Going Out Again…
Into the World With Friends…
Wow, that is amazing that we are able to do that now. After 15 months of seeing no one personally (except other masked people in the elevator), seeing no friends, having no writing talks, now that has changed.
Had a wonderful birthday dinner a few weeks back with Loren and Heather Coleman and two other writers who were all fully vaccinated, then dinner and lunch with Lisa a few times, then Chris and Steve York (also fully vaccinated) showed up in town on their way East and we had some wonderful dinners and late-night gab sessions.
And yesterday, Kris and I went out for lunch with Brianna Winner and Todd McCaffrey, two great writers who live here in town. We had a blast, talking writing and art and so much more. Amazing fun, just amazing and I had forgotten how much I had missed those kinds of sessions in 15 months.
And realizing how much I had missed those kinds of discussions with other writers, now for sure we will be doing the smaller workshops in 2022. Hold on, more news on that in late July after the Master Business Class fires up. We have some really fun ideas.
So anyhow, Todd and Brianna, thanks for the wonderful company at lunch. And the great conversations. Here’s a picture afterwards. (And yes, we have all been fully vaccinated.)
8 Comments
James Palmer
Great picture. I thought Todd looked familiar. I’ve seen him several times over the years at Dragon Con. I can’t wait to do conventions again.
JM6
Variation on an old joke:
A man is getting his second COVID-19 vaccination. He asks, “So, after two weeks, I can hang out with friends?”
The medical professional says, “That’s right!”
The man pauses for a moment. “That’s good. I didn’t have any friends before.”
Martin
That surely was a wonderfu day,l, Dean. And you all look so happy. I got my first vaccine shot (Biontech) last wednesday here in Germany.
Kate Pavelle
Excellent! I have also been out for the first time, in my case to Japanese sword class. I tried following my teacher on Discord and Zoom, but the bandwith just didn’t support it, so I quit. But being back in person was fabulous. Six of us, four mask-free and vaccinated, the two young guys without their shots and with masks on. I hope working out in a remodeled attic, no AC, in the heat of summer convinces them to rectify their situation 😉
It might have been the single most energizing experience in many months. Good new words happened as a result of that.
Stacey
Congratulations and it looks like a lot of fun! Although my husband and I are both fully vaccinated, with two small children at home below the age limit to receive the vaccine, it will be a little while longer before we can meet up the same way (while we may be safe, I’m nervous about carrying anything home to them). But it’s wonderful to see things making their way back to normal!
dwsmith
Stacey, do some research, but the most recent studies are coming along that vaccinated people, even if you have it, don’t shed the virus, thus don’t transmit it. But check that. It is one of the main reasons the CDC dropped the mask stuff. But again, check that completely before taking any chances.
Stacey
That’s good to know! I’ll look into that 🙂
Jason M
Stacey, the covid IFR (infection fatality rate) for children under 10 is < 0.002%. That's about 1 in 50,000.
You endanger their lives significantly more by doing just about anything else — driving in an automobile, for example.