Some kind of virus bugged us; keep your distance, please

I'm not sure if I had Covid, but there were some serious warning signs: chills, a sore throat and confusion. The confusion was the worst part. I could not find my wallet, which set off a desperate and futile nighttime search with a flashlight in the park. The wallet ended up being on the bedroom floor. I took my temperature countless times and it was normal every time, so I told my wife that I'd get tested the next day if I was still under the weather. After a lengthy trip to the bathroom and marathon shower, I felt fine that night and was right as rain the next day. Perhaps the vaccine did its job, or maybe I was dealing with some other issues, like confusion from fatigue related to lack of sleep and child care, and a sore throat and chills from too much air conditioned living. Who knows? Who cares, other than me? I will say I'm so happy to have been vaccinated because there's so much Covid around us now. My poor wife had a similar experience a few days later, with bad chills and dizziness. She bounced back after a few hours.  Our family remains devoted to the mask and hand washing, and I've become a real zealot about social distancing. Some people crowd others in line here, and put their groceries on top of someone else's stuff at the checkout counter. This happened twice to me this week -- at a specialty food store and at the local market. In both cases, the people made significant contact with me while sticking their items on top of mine. I smiled and politely motioned for both people -- a man and woman -- to back up and respect social distancing until I paid. But they bulldozed ahead, and I got seriously irritated and pointed to my  mask and barked out that "I HAVE COVID!" (in Vietnamese) and "get away from me" in English. The man actually left the store until I was finished and the woman walked five feet away slowly and with attitude, if you know what I mean. A few years back I might have put their groceries on the floor while checking out -- I've done that in the past, but those instances involved line-cutting as well as grocery stacking. But I'm a kinder and gentler White Monkey these days so I just try to communicate my concerns to the best of my abilities, and if that doesn't work, I try to scare the crap out of people so they'll back off. I don't want conflict or Covid. I've got two small kids who need their dad at the moment and I don't need strangers crashing my personal space with Covid. It's very much worth noting that a guy in line gave me a thumbs-up when I barked at the woman and the clerk smiled at me when I scared the guy out of the store. Most people here get it, but the ones who don't give Covid the chance to spread, and it's spreading at a rate of about 13,000 to 14,000 cases a day in Vietnam. At two of the seven houses on our street displaying ''Covid is here'' warning signs, mask-less people sit outside smoking and talking with their doors open. Like I said, most people get it.
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I don't need reminders I'm getting old -- turning 67 and my bathroom mirror have taken care of that. But the other day in the park I carried Joanna on my shoulders for a few minutes (at her request) and then I walked home with Elijah on my shoulders (at my wife's request). Later that night I could barely move from pain in my back at the same spot where I hit the road in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. When the pain first locked me up I wondered why, then thought back to my foolishness at the park with Joanna and walk home with Elijah. Then I thought about my age. Then I thought about the accident more than five years back. At least I can still think, but when the old sports injuries start to come back, I'll know it's getting near closing time.
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 I did a five-creature challenge with Joanna on Wednesday morning in the park that I knew wasn't super difficult, but figured would eat up a little of my daughter's time. It ate up less than two minutes -- bird, bee, lizard, snail, butterfly. She loves and knows how to spot her creatures. ...  Elijah heads straight to the road next to the park so he can see cars go by. A real boy, that boy, pointing out all the white SUVs to me after he kicks the soccer ball around a little ... I'm at 733 days and 106 weeks in a row of Kindle reading and I'm currently halfway through Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone.