trade-offs. And here in San Francisco COVID-19 transmission is incredibly low. Still whatever admirable statistics we had been achieving in this town are beginning to go out the window. New cases are popping up at a rate 11 times faster than they were in early June. And, yes, 11 times almost nothing is still not that much. But it’s enough to slow down and start taking things seriously. I was a while. In fact I’ve been signing up left and right for all kinds of things.

Such as a trip to Olympic National Park at the very end of this month of August, which of course includes a flight to Seattle. Followed by successive days eating in the park lodge restaurant, sharing scenic dinners with people from all over the world. The latter feeling less cosmopolitan these days then global-epidemic. What to do?

The answer to this question has never been less clear. But I do know one thing. No sense in getting annoyed. Yes, the mass spread of a frequently fatal virus is quite inconvenient. But the swift development of its preventive vaccine is little short of miraculous. Sober up, I am telling myself. Stop acting like a fucking spoiled consumer.

I do have to admit that things, some of them my own, or heading in opposite directions. For example, I now own seats to a season of the San Francisco Symphony. The same thing is true of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. I can’t let go, although fate may pry my fingers loose. It is not inconceivable that all or part of these performing arts seasons will be canceled. Or maybe one will just proceed with extreme caution. An audience wearing masks, for example.

“My Fair Lady,” the Lincoln Center revival, Is also on the calendar for early November. It was once on the calendar for late August 2020. Proving that time does not only fly, but may just fly out the window. And all I can do is remind myself that it’s terribly inconvenient…surviving a plague.