COMMENTS

11 responses to “Open Thread Update: Disappearing Act”

1. In the process of having to regroup about businesses being so scared that they are not able to be hospitable and allow another human the right to use a bathroom makes me boil. Before the pandemic they were being bios to the homeless. Since the pandemic it feels like they are choosing who they want to share with based on unspoken bias. Not allowing a fellow human basic rights is the lowest of lows as an influential society. “We” have gone so far from basic that it is showing up in our children!

   Reply to #Need2releaseNOW!

2. Everything has changed for the worse for senior citizens. We will never be the same again. All our hard work and savings are going down the drain.

   Reply to Bonnnie

3. Any sense of normalcy has evaporated for those of us 70 and above, and will not return in our lifetimes. I’ve never been comfortable with people coming in close to me, but now I avoid it strenuously.

   It also facilitated extreme ideologies. No question that’s worse. Ironically, I find more people willing to smile, so there’s hope.

   Reply to LS Nelson

4. We lost more than we know to this covid pandemic, and the real damage will be felt for years.

   I lost the friendship in the camaraderie of being in an office, standing around with a cup of coffee, and sharing ideas with coworkers.

   We lost good local restaurants that employed people who were not just waiters and waitresses but friends. More chains seem to have survived.

   We missed doctor’s appointments and tests. We will not know what we missed health-wise.

   We lost some of our freedoms.

   Reply to John

5. There seems to be an overall ‘privileged’ attitude prevalent in AARP and its satellite newsletters. It reminds me of the so called financial advice articles that start with ‘stop buying Starbucks every day’, SMH
   There are things BP that I miss, but more like affordable vegetables and basic courtesy.
   Life just got tougher on folks already struggling, it would be nice if that was reflected more in AARP publications.
   Cranky today, sorry not sorry – it needed to be said.

   Reply to Sylvia W

6. Unless I am traveling, I no longer go to restaurants in my home town. I hate that restaurants think we can’t eat or drink unless we’re watching sports on multiple big screens! I hate the loud music! And, the food keeps getting worse and worse. Bacon is so prevalent that anyone trying to keep kosher and/or Muslims can’t eat in most restaurants.
   Before the COVID shutdown during 2020, conventions were big business, and there were conventions for everything and everyone. Now, there is zoom.

   Reply to Rosa E. Rosenberg

7. We now live in a third world type country shopping-wise. When you want to purchase something these days you often must take what is available rather than what you really wanted. I noticed this trend start after the Trump administration started adding all the tariff’s. The pandemic and the supply line slowdown may have had some effect but the tariff’s started it.

   Reply to John

8. I have mixed feelings about BP and now, about “work”. For nearly 12 years before Covid19, thought of myself as my work: Intense fundraising for environmental & social change. Great clients, supportive supervisors, donations. I was good. I loved that job. Bang! Lost the job, January 2020, another March 2020. Left my state, now living with family, staying healthy altogether, patience( oh my) tech skill and fitness classes online with new friends since 2020 is a welcome beginning !

   Reply to Belinda

9. Clean streets have disappeared …. According to morning news, alternate side rules are in effect, but many do not move their cars so the sweepers can not come through. People are just not following rules and there are no consequences. No one gets tickets for not moving. There are at least three cars on my block (main avenue in Brooklyn) whose registration stickers have been scrapped off. Some cars do not have plates but are still sitting on a major road.

   Reply to Gretchen De Ornelas

10. There was a great Century 21 department store on Long Island (New York). It was massive and had every department you’d need and bountiful sales. As I started to venture back into the world to buy a gift, not online but through the physicality of browsing inventory, my heart dropped as I realized I would not be angling for a parking space. Looming out my windshield was a shuttered, massive concrete abandoned building. And it’s not coming back – like much else we lost.

    Reply to Beatrice

11. -Where are all the workers in retail & restaurants. Sadly sparce.
    Restaurants closed, portions got smaller and prices higher. Many closed due to lack of staff.
    -Personality changes. Many angry & argumentive folks.
    -The schools are experiencing a lot of behavior issues. Teachers are leaving the profession because they are expected to “handle it”.
    I could go on and on about this subject!!!

    Reply to Joy Tarta