Zoom birthdays, new lambs and courage

SALISBURY — For a mostly retired couple of Medicare age, coping with quarantine in salubrious Salisbury has been a remarkably benign experience. 

The town does have its jolting reminders of the pandemic’s prevalence, such as the fever-checking thermometer scan required to admit me to LaBonne’s market; having to phone Sweet William’s Bakery for cappuccino and croissants; and the ubiquitous masks on passers-by. 

But for the most part, the days pass by, thankfully, uneventfully. We’re becoming accustomed to novelties such as piano lessons, doctor appointments and cocktail hours conducted via Zoom — with even a family Easter dinner via Zoom. 

My birthday was celebrated telephonically. 

The newborn lambs and their dams we saw fenced in downtown on Main Street delighted us and others (at a distance) on long walks my wife and I take together. 

I keep busy with writing assignments from clients, and dab occasionally at a painting in process. 

I marvel at the courage and stamina of those on the front lines here, in New York and across the world caring for the sick and keeping essential goods flowing; I donate a pint of my blood at the Congregational Church to do what little I can to help stem the tide.

Quarantine Reflections is a new series that we will run occasionally throughout the newspaper.