Holly Doyne

I have the blessing, or the curse, depending on the particular moment and point-of-view, of living where there has been an excellent public transportation system since the mid 1970s. Although some will argue a bit about the routes or the price (based on distance, not a fixed-per-ride like NYC), the fact remains that BART served as the main artery in and out of SF and the surrounding area for over 40 years. The ridership was extensive; the system allowed people to move further and further away from the city in an attempt to control housing prices while maintaining a well paying job.

All of that is currently on hold. Almost all of those with well-paying jobs not in the health-sector are working from home. Which means that they are not riding BART. In turn, BART has decreased the trains about 90%, eliminating many of the straight-through routes in favor of conservation of drivers by forcing transfers. These people are neither on public transportation nor are they out driving. Most sensibly, they have jobs and are at home busily insuring their next pay check.

Which takes me to the next set of riders, those with only an occasional need to drive into SF. Since parking in SF is scarce and extremely expensive, most people who had an easy to reach destination would normally park at a local parking lot for $3 and take BART vs paying $10/hr or more at the rare open parking lot in San Francisco. Many of these same people would use their cars only locally for important uses like trips to the doctors, dentist, grocery store, and movie theater.

Now, that many here are seriously worried about the safety of public transportation – they are driving into the city. It is scary. The German phrase is almost identical to the English – Sontags Fahrer = Sunday driver. I am using it to express my fear and loathing of individuals who, most obviously, should never, EVER be behind the wheel of a car.

Not into SF, not on the Bay Bridge, not on Oak St, not on University Ave. Frankly, not within 10 km of where I am driving. If I had had the time, or a passenger, I would have been taking license plates and calling the Department of Motor Vehicles to report them. Instead, I spent my time avoiding the opportunity to be a participant in a motor-vehicle incident. Or disaster, but I most certainly could not call anything an accident. That would imply no fault or responsibility where there obviously was some.

I was on the road to the SFVA and my oncologist suggested that I not be on public transportation. The ride over on BART is never an issue, nor is the transfer to the METRO shuttle bus. But if I had wanted to head home before 1500, I would have been stuck with the 38 SF Muni which is slow, crowed, and not great at the best of times. It took me 31 minutes from the Peet’s on College Ave right next to where Angel works to the VA, The toll plaza and Bay Bridge were wide open. It took an hour to get home. The difference? People who should NOT have been driving….

(and I am fine. Back on my regular immune therapy schedule since nothing is going to change around here for a long time….)

If this was normal times, I would be boarding a ship tomorrow bound for somewhere, anywhere, to celebrate.  I have almost forgotten what the inside of an airport looks like, or the inside of a cruise terminal. Even the inside of one of the main train stations. Not surprising, I have no interest currently in experiencing train travel through LA, NYC, Chicago, or DC. I might want to travel across Canada, but they don’t want me. Or any other American traveler at this point.

Since  these are not normal times, so I am considering how I am going to plan my time for the next month. Our “shelter-at-home” was just extended here in the Bay Area through the end of May.

I made my morning coffee run to Peet’s. I put gas in the car. As someone mentioned a few days ago, this is now a monthly trip, rather than weekly. The furthest I have to drive is Angel’s work, or Shana’s house. The trips to UCSF are down to once a month.

The new normal for me will be keeping up professionally with a number of Webinars (hey – free CME/CPD? How can I turn that down?, participating a few times a week through ZOOM with knitting groups (Tues&Wed evenings, Sunday afternoon). Watching a few YouTube videos, including watching the falcons grow. Contemplating cleaning and organizing the sewing room. Which first might require that I deal with the garage so that I have someplace to temporarily put the “extra stuff.” I have sewing projects lined up, but with all the SciFi Cons now gone virtual, I am not sure that it is worth getting dressed up for them. I have knitting, and a bijillion cross stitch projects that I would really like to do.

For most of us over 65, life has changed, but in significantly different ways than for others. We are not traveling, or spending time with family that lives out of our local area. Our social groups are not meeting, except for those which have transitioned to on-line. Unlike for some of our younger family members, many of us have stable incomes (pensions, anything non-stock market dependent. I like savings accounts. the interest may not be high, but my money is still there….), we don’t have to supervise active toddlers or teenagers with ZERO interest in course work now that their friends and social lives are completely out of reach.

I am now setting my eyes on next fall. And gathering up the energy to deal with several phone calls regarding delayed/cancelled/postponed travel planes. Guess I won’t have any problem filling up my time. Wonder what would be easiest to work on while I am on infinite hold….