The View from the Hermitage, Day 111

The lead article in the Style section of this morning's Washington Post is "On the razor's edge of anxiety." The subtitle text is "Women desperately want their hair done. The salon owner longs for the stylist-client bond and an income. At what cost?" Pennsylvania closed its hair salons and barber shops on March 14; they were one of the first states to close those businesses. Hair establishments in the most populous counties were allowed to reopen on June 26, one of the latest reopenings in the country. The article centered on Sorelle Hair Studio in a suburb of Philadelphia. When the governor announced the reopening date, Sorelle received 750 emails and 500 voice messages from clients seeking appointments. On the day covered in the article, the salon's owner worked from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm, seeing 20 clients. Social distancing requirements meant that clients sitting while their highlights or color set had to do so in their cars. Clients desperate for color did not mind at all.

If I remember, Virginia opened hair salons and barber shops on May 15, with salons at half capacity, no drop-ins, and only half the chairs in use at a time. My stylist texted me and asked if I wanted an appointment. I replied that with my asthma and other risk factors, I would be laying low for some time yet. She also has asthma issues, and replied that she wished she could do the same. She and a partner run the salon together; they are the only stylists. When salons reopened, only half the stylists were supposed to work at the same time. Since Ciera and Jan work in different rooms, that may not have been an issue, though there is only one hair-rinsing station, and it is in Jan's room.

Without knowing it, I timed things just right. I had a manicure and pedicure on Thursday, March 12, and a haircut and highlights on Friday, March 13. I tipped both hair stylist and nail lady extra on those visits, figuring that it might not be clear how much longer they'd be open. Both said they greatly appreciated it. The following week, things went downhill fast, and I began hermitting. My nail lady texted me this past week, saying that she was starting to work again if I wanted to come in. I replied that I'd be staying home for a while longer. She replied that she was only coming back part-time for now and to let her know whenever I might want to come in.

My hair is getting quite shaggy with the bangs either in my eyes or being brushed aside. Despite going without the highlights I normally get every two months, my hair is still very blonde. The nails are holding up. I have at least not resorted to biting or picking at them as I have been known to do when nervous. I am probably lucky in that I do not have a job to return to nor do I have to video conference for any professional reason. I've never been big on hair anyway, preferring the styles I've have that are essentially wash and wear.

HWSNBN essentially rallied at Mt. Rushmore last night. He's doing the same on the Mall in DC this afternoon or tonight. Last night, he gave only very, very brief mention of the pandemic. I will leave discussion of the nature of his address to others or at least not discuss it here. If you know me, you know my political leanings, but just in case you don't, I'd rather not raise your blood pressure and mine. Mine's already high enough on its own.

It appears that the executive order on reopening schools in the fall contains language that facial coverings are required inside public buildings then a few bullet points down notes that the requirement excludes K-12 students and students at higher education institutions. It's not easy on the nerves at times to have the husband battling technological gremlins, power outages, and the ringing of a phone we forgot to disconnect while trying to tape a lecture. If the alternative would be for him to stand in front of a class of 70 or so students only some of whom might be masked, he's not going anywhere. He knows how afraid I am of being exposed to the novel coronavirus (I still so love those two words together), and respects that. I may be being overly paranoid (he's going to ask our family doc about that at his physical on Tuesday), but he respects that. After all, I only went to the doctor and discovered I had had pneumonia for several weeks when he refused to drive me home and took me to an urgent care center instead.

The number of new cases in Virginia rose slightly yesterday. We may not be a surge state, but I'd be happier at least seeing a straight line. My fingers are crossed that case numbers don't start spiking in a week or two, but I actually expect there will be a spike. I desperately hope I'm wrong about that. I have not been encouraged by the discussions I have heard about contact tracing in Virginia. The last time I heard it mentioned at one of the governor's briefings (now scheduled only as needed), it was still in terms of the number of tracers the state had yet to hire.

Happy Independence Day! If only it were independence from the pandemic that we were celebrating. Maybe next year?