Dear Auntie Mac,

I think Hampton should have a great big celebration once Covid is over and behind us!!! How would somebody go about arranging that?!?

Ready to Rock!

My Dear Neighbor:

Auntie Mac applauds your initiative (as well as your enthusiastic use of punctuation). A wonderful thing about Hamptonites is their readiness to complement nearly any occasion with a town-wide celebration of some sort—witness the Great Knotweed Eradication party of 2021 that happened just a few short weeks ago. The end of the pandemic is something that certainly everyone wishes to celebrate . . . and yet, prudence must be exercised, since we really don’t yet have a firm picture of what “over and behind us” truly means, do we?

Hampton does have a wonderful town-wide celebration every year—Memorial Day. Alas, this year it’s not possible to hold all the activities that make this an extra special occasion in our town. One would hope that next year the COVID bull will have been taken by the horns and wrestled to the dust with a red-ribboned sword stuck firmly between its . . . never mind; my time in Madrid was thankfully brief and I was graciously excused from sitting at the plaza de toros during my stay with Minister Ortega and his charming wife Claudia of Seville. In any case, I would heartily approve of you contacting the Selectmen and the Memorial Day Parade Committee and asking if perhaps next year could be an even grander affair, to not only honor those who have lost their lives defending our country, but to celebrate that we will all be able to do so together. And in lieu of merely asking others to plan and execute these changes, volunteer to help organize them, and make specific suggestions on what would be welcome additions to the day.  In the meantime, however, festivities need not be shoved with a sigh to the back of the armoire.  As restrictions ease, you will find that many town-wide events are creeping back onto the calendar, such as the successful Library book and bake sale of mid-May. These events offer a lovely way to begin to reconnect with your fellow residents, and in themselves are indeed celebratory.  You might also try coordinating small “neighborhood parties” that could possibly all happen simultaneously around town, with the same “Adieu, COVID” theme. Or simply host your own small gathering, using safety precautions appropriate to the size of your group and the current guidelines.

Auntie Mac admits that it is indeed tempting, as the pandemic spectre seems to be gradually fading into the mist, to rush back to previous behaviors with a vengeance. Much as we do not want to admit it, however, we are pioneers in this post-pandemic wilderness, our wagons laden with hope, venturing into a new landscape fraught with as-yet unseen obstacles and no small amount of peril. We must urge our oxen forward (oh dear–another bovine analogy. I don’t know what’s come over me) but with caution, and an appreciation of what the past has taught us.

Your Auntie Mac