Do you remember where you were on Sunday, March 15, 2020, at around 6:20 p.m.?
How about if I tell you that it was the night Gov. Charlie Baker announced he was ordering all of the state’s public and private schools to close for the next three weeks?
I certainly remember that night. Pattie and I were having a drink with my brother Bob and his wife Linda at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Baker followed the announcement about schools with a mandate limiting restaurants to takeout orders and delivery. There was a gasp from the people seated near us.
It was the night COVID-19 hit home, literally. And that’s because home is where the majority of Bay State residents were forced to shelter unless they were considered essential workers.
I contacted North Attleboro Town Manager Michael Borg that next morning to ask if North TV employees were considered essential. “Vital” was the word he used to describe our role in communicating to the town’s residents. I considered myself lucky.
The three weeks Baker predicted in March lasted more than three months. Schools didn’t open for the remainder of the school year and restaurants didn’t host diners again until early June and only if they had room on their sidewalks, parking lots outdoor patios.
With the exception of shopping, Pattie and Bridget (both of whom are educators) were housebound, while I was able to leave the house every morning for a near-normal day at work. To say there was resentment would be an understatement.
The majority of programs we produced during that time were recorded via GoToMeeting or Zoom. In-person news interviews were conducted with either lapel microphones or with a handheld microphone on the end of a long pole.
Our weekly “North TV News” was expanded from a half-hour to 60 minutes and featured weekly COVID updates with Town Manager Michael Borg, Director and Public Health Nurse Anne Marie Fleming, state Rep. Betty Poirier, state Sen. Rebecca Rausch, Plainville officials and others. We also added nightly replays of Baker’s daily press conferences.
In hindsight, Borg was correct. We were vital to residents of the two towns unable to leave their homes.
In spite of the fact that I wasn’t the best at always wearing a mask, I was able to avoid COVID-19 and the Delta variant that followed. Omicron? Not as fortunate.
We were leaving the house for the 4 o’clock Mass at St. John’s a week ago Saturday when I felt a knot in the back of my throat, a sensation I normally get at the onset of an oncoming cold.
It had developed into a full-fledged head cold when I arrived at North TV on Tuesday, so I decided to wear my mask whenever I was outside of my office. Veterans Agent Rebecca Jennings knocked on my door after recording the latest edition of her show, “Veterans Forum.”
“Don’t come too close, I have a cold,” I told her. “For all I know, it might be COVID,” I joked.
She reached into her pocketbook and handed me a spare test kit.
I didn’t have a chance to take the test by the time my guest arrived for a show I was scheduled to host. I warned him about my cold and offered to record the show with him via Zoom.
“I’m fully vaxxed and we’ll be at least eight feet away from each other, I’m comfortable if you are,” he answered. I felt terrible when I called an hour later to give him the news that I had tested positive.
The next 24 hours were spent in our bedroom. Work on my computer, watching TV, crossword puzzles, reading this newspaper or Katie Couric’s “Getting There” didn’t prevent the minutes from seeming like hours.
I was granted access to the rest of the house only when another member of our family also tested positive. Fortunately, the third member of our family tested negative and moved into an empty bedroom at the house of Pattie’s sister while the two of us were isolating.
My “cold” diminished as the week progressed and I should be able to return to work tomorrow. If you see me, you’ll notice I’ll be wearing a mask, something I hate as much as the next person but will do so through Friday to protect others.
In hindsight, we were fortunate. I have to believe it’s because we all received our vaccinations and the ensuing booster shot.
Take it from me, you should do the same.