Charlotte North Carolina is a great city especially in the spring: cherry blossoms line the city line, parks are in full bloom, normally pedalbars are moving their way through the streets full of festive and boisterous customers, and the Nascar Hall of Fame....is available if you're a huge Nascar fame. (I did learn that a family called the Frances started NASCAR, which stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.....pit road, who drives the Home Depot car (Tony Stewart), and what all those fancy flags stand for, including the checkered flag meaning you win!
Charlotte can still be enjoyed during a pandemic! Tons of lush golf courses, Freedom Park which is a splitting image of Echo Park in Los Angeles without all the homeless tents.... and lots of lots of nature trails. This weekend, I met up with my long-time childhood friend in Charlotte to enjoy a "guy's weekend," which made me forget some of the troubles of the pandemic but also reminded me of one of the features of pre-pandemic life: peer pressure. Over the years I've been able to learn how not to succumb to peer pressure, but it's definitely something I still cave to once in a while, especially with perceived "cooler" friends who make a compelling case. It's hard to say no when the whole group is pressuring yo to join in their activity, and you know they will talk behind your back if you let them go without you.
Peer pressure is definitely more difficult to balance during a pandemic, especially with a bunch of people who have been vaccinated already, and I haven't.......choices people make are a lot of different without the proverbial cloud hanging over their head waiting to pour water on the parade. It's one thing to continue playing golf despite hearing thunder in the distance (and even seeing a strike of lightning touching down like Zeus being upset at us for indulging in our little games), but it's another thing to agree to go out to dinner. I had a strict agreement not to go to any bars, which I adhered to, but I had to bargain and negotiate Art of the Deal- style to go to a restaurant with open air seating or sit on the patio, especially when it was raining on and off! Even sitting outside, I was still a little reticent to take off my mask at the dinner table....will I look back at this moment as the exact time I opened Pandora's Box and let the evil virus into the castle walls? Sitting in the car is another incovenience....I tried opening the windows, but strong winds caused loud roaring to drown out any car conversation, and wearing the mask inside the car is burdensome, making the mask-wearing a 24/7 occurrence. At some point the spot behind my ears started to get sore from being stretched by the mask string all the time; I felt like my glasses-wearing days all over again, adding another accessory to my face. Then again, nurses and health care professionals usually have their masks on all the time in the hospital too, and they have to actually work, not enjoy the sights and sounds of
Peer pressure with even the best and most trusted of friends is a delicate process without a pandemic, and there's even more rules without it. Pre-pandemic, the difficult decisions were whether to join in a game of beer pong, or sacrificing one's time doing something others want to do but you don't necessarily enjoy, but just taking one for the team. (I find that even if I don't like it sometimes it becomes a fun activity just being around friends and participating).Ultimately, though, (at the end of the day) I am an adult and can make my own decisions, and friends should respect why I sit out an activity and being a party pooper.
Fantasize on,
Roert Yan
No comments:
Post a Comment