By
Andrew DeMarco
A few days ago, while waiting on line with my wife to get into the local market we ran into a longtime friend, Mark Capone, who we hadn’t seen in a few years. Mark was one of a group of about 5 to 6 couples who would go to dinner every Friday evening. We did this for about 10 years and then it stopped. Probably because we were under doctor’s orders to cut back on our food and alcohol intake. I guess we all needed to give our livers a rest. But I digress. Since we were all masked up it took a moment to recognize one another and then the dance began. You must understand since both of us are Italian, we think it is perfectly natural to give one another a hug. But wait a minute, there were others on that line and who knew what trouble awaited us. So, there we were doing this weird kind of dance trying to figure out how to greet one another. Taking a step forward then back then to the side, you get the idea. Well we finally just elbowed one another which just wasn’t the same.
This got me thinking about a family wedding that we had missed earlier in June, a road trip wedding to Niagara Falls for Cousin Jessi and her new husband Matt. We got to watch it being live streamed which by no means was anything like being there in person. What was missing? Something very simple, the hugs. We missed giving that beautiful bride a hug and a hug for her husband to welcome him to the family. I know not being able to give them a hug literally killed my Cousin Mike. You see if hugging were a chess match Cousin Mike would be a Grand Master.
This also got me thinking about our annual visit to Uncle Bob where I get to see him and some of my Capozzola Cousins as well as what has become a new tradition over the last few years an annual get together with the DeMarco / Fata Cousins. Each time there are hugs all around. Both of these events are on hold right now.
So, some of you must be asking, “What’s with all the hugs?” Well that leads me to two trendy oxymorons which if I never hear again would suit me just fine, the “new normal” and “social distancing.”
NEW: not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time.
NORMAL: conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected
SOCIAL: needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities.
DISTANCING: make (someone or something) far off or remote in position or nature.
It’s easy to see how oxymoronic these two terms are. If something is new and never existed before how can it possibly be normal, standard or typical? We are all social animals and we all require contact with others, so how can we distance ourselves from those we need?
Then I thought of my family. A few years back I wrote a Rosy Glow about Family and the Holidays and I mentioned that although we do not see one another as much as we should, we still enjoy each other’s company when we do. This pandemic has only made me look forward to our next social gathering even more than ever. I also know that there is the need for that social contact whether with family or good friends, that is sorely missing right now, that is giving optimism during these times. I am sure that once this is all over and we can throw away these oxymorons, hopefully to never be heard of again, and get together and share those hugs or have that Friday Evening dinner that group of friends like we used to, all of which will definitely give me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that…..Rosy Glow.
Bob's Rosy Glow 