MAYBE, JUST MAYBE: THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED

Are we on the other side, and what exactly does it look like?

I’ve actually been out and about a bit in the last month. I went to breakfast at the Sunset Marquis with Steve Greenberg to discuss his new label deal with Disney. While we were there, the “bump into” happened. Tom Corson was having breakfast a few tables over with Will Botwin. We chatted for a moment and Will came to say hi after his meal; it was all simple and unplanned, and life felt a little more real again.

I had meals at the Polo Lounge with Troy Carter and then with Ron Perry. We hadn’t seen each other in the flesh for close to two years. It felt good. I wasn’t scared, although I wasn’t feeling completely safe either.

I worry. It’s in my nature. I read news items about killer variants and the disastrous circumstances in other countries. There’s a little voice in the back of my head that tells me it could all happen again here, and that voice never completely lets up. It just gets a little quieter sometimes—especially at times like these.

I find myself asking everyone I speak to—and especially those I meet with in person—exactly how they will return to society. “Hybrid” is the word most often used in these conversations. Like many of you, I’ve created a new life for myself. It isn’t perfect and it clearly isn’t back to normal but for now, for today, it works. I’m not yet ready for indoor events with a lot of people. I’ll be watching Clippers games from the safety of my couch for at least the rest of this year. I’m not ready for a crowded movie theater. I would go to a baseball game at some point. And restaurants, especially with an indoor/outdoor hybrid feeling, make me forget for a little while. I don’t yet feel that it’s over, but I’m getting there. I’m not yet clear on what will be best for me in the fall and into the new year. But I am exploring and contemplating. I’m getting to the answers for me personally, and I imagine you are, too.

For today, this is enough.

Pictured above: the author at the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet with Ron Perry. We kid! It's grandson Deegan.