• Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Explore Chicago
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The Local Tourist

Experience the fascination of a tourist; Feel the comfort of the local

  • Travel the U.S.A.
    • The Midwest
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
      • Kansas
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Missouri
      • Nebraska
      • South Dakota
      • Wisconsin
    • The South
      • Arkansas
      • Mississippi
      • North Carolina
      • Oklahoma
      • Texas
    • The West
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
  • Travel Tips
    • Travel Now
  • Road Trips
    • Two Lane Gems
  • Cultural Travel
    • Arts and Culture
    • Attractions
    • Food and Drink
    • History
    • People
    • Roadside Attractions
  • Great Outdoors
    • Camping
    • Hiking and Active Travel
    • U.S. National Parks
  • Shop TLT
    • Travel Two Lane Gems
  • Travel the U.S.A.
    • The Midwest
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
      • Kansas
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Missouri
      • Nebraska
      • South Dakota
      • Wisconsin
    • The South
      • Arkansas
      • Mississippi
      • North Carolina
      • Oklahoma
      • Texas
    • The West
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Utah
      • Wyoming
  • Travel Tips
    • Travel Now
  • Road Trips
    • Two Lane Gems
  • Cultural Travel
    • Arts and Culture
    • Attractions
    • Food and Drink
    • History
    • People
    • Roadside Attractions
  • Great Outdoors
    • Camping
    • Hiking and Active Travel
    • U.S. National Parks
  • Shop TLT
    • Travel Two Lane Gems
  • Contact
  • Work with TLT
  • Travel Writing

Sparkling Isolation – Day 65

May 21, 2020 //  by Tommy Hensel//  Leave a Comment

6shares

Next to normal.

Today was a bizarre one for me in the ongoing world of being isolated and quarantined. It was my first day of official “staycation.” Sadly, at 4:30 p.m. yesterday my supervisor called me and told me he needed a document as soon as possible, no later than Tuesday. Really? What part of “vacation” did you miss?

So, sometime between now and Monday night I have to compile the information he needs despite the fact that it’s a holiday weekend and I am officially on vacation. That sucks. But at least I have a job – at the moment – so I will suck it up and do what I need to do. And rest assured, I will monitor the time and take it off later.

The weirdest part of my day, however, wasn’t something negative like having to work when I should be on vacation. It was a positive thing.

Today, a friend invited me over to her house to spend time with her and her husband enjoying wine tasting and dinner. This is the first social invitation I have received in over nine weeks, and the first time I actually spent social time with other people in that same time period.

I did not realize how bizarre this was until I was driving to their house and thought to myself, “When was the last time I did anything like this?” The answer was that the last time I had a social invitation was the third week of March, just after we were all told to quarantine ourselves. It has been nearly 55 days since the last time I actually drove to someone’s home and sat with them and ate a meal.

Tomorrow, one of my best friends is celebrating a 60th birthday. I am driving into Chicago to meet a mutual friend and we are going to their home to drop off gifts, then retreat to a distance, then text them to come down, then sing “Happy Birthday” from a distance. It’s all too weird and bizarre and dystopian for me to accept.

My experience tonight took me back to a near normal world. Tomorrow will remind me that we are in a bizarre non-normal world. I am so weary from this strange dichotomy.

I realize that we will never – never – be back to what we thought before was a “normal” existence. No matter how optimistic you are, you have to just accept that things are forever changed. But I also feel like we can move back to some semblance of what we had before. What I might term “next to normal.”

Tonight, I am praying that I can keep my basically optimistic frame of mind about this.

Next to normal is better than f’d up any day, right?

It’s only Quarantine if it comes from the Quarante province of France. Otherwise, it’s just Sparkling Isolation.

6shares

Category: ThoughtsTag: Sparkling Isolation

About Tommy Hensel

Tommy Hensel is the Director of the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College (www.morainevalley.edu/fpac), a position he has held since January 2008. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he has worked for more than 35 years as a professional actor, singer, stage manager, director, and arts presenter. He holds a B.A. in music and a B.A. in communication from Florida State University and an M.A. in theater from the University of South Carolina. He currently serves as Chair of the Illinois Presenters Network and is a board member of NAPAMA. He served as co-chair of the 2018 Arts Midwest Conference and currently sits on the professional development committees of both NAPAMA and Arts Midwest.

Prior to his move to Chicago, Tommy was an 11-year resident of the Seacoast region of New Hampshire where he served as Executive Director of the Rochester Opera House and sat on several non-profit arts boards. He has served on grant review panels for the New England Foundation for the Arts, New Hampshire Arts Council, Vermont Arts Council, and Illinois Arts Council. During his years as an arts presenter, he has also served on the juried showcase panels for the Arts Midwest Conference and Performing Arts Exchange.

Among his many theater credits, Hensel was the founding artistic director of the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival (now part of the Gamut Theatre Group in PA). He has over 50 professional directing credits to his name and an extensive resumé as a theatrical performer and cabaret singer. In Chicago, he has a side "gig" as a restaurant reviewer for The Local Tourist website (http://chicago.thelocaltourist.com) and blogs about travel and food at https://www.tableforoneplease.com.

Related Stories

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 248

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Days 151 through 247

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Days 144 through 150

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Days 136 through 143

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 135

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 134

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 133

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 132

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 131

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 130

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 129

Tommy Hensel

Sparkling Isolation – Day 128

Previous Post: «Wolffy's Hamburger Two Lane Gems, Vol. 2: Day 24 – Another relaxing day
Next Post: Two Lane Gems, Vol. 2: Day 25 – Loon Lake to Cabin City Sunshine Mine Memorial»

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Your Cart

  • Contact
  • Work with TLT
  • Travel Writing

Site Footer

Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Privacy Policy

© 2021 · The Local Tourist · Experience the fascination of a tourist; feel the comfort of the local