Fall - 2022

S haring personal COVID-19 sto- ries is the newest way to cause eye-rolling. It’s like when someone tries to explain their most recent dream, or shows off photos of their dog: People can relate, but they really only care about their own experience. Humor me while I reflect on what I wish was my latest weird dream while in bed, on my birthday, with COVID. It’s not that I would have done anything spectacular on my “special day.”Fifty-six years of practice has made me a bit indiffer- ent to birthday bashes. But the party became one of pity once I knew I couldn’t do much. Five days after testing positive, I was on the mend. I also knew I’d whine and complain if I didn’t make an effort to leave the house for a spell. I convinced myself that I felt good enough to hop in the car with my husband (who was on day seven of his COVID journey) and at least drive down the coast to Big Sur and back. Get a peek at some sun- shine. Maybe take a short walk. I should have believed the myriad testi- monials about how tired I’d be after- ward. And my gosh, there are stories! For a couple of weeks now, everyone with whom I’ve been in contact either has the virus or is taking care of a loved one who has it. It’s been a while since I’ve heard COVID horror stories—hospitalizations and worse—but I’ve never been connected to this many active cases. Just when I was thinking we could all start to party like it was 2019. I know where I was when the bug got into my body—more than 5,000 miles away, in Ireland. The wind was howling fero- ciously off the west coast of The Emerald Isle as I trudged along in my rain-soaked golf shoes. Please don’t get sick repeated in my mind. I was simply referencing a common cold. Since my golf game wasn’t going well (and whose would, with 35 mph sustained winds), I constantly queried the caddies to make the time pass more quickly.Which nation has the rudest golfers? Who takes it the most seriously? Who’s the most fun? “We loaf Americans, and yous loaf your goans.” After translating the accent, I quickly switched subjects. “How’d you all fare during COVID? I don’t hear much about it over here.” “Let’s just say we’re grateful for the American dollar helping to bring us back.” It was almost as if it didn’t exist. Not in the packed-like-sardines airports where maskless travelers from around the world waited for luggage that took hours to make the carousel. Not in hotel lobbies, where I’d lift the corner of my mask with each bite of a scone, nor on busy streets in quaint towns where tourism was again king and the accents were practically all American.The only references to the worldwide scourge were well-worn stickers on shop floors demarcating every six feet near the cash registers. What could go wrong? COVID seemed like a figment of the imagination—until the first of our tour group caught it.We blamed her half-day flight delay at Heathrow for the sickness, and she quickly sequestered herself from the group. When scratchy throats followed in a couple of others, we thought “Oh, it’s just aller- gies.”Then the fatigue set in.“Must be jet lag.”We were wrong. Half the group ended up with the virus. “Lord, can I just get home and get our laundry done before I get it?” I prayed. My prayers were answered. Since my COVID case was confirmed (negative when I swabbed my nasal passages, positive when I swabbed my throat, I’ve completed some things I usually wouldn’t:The laun- dry.Ten documentaries on life in rural Tibet, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Burundi, and another one on coming of age in the Himalaya. Actual phone calls. I’ve also taken and failed the New York Times weekly news quiz which asked: Which Omicron sub-variant is now dominant in the United States, according to federal estimates released Tuesday? BA 1, 2, 3, 5, or 10? It’s not all bad.There have been countless baked goods con- sumed in bed and, overall, I was never miserable. I’m sluggish, but alive.Two-and-a-half years after this pandemic started I’ve finally joined the club. I promise to quit talking about it, and I won’t show you a photo of my dog. Dina Ruiz is a former news anchor at KSBW TV, past host of “Candid Camera” and has starred on a reality show on the E! Network. She i s a writer, editor and yogini. She resides on the Monterey Peninsula with her daughter, Morgan. BEHIND THE SPOTLIGHT D I N A R U I Z It’s not all bad.There have been countless baked goods consumed in bed and, overall, I was never miserable. Joining the COVID Club 44 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2