2020 Hindsight

Well the 121st day of 2020 is the last day of April!  And, because of that, 4/30/2020 is also the birthday of my good friend April Marino!  April is the kind of person who you can always count on.  To help out, to be aside me in the Snack Stand, to have a kind word, or even just to smile.  I know this was not the birthday she expected, but I hope she had a great time.  My 2020 Hindsight is Happy Birthday, April.  Hope you had a great day!

The 120th day of 2020 was also the last day of classes for the Spring Semester at Penn.  I am usually filled with excitement on this day, not because classes are over, but because all of the Spring celebrations are about to begin on campus.  But, on 4/29/2020, that excitement was not present.  No, it was just another day in COVID sequester.  There will be no campus celebrations this Spring.  Yes, there will be virtual events and the Penn Band's Virtual Semi-Formal was really well done by the student leaders, great speeches, touching videos, and a really nice time, but it's really not the same.  My 2020 Hindsight was the semester that was, and wasn't.  This was not the way Spring 2020 was supposed to end.  I hope this gets better soon.

Most people know that I am really fond of ceremony.  Convocation, Commencement, Campus Celebrations, all things I am really missing as this quarantine proceeds.  But on the 119th day of 2020, there was a large ceremonial event in our area.  Because there was a America Strong Flyover on 4/28/2020 to honor Healthcare workers on the front line.  And, watching the video that Sarah took from the roof of Temple Student Health, I was very happy.  I appreciate that, faced with the need to get requisite hours for flight time, these pilots decided to honor those facing all of the challenges taking care of people with COVID, and who might have COVID (are we really sure?) So my 2020 Hindsight is What a Fly Over!  Yes, it was ceremonial, but I like ceremony.

There was a reunion of some sort on the 118th day of 2020.  Because in the evening of 4/27/2020, a group of folks who all worked at Penn about 20-25 years ago joined in a Zoom call.  Only two of us still work on campus, but nobody is working on campus these days.  As with the recent Zooms, there were a lot of smiles, and laughter, and stories, and reminiscing, and herding of animals and children to show our friends.  It was a great time.  My 2020 Hindsight is Old Friends are Great!  These former colleagues will always be in my heart and I cannot wait to see them again in a few weeks.

For the second straight week, a group of Penn Glee Club Alumni gathered on Zoom on Sunday Evening.  On the 117th day of 2020, we were up to 9 of the members of PGC '89/'90.  And on 4/26/2020 there was laughter, song, stories, smiles, pictures, memorabilia, and, of course, jokes at each other's expense.  I know this quarantine has been rough, but a nice thing about it is that people are reaching out to be as socially connected to each other since we cannot be physically proximate.  This means that I have seen people I rarely see.  My 2020 Hindsight is the Glee Club Graduate Club.  Whether it is on a Zoom call or making fun of each other on FB, or even seeing each other on campus, there is something about this group of people that always leaves me with a smile on my face.  And for that, I am grateful!

I had to go over to Philadelphia for a quick errand on the 116th day of 2020.  So, Sarah suggested we take a drive to make it interesting and get out of the house.  So, in the early evening of 4/25/2020, we drove down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, through Powelton Village, and through Penn's Campus (which I miss so much).  This gives me the perfect 2020 Hindsight for tonight: A Nice Campus Drive.  Penn's Campus in April, May, and June is so pretty.  Today it was strange to look out the window and see the scarcity of activity, but it was a nice drive nonetheless.  Looking forward to the day we can get back on campus and life gets closer to how it was before.

Oof, what a week.  But I feel like I have been saying that a lot.  The 115th day of 2020 was similar to many.  A lot of work, family time, Zoom game with my CA sister and her family.  Fun!  But on 4/24/20, I cannot help but reflect on the amount of positive stories it seems that are appearing on the web and even on the TV news.  Sure, there is the requisite stories on politics and pandemics and police actions, but I seem to be seeing more stories about the human spirit, about the frontline heros, about people helping people.  Hopefully this means that society is letting the media know that, and this is my 2020 Hindsight, people WANT good news.  People are often frustrated with the "if it bleeds, it leads" nature of the news media.  But they only are reflecting what society responds to, and watches, so they can sell their ad spots.  Maybe a result of these times will be a societal shift of valuing the good news more than the bad.  Ye...

It was a long workday on the 114th day of 2020.  And, many times during the day, I had the chance to make the choice between being kind or being "right."  To help, or to allow someone to get what "they deserve."  Et cetera.  In all of these cases, I decided to choose kindness.  And, although I may not have gotten "as far" as I could have, although I may have done some extra work someone else should have done, I decided my 2020 Hindsight for today is kindness is always the right way.  I hope that when other people have a choice, they choose kind.

Day #113 of 2020 was another day inside.  And 4/22/2020 is also Earth Day.  It made me think today about how, while we are tiring of the world-wide quarantine, the Earth seems to be enjoying it.  My 2020 Hindsight is that it's Earth's Day on Earth Day,  Carbon emissions in Philadelphia are down 25%.  The canals in Venice are clearing.  The Astronauts in Space are sending reports of clearing atmosphere and a lighting above the Great Barrier Reef.  Smog in India is lifting and mountains, obscured by haze for years, are now visible.  Hopefully some of these good effects on the Earth can be retained when we are allowed to get back outside.  Many people say the World has changed and "nothing will ever be the same."  Well hopefully there are more good effects (like the Earth is experiencing) than bad.

At the end of a long workday on the 112th day of 2020, I settled in to another Zoom call.  But this call, in the evening of 4/21/2020, was not for work.  It was Penn Band Jeopardy, with undergraduate contestants and facilitated by Penn Band Alumni.  I loved the way that it connected generations of Penn Band Alumni with current students.  We're all sequestered in our homes and the connections were good.  Lots of smiles were seen in my Zoom windows.  My 2020 Hindsight is Alumni Connections.  We were virtually connected, while physically (but not socially) distant.

I have never really been a fan of April 20th.  Smoking has never been a thing for me, but that's not what fuels my dislike for this date.  It was 21 years ago, as Sarah and I sat with our Pastor and her parents, planning our wedding service when I looked up and saw the CNN footage of Columbine.  And there are other ignominious events that occurred on other 420s....Well maybe the 111th day of 2020 would be different (being a Leap Year, it's a palindrome on 4/20/2020) , but it was not.  I had the worst news this morning.  The COVID-19 pandemic hit me even harder this morning as I heard about the death of one of the nicest men I know.  Joe Basara lived in the next town over, Collingswood and, like me, was a D13 Little League Umpire.  Whenever I arrived at a ball-field and saw that I was partnered with Joe, I knew it would be a fun game.  Joe brought fun wherever he went and he was so dedicated to Little League and its ideals of betterment for kids an...

I've always been a crier.  I remember, as a kid, crying at the Peanuts Special when Snoopy was not allowed in the hospital ("NO DOGS ALLOWED!")  And at tissue commercials too.  And I found myself, on the 110th day of 2020, being weepy a lot of the time.  It does not take much to trigger the tears, it could be the video Alexa's classmates made to reply back to the wonderful tribute they made for the Class of 2020, HECK, it was even the video a friend shared with me of the teachers at his kids' Elementary School (none of whom I know) to tell their students they miss them.  On 4/19/2020, my 2020 hindsight is I Get So Emotional (baby)!  And it's OK.  We need to show our emotions and let them out.  Penting them up will just add to your stress.  And it's OK to be sad, but not at the expense of hope.  Because it WILL get better and we will get out of this.... I just do not know when.  And, in a return to the themes of yore, I will use this...

I was not supposed to be in my house much on the 109th day of 2020.   Because 4/18/2020 was supposed to be the Opening Day for Oaklyn Little League.  It is a day I look forward to very much and, as I sit here writing this hindsight post, I have not set foot in the Snack Stand since the cleanup day at the end of the 2019 Season.  Running the Little League Snack Stand, although it takes a lot of time, is one of the highlights of the Spring/Summer seasons for me.  And I am not sure anything will happen on the Oaklyn Fields this year.  Just another casualty of this COVID-19 and as especially significant one for me on the day that was supposed to be Opening Day.  My 2020 Hindsight is the Opening Day that Wasn't.  Even the year we got snowed and then rained out, I was still up in the stand, making the preparations.  This year, no trip to BJs to cause an alert on my Discover Card for the 4-figure purchase.  No orderly arrangement of soda in the...

The 108th day ended quite the week.  It both flew by and dragged on.  And 4/17/2020 was filled with a lot of the same activities.  TONS of online meetings (I barely had time to heat up my lunch and to use the bathroom) and, as a result, over 250 emails at the end of the day that needed to be reviewed.  I am missing seeing people in the flesh, I am missing not staring at a screen all day, and I am missing the days were there were fewer (OK, not that much less, but still) emails.  Yes, my 2020 Hindsight tonight is my online issues.  Looking forward to some downtime and off-screen time this Weekend.

The 107th day of 2020 is a Thursday (it IS Thursday right???).  And, as we approach the end of the week on 4/16/2020, you can't help but look back (even in non-hindsight years) and think about the week.  This was supposed to be Spring Break.  But our School Administration did not want to take a break right when people were getting in the swing of this remote education world.  So classes were in session online and the School Year will end a week earlier than originally scheduled.  Does not affect us much since, because of Softball, we have never really had a Spring Break where we could travel, but at least we used to be able to leave the house..... but not during today's 2020 Hindsight, the Spring Break that wasn't.  Will make when we CAN travel that much sweeter.

4/15/2020 was supposed to be Alexa's Penn Preview Day at Penn.  But COVID-19 changed that all and, on the 106th day of 2020 was just another day in quarantine.  Well, it was actually less taxing (did you see what I did there?) because I kept my PTO day on the books (I would have lost it otherwise) and was able to take the car to the shop (tire light on), take Skylar for a walk, and chill a little.  But my 2020 Hindsight cannot help being No Penn Preview.  I was looking forward to seeing Penn from the "other side" and even doing the Penn Traditions again for Penn Nursing (Alexa said it was OK, as long as no pictures of her!)  But a lot of things are different and we are rolling with the punches and I should focus on the fact that Alexa has been previewing Penn for 18+ years.  I am sad for the students trying to make up their minds without being able to find more out about their fit on campus.  We are lucky.

In the Sherr Household, one of utilizes medical equipment and one us doesn't.  But, not on the 105th day of 2020.  We saw a nice deal at a restaurant of 4/14/2020 and decided to make it a Taco Tuesday!  But, we have to be careful these days and New Jersey is under an executive order that anyone walking in to a restaurant to pick up take out MUST have a mask.  So, I got one from Sarah, strapped it on (really, it has straps), and went on my merry way.  It felt a little surreal but it was necessary.  My 2020 Hindsight was well, I got a mask.  It'll be a good story to tell my grandchildren if this ever ends and if we are all still around.  Surreal!

4/13/2020 was the 104th day of 2020.  I worked late in to the night to get some pending projects done for a deadline that is upcoming.  Then, I was tired, SO tired.  So tired that I forgot to post a hindsight. So, a day later (but back-posting to 4/13), my 2020 Hindsight about yesterday is, OOPS, I missed one.  I have 29 minutes to post in the correct day for #105!  :)

It was Easter in Pandemic Times on the 103rd day of 2020.  Yes, 4/12/2020 is Easter and I was not sure how the day was going to go.  A lot of our traditions are not permitted during this COVID quarantine.  But what a day it was.  Started with an amazing egg casserole made by Sarah (just as we would have had during Easter Breakfast at Church).  Then we had an online Easter Service that was amazing, so many people logged in we had to extend the license on the Church's Zoom account to accommodate all of the people!  I have to admit, I was nervous about this service because a group of us worked to produce a Easter Brass video and I was not sure how it would work out.  Well, it worked out amazingly!  I was so relieved (and thankful for those who assisted me).  Then, since nobody was allowed to go to the mall, a neighbor, her daughter, I, and my daughter arranged for an Easter Bunny Parade through our town.  It was so good to see happy kids AN...

On the 102nd day of 2020, I thought more about the term "social distancing."  I do not like the term.  It's not that I disagree with staying apart from each other and sequestering ourselves in our homes.  That is totally necessary and I wish more people were following the recommendations and mandates.  But I feel like we should be calling it physically distancing.  In these times, I think it is more important than ever for us to stay socially connected while physically distant.  So that is my 2020 Hindsight for 4/11/2020.  Socially Connected and PHYSICALLY Distant.  Let's get through this together!

So the 101st day of 2020 is another one of those holidays that seems to have been created, but it makes for good Facebook picture posts.  Yes, in the AM of 4/10/2020, Chris Carter of Breakfast with the Beatles alerted us to the fact that today is National Sibling Day.  And that made me think, all day, about growing up in 911 S. 47th Street with Abigail.  And, thus, my 2020 Hindsight is that I am so thankful for my sister.  I would not trade my growing up with her for anything.  Yeah, we fought, but we always defended each other as well and she let me play with her Barbies (and Star Wars action figures) in the huge dollhouse that my grandfather constructed for her and I let her play with my cars, as we constructed a cityscape of streets on the oriental rug in our family room.  I love that my mom has saved so many of our old pics and she posts them often.  I always smile when I see how we were smiling.  Again, a happy childhood, a lot of it becau...

Well now COVID's done it!  As the 100th day was progressing, I saw a picture on Facebook of an empty Penn Campus.  It's 4/9/2020 and I have now been away from Penn's Campus for the longest period of time in my life (IN MY LIFE).  Yup, the longest used to be the three-week tour to Jamaica and Peru that I took with the Glee Club after my Freshman Year at Penn.  Then there was the two+ week interval for my wedding and honey moon.  But, usually, it's just a week to ten days away.  It has now been 23 days since I have set foot on Penn's Campus and my 2020 Hindsight is I Miss Campus!  I see my colleagues online, and I see my advisees online, and I even have performed with the Penn Band, online.  But the campus, beautiful in the Spring and filled with energy and students is what I miss.  The vibrancy, the ceremonies and, yes, even the Open Expression Observing.  I miss saying hello to Eric in the Lobby of the Franklin Building and talking sport...

The 99th day of 2020 is the first evening of Passover.  And, on 4/8/2020, I saw many a Seder picture in my Facebook Feed.  Family, friends, neighbors, many were celebrating one of the most significant holidays on the calendar, but in a drastically different way.  And, although I did not celebrate Passover tonight (I actually participated in a dress rehearsal for tomorrow evening's Maundy Thursday service "at" Old First (OFROnline, if you will).  But my 2020 Hindsight is the Passover Seders of Yore.  Good memories of meals at my grandmother's house.  Good memories of family and friends.  Looking forward to times when we can gather in groups again, no matter what the holiday!

Something strange happened on the 98th day of 2020.  After I finished all of my work meetings on 4/7/2020 and got up, I called over the dog, and got the leash and we went for a walk!  Yes, I voluntarily went for a walk.  I am not usually a walk kinda guy, but the weather was nice and I NEEDED to get outside. My 2020 Hindsight is walks are OK.  I am guessing I will continue to walk Skylar even after this craziness is over.  Someone remind me that when I get home from work and don't wanna go for a walk!

So it was strange for 4/6/2020 to be know as National Student Athlete Day.  See, on the 97th day of 2020, we are still sequestered in our homes.  So we had to settle for watching Anna and Alexa do their remote PE class by throwing the softball to each other in our backyard.  And as I have been completing my Pre-Major advising sessions, I cannot help but get a sense from my athlete advisees about what they are missing right now.  My 2020 Hindsight is hat's off to student athletes.  It may be "just a game" but it's more than that for many of them and they miss their teams, their coaches, their teammates, their sports.  And I do too.

4/5/2020 is the 106th anniversary of the birth of my mother's mother, Ann Splaver Bechtel.  I woke on the morning of the 96th day of 2020 and checked my phone and saw my mom's amazing pictures on FB in honor of her.  Grandmom Bechtel had a large part in my childhood. We visited often, and I will never forget how she was always smiling.  Her food was great, her laugh was infectious, she liked air conditioning just as much as I do (maybe even more).  But her smile is what will always be burned into my mind.  Her smile not only showed her positivity, but it also always conveyed her love for her family and friends.  Even when visiting her in the hospital, after a surgery, I remember coming into her room where she was reading the Sports Page.  As I entered the room, I asked her how she thought the Phillies were going to do this year (it was the Baseball Preview issue of The Inquirer).  She looked up, with a wide smile, and said "The Phillies??  Th...

In the past months, there have been a bunch of times when I have said or done something and thought to myself, "my dad would have said/done that."  Whether it's been a dad joke, or a mannerism, or even looking in the mirror in the morning and seeing the resemblance.   Well, on the 95th day of 2020, this happened a lot.  Especially when I took Skylar on her walk.  Our walk on 4/4/2020 should have only taken 25 minutes, but it took a lot longer.  This reminded me of the times when dad would go around the corner for milk or something else we needed and would come back a hour later.  Why, well he would always see people he knew and would stop and talk and see how they were doing.  Well, that happened to me today too.  I saw lots of people I wanted to talk to on the walk and, frankly, it was good to see other people (yes, we stayed at the proper physical distance).  And, as I walked, I took pics of the Spring foliage and posted a bunch of the...

Here we are, at Day #94 of 2020, the end of week three of CQ2020 (COVID Quanrantine 2020).  And 4/3/2020 was also the day that Disney released Pixar's ONWARD! on Disney+.  We had a family movie night which was really nice.  Turned the lights all down and pretended we could leave and went to the theater.  Onward was great, we were all crying at the end (it is a bit emotional), and we loved it!  My 2020 Hindsight is that Pixar DOES NOT Disappoint.  Added coolness was seeing my cousin Steve's name in the credits.  Two Thumbs Up!

4/2/2020 - a VERY special day in the Sherr Household.  We now have THREE adults in the house, no longer just two, as Alexa turned 18 on the 93rd day of 2020.  The Birthday, I hope was special for her.  I know she was trapped inside with us, but her friends gave her a birthday party parade, and she had a family Zoom (with cake and candles) and a friend Zoom.  She was smiling most of the day so my 2020 Hindsight is that I think #18 went well.  Well, as well as we could have hoped.

I told my mom, 18 years ago, that I would call her on April Fools Day and tell her we were having a baby.  4/1/02 was Sarah's due date with our first daughter.  So on the 92nd day of 2020, I could not help but remember that day.  So 4/1/2020 felt significant to me as the eve of Alexa's 18th Birthday.  It'll be a strange one tomorrow, sequestered once again in our house, but this was the last day that only two adults live here.  My 2020 hindsight is that we were going to have a baby, no foolin'!  Best non-prank ever enacted on April Fools Day, I am glad my mom believed me.