2020 ends with my first dose of vaccine, potential end to our national nightmare

As a volunteer at Englewood Health, formerly known as Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, I was offered a first dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine to prevent the coronavirus disease, which has killed more than 340,000 Americans this year. 

After I entered the hospital on Wednesday, I was asked to put on a mask over the mask I was wearing and to sanitize my hands. Other visitors were subjected to temperature checks, and the hospital cafeteria was closed to outsiders, including me. 

We ate healthy and stayed healthy, explored the great outdoors

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- "Lines." 

That is my answer to the headline on the front of The New York Times for Kids section last Sunday:

"If I had to describe my 2020 in one word, it would be _____."

When the quarantine began in March, nine long months ago, I stopped going to the gym and no longer was able to visit patients as a volunteer at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, now known as Englewood Health.

That meant that as an older American, food shopping was my only means of exercise, and on my trips to Costco Wholesale, Whole Foods Market, ShopRite and H Mart, I encountered long lines of masked shopper shifting from foot to foot as they waited to get in.

Monotony

The second word I'd use to describe 2020 is "monotony." 

I pretty much get up every day before 6 a.m.

First, I make coffee, then after showering, I eat a big breakfast of leftovers or prepare an egg white omelet for other family members.

I also go food shopping early during senior hours, take a midday nap, eat or prepare dinner as early as 3 p.m., settle down in front of the TV around 4 or go for a short drive to a nearby town, then go to bed around 10:30 p.m., and get up during the night 2 or 3 times to go to the bathroom.

We spend a lot more money on food than most families of 4 because I am a pescatarian who hasn't eaten beef, pork, lamb or poultry for a decade, and my wife, son and mother-in-law are dedicated meat eaters.

This year also has seen us buying as much organic, pesticide-free food and produce as possible; only wild-caught seafood; and making sure they only eat meat and poultry raised without harmful pesticides and growth hormones.

And as an older American and amateur cook, I also have had to watch out when using recipes from The Times and other sources that are filled with artery clogging butter and cream, excessive sodium and sugar.

Beside covid in 2020, another health concern that was exposed by Consumer Reports magazine is the real danger of microplastics in our air, and our food and water supplies.

That prompted me to replace all of our plastic food-storage containers with glass, and brew our morning coffee in a stainless-steel percolator my mother used more than 30 years ago.

The water never comes in contact with plastic because the Farberware percolator has no plastic parts, unlike the cheap Mr. Coffee machines I used for years.

2021 and beyond

Amid the surge of new coronavirus cases after Thanksgiving and Christmas, I got a lift when I received an email from the hospital, inviting me and other volunteers as "members of our health-care team" to get a first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, and I already have an appointment for the second and final dose.

That means the volunteer program at the Englewood hospital may resume, possibly as early as March, and I can once again visit patients to comfort them and offer words of encouragement after their open-heart surgeries (I got a new heart valve in September 2011).

I'd like to see my wife, son and mother-in-law get the Covid vaccine, too.

The Jan. 20 inauguration of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president also is something to look forward to, and I hope they can speed up the vaccination program nationwide, and end our national nightmare.

Read: Pandemic sees resurgence of family meals

Read: Bored to tears, fearing long food lines

Read: Cartoonists slam Trump's many failures

Read: What about a sudden loss of intimacy?

Panic buying in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic resulted in long lines of older American like me during the senior hour at the Costco Wholesale warehouse in Teterboro, above. Despite signs urging social distancing, below, shoppers with carts had a hard time keeping away from each other.

After I shopped during the senior hour at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, I stopped on the way to my car to take this photo of millenials and other younger shoppers who had lined up to get into the organic and natural foods supermarket.

For our Sunday fresh fish dinner, I often waited on line at the H Mart in Ridgefield, above, until the Korean chain opened a new supermarket in Little Ferry on Dec. 23, 2020, nearly 18 months after the old Little Ferry H Mart closed.

We started off our Christmas dinner with a cooked seafood salad of Alaskan King Crab, Canadian Lobster Tails and Argentinian Red Shrimp dressed with fresh lemon juice, Dijon Mustard and ground cumin.

One of the rare high points of 2020 was the availability of previously frozen wild Sockeye Salmon fillets at Costco Wholesale after the fresh wild salmon season ended in early October. I grilled these portions on the stovetop for 8 minutes and dressed them with a saute of fresh tomatoes and sliced garlic.

 

On Saturday afternoons, we usually order takeout from nearby restaurants, including Seafood Gourmet in Maywood, above; Lotus Cafe in Hackensack for great Chinese-style seafood and vegetables; and Kinyobi in Hackensack or BCD Tofu in Fort Lee for delicious Korean specialties. We also enjoyed takeout from the U Pie & Lobster Co. in Englewood and Greenhouse Juices & Cafe in Teaneck.

During the spring and summer, we made day trips to Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, above, and Wave Hill Public Garden and Cultural Center in the Bronx, below.

Using a list I copied from The New York Times many years ago, we also visited public sculptures and monuments in Manhattan, including this tribute to Duke Ellington, the legendary jazz band leader, in Harlem.

Closer to home, I was wowed by this dramatic sunrise over Hackensack as I drove down Euclid Avenue on the way to Home Depot to pick up a large recycling bin I had ordered online.

We were walloped with a big snowstorm on Dec. 17, 2020. I grimaced when I was watching TV and heard one of the anchors of the CBS Morning News introduce a report from Suffern, N.Y., and call the town "Sufferin', N.Y."

Manhattan was our oyster as we visited public sculptures in Harlem to the Battery

DUKE ELLINGTON: This memorial to the dapper jazz pianist and bandleader, above and below, is on Fifth Avenue and 110th Street in Manhattan, in the northeast corner of Central Park. It's 25 feet high.

GATEWAY TO HARLEM: Ellington is one of four African-Americans honored at Central Park North, along with Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass.

Opening up after the lockdown,

the city still is easy to navigate

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- A list of public sculptures I hand-copied from a newspaper more than a decade ago has always tempted me, but Manhattan usually is so frenetic, I just transferred the piece of paper from one planner to another year after year.

Now, with the city just starting to emerge from the long lockdown designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, my wife and I decided Saturday seemed like a good time to go and see them.

The weather was sunny but cool, traffic was light; and we could stop, park and photograph them without a problem.

After we crossed the George Washington Bridge, we visited the sculptures from north to south.

Now, I'll be looking for an updated list of sculptures, monuments and statues to explore on a future trip into Manhattan.

KEITH HARING: This Crack is Wack mural was painted by artist Keith Haring on handball court walls in 1986, and was intended to send a serious anti-drug message to the community, according to the city Parks Department. Go to East 127th Street, Second Avenue and the Harlem River Drive.

I'M LATE, I'M LATE: This large bronze statue of Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter from Lewis Carroll's classic book is in Central Park. Enter the park on Fifth Avenue near 76th Street, and ask for directions to the statue.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER: This mosaic, "Intelligence Awakening Mankind," is on the wall above the entrance to 1250 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue).

VENUS DE MILO: This sculpture by Jim Dine, on Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street, wasn't on our list, but I took a photo from the car as we drove away from the Rockefeller Center mosaic in the photo above.

GAY LIBERATION: Also on our list was the Stonewall Inn at 51-53 Christopher St., in Greenwich Village, where we saw an updated message from the Black Lives Matter movement.

LGBTQ: Stonewall Inn was a gay bar that was raided on June 28, 1969, but patrons and a crowd outside resisted. "This uprising catalyzed the LGBTQ civil rights movement, resulting in increased visibility for the community that continues to resonate in the struggle for equality," according to this plaque.

BUST OF SYLVETTE: Designed by Pablo Picasso and fabricated by Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, this massive stone sculpture is in the courtyard of 505 LaGuardia Place in Manhattan. 

UNDER WRAPS: Charging Bull, a bronze sculpture on Broadway, just north of Bowling Green in Manhattan's Financial District, has been covered to prevent any damage during Black Lives Matter demonstrations and protests, and was being guarded by several police officers on Saturday. They directed us to the statues in the photos below.

OUR FIRST PRESIDENT: This large bronze sculpture of George Washington is on a pedestal in front of Federal Hall at 26 Wall St., where he was sworn in as the first president of the United States in 1789. 

WOMEN'S DAY: The Fearless Girl Statue was moved to protect it during the protests. The statue, commissioned by an asset management company, was installed on March 7, 2017, the day before International Women's Day.

OUR LAST STOP: The Group of Four Trees at the Chase Manhattan Bank Plaza was our last stop before we drove home. The address is 28 Liberty St. in Manhattan.

ONE WAY: On the way to see Group of Four Trees, the navigation system in our Toyota Prius sent us down this "street" in the Financial District. Our Prius just fit.

Main Street in Hackensack is a lot quieter, but ethnic restaurants are open for takeout

An abundance of hope but little joy shown as I walk neighborhood during pandemic

On my late-afternoon walk in my Hackensack neighborhood yesterday, this sign expressing hope was rare but welcome ...

...And last week, this small sign at the base of a tree in front of a house on Anderson Street was a bright spot.

  

I discover corners
 of the Fairmount section

 of Hackensack I never saw
 from the car

There are no shortages of signs expressing thanks to healthcare workers and others who are keeping us safe, delivering essentials to our homes and keeping food stores stocked...

...This home and others along Summit Avenue fashioned their own signs.

A first in Hackensack was Tuesday's school election -- by mail-in ballot only -- to chose three members of the 9-member Board of Education.

This is one of the shuttered, abandoned or condemned homes I saw during my walks...

...While this structure on Euclid Avenue is being gutted and renovated after serving for many years as what neighbors suspected was an illegal rooming house.

I'm trying to remember when I saw a kid playing outside since people started quarantining in mid-March.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Stay home, wash your hands, wear a mask, but what about a sudden loss of intimacy?

BIRDS AND BEES: Spring has sprung in Hackensack, N.J., but sexual intimacy is out of bounds during the Covid-19 pandemic, so I find myself spending more time waiting on line to get into Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, N.J., below, and other food stores. 

PANIC BUYING: Last week, I lined up behind other Costco members wearing masks and gloves to get into the warehouse during special senior hours, only to find shortages of some of my favorite items. So, are cooking and eating comfort food the only pleasures we have left? 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Before the Covid-19 pandemic altered my life and the lives of millions of other older Americans, I spent most of my time shopping for food and volunteering at a hospital.

After the hospital's Volunteer Office closed, I and millions of others were told to stay home, wash our hands frequently and not to touch our faces -- or, presumably, our wives' face.

So, I made sure to touch my wife only below her neck.

But as we spend so much more time together, are all forms of affection and sex out of bounds?

Are cunnilingus and fellatio safer than intercourse? 

If all forms of affection and sexual intimacy are dangerous, what is left?

Comfort food? 

Are cooking and eating too much all we have left as we try to stay safe from this killer virus?

My gym closed, line at Costco is too long, so how am I supposed to get any exercise?

CORONAVIRUS PANIC BUYING: Lines to check out at the Costco Business Center in Hackensack today were short, compared to Saturday, above and below. The warehouse was still out of toilet paper, but had bottles of spring water, as well as purified water. There was no spring water available in half-liter bottles on Monday.

WATER LIMITS: Costco members were allowed to buy only one pack of bottled water today.

The spread of Covid-19 endangers

older Americans in other ways

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Since I retired a dozen years ago from a sedentary night job on a newspaper copy desk, I've relied on food shopping and the gym to get my exercise and stay healthy.

In 2012, I supplemented the gym and food shopping with volunteering at a hospital, pushing patients in wheelchairs and doing other chores that required a lot of walking. 

I've covered from 2 miles to 3 miles during a 4-hour volunteer shift on both Wednesdays and Fridays, according to the app on my smartphone.

But the spread of the coronavirus has changed all of that, and now I find that only food shopping provides me with the opportunity to exercise.

As I've always done, I've boosted my steps by parking as far away from the store entrance as possible.

No more volunteering

First, the hospital cancelled the volunteer appreciation lunch and award ceremony scheduled for April, then closed the Volunteer Office altogether.

This week, my gym closed. 

And this morning, I drove into the parking lot of the Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, N.J., only to find a line of shoppers (100 to 150 is my guess) with carts lined up in the rain single file, waiting to be allowed into the warehouse.

Costco decided to limit the number of members in the store at one time, and Teterboro police were on duty to make sure shoppers complied.

Instead of waiting in that line, I walked over to the nearby Walmart, waited on a short line inside the store, and an employee gave me a 12-roll package of toilet paper, which cost about $8.50.

Costco in Hackensack

So, on the way home, I stopped at the Costco Business Center in Hackensack, where I live, and picked up:

A 10-liter bag-in-box of extra-virgin olive oil from Spain, two large bottles of 100% grape juice, a pack of half-liter bottles of Poland Springs natural spring water, a smaller pack of Poland Springs flavored, zero-calorie seltzer; and a 2-pound package of organic Mejdool Dates.

The Business Center also was out of toilet paper, Lysol wipes and other cleaning products.

Counting steps

According to the Health app on my smartphone, I've done .65 miles or 1,500 steps so far today.

In February and so far in March, I've averaged 1.1 mile a day, but my average surely will be less now that I no longer have volunteering and an occasional visit to the gym to supplement food shopping.

On Sunday, I stopped at the Aldi near my home for jars of organic salsa and cans of organic tomatoes, the latter for Pasta with Garlic, Tomatoes and Oil with vegetables I plan to prepare tonight.

Later that morning, I drove to the Super H Mart in Ridgefield, N.J., for the fresh, wild-caught fish we prepare for our Sunday dinner.

On Monday, I also shopped at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, N.J., where I get most of the organic produce and organic pasta we eat, but found many empty shelves.

Message from Costco

Not long after I posted this, I saw this message from the CEO of Costco on controlling the number of members in the warehouse:

Dear Costco Member,

As the global effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, Costco is firmly committed to the health and safety of our members and employees, and serving our communities. We are closely monitoring the changing situation, and complying with public health guidance.

As many of you have noticed, we’ve experienced a surge of business during this time. As a result, we’ve taken steps to control the number of members in our warehouses and asked that members and employees practice social distancing.

We’ve also reduced some services.

We’ve increased our protocols in sanitizing surfaces, including shopping cart handles, merchandise shelves, front-end belts and registers. Limits have been implemented on certain items to help ensure more members are able to access the merchandise they want and need. Our buyers and suppliers are working to ensure in-demand merchandise as well as everyday favorites are available in our warehouses.

 As new information becomes available, management is keeping warehouse staff well informed so they can respond swiftly and appropriately. While the circumstances continue to change and we modify our operations as necessary, we thank you for your patience and cooperation. As new developments occur, be assured we are committed to taking care of our members and employees and to our mission of providing low prices, quality merchandise and exceptional service.

We extend our sincere thanks to Costco members and employees worldwide for their ongoing support and loyal dedication during this challenging time.   

Thank you,Craig Jelinek, President and CEO, Costco Wholesale

CHECKING TWICE: At the Costco Business Center, an employee, left, checks what's in your cart against your receipt before you are allowed to leave the warehouse.

UPDATE: Closed and cancelled are words of the day as coronavirus panic intensifies

ONLY THE ESSENTIALS: In response to the coronavirus, the food court at the Costco Business Center was closed. A favorite item was the 18-inch pizza with vegetables for $9.95.

Toilet paper sells out because

 people "are scared shitless"

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Public schools were closed on Friday out of "abundance of caution" as more cases of the coronavirus were reported in Bergen County, the most populous of New Jersey's 21 counties.

So, we made a small list and my wife, who didn't have to report to work as a school-crossing guard, drove over to the Costco Business Center for a handful of items, including bottled spring water and toilet paper.

Meanwhile, I dressed for my usual 4-hour stint on Fridays as a volunteer at a nearby hospital.

When my wife got to Costco, she couldn't find any shopping carts outside or in the lobby. She entered the warehouse, only to find it packed with shoppers.

She seemed to be saying the panic buying was even worse than what I encountered when I made a video on March 7:

See: Panic buying at the Costco Business Center

 in the time of the coronavirus

She saw other shoppers without a cart following those with a cart to their vehicles so they could take the cart from them, enter the warehouse and shop.

She returned on Saturday, but the warehouse still was out of toilet paper and bottled spring water.

I shopped today at Aldi in Hackensack and the Super H Mart in Ridgefield, N.J.

See: Coronavirus Food Shopping:

 Did H Mart suspend free food samples?

Volunteer office closed

Meanwhile, I went to Lowes in Paramus, N.J., on Friday to discuss a fence project for our home, then set out for the hospital where I have been volunteering twice a week since March 2012.

As I was leaving Lowes, I went to see if the store had any toilet paper (the shelf was empty), then stopped to ask a cashier if more was due to come in.

She asked, as have many people, why people are buying so much toilet paper, and I related a joke I heard from satirist Bill Maher last Friday night:

"[Toilet paper is] the first thing that sells out  because people are scared shitless.

"There's even a new song about it by that new band, 'Panic at Costco,'" Maher cracked.

As I was driving on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, I got a call from the hospital informing me that so few volunteers showed up on Friday the volunteer office would be closing.

I went in on Wednesday, and got a good workout pushing patients in wheelchairs, fetching blood from the Blood Bank and taking specimens to the lab.

No patient visits

But on Wednesday, because of the coronavirus, I wasn't able to visit any patients recovering from open-heart surgery, as I've done as a member of the hospital's Visiting Hearts program since March 2012.

I joined the volunteer program after recovering from my own open-heart surgery for a new aortic valve in September 2011.

National emergency

President Trump declared a national emergency on Friday, two days after a confused and confusing televised speech in which he mistakenly said no goods from Europe would be allowed into the United States.

The president's initial response minimizing the virus, also known as COVID-19, and his many lies and false statements caused the stock market to tank and oil prices to drop.

The Nov. 3 presidential election can't come soon enough for millions of Americans who have seen the nation torn apart by Trump's racism, praise of white supremacists and tax cuts for the 1%.

Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, New Jersey homeowners like me are only able to deduct $10,000 of their property taxes from what's due the federal government (that's only half my yearly bill).

Read: During pandemic, try to laugh 

to keep from crying

Read: So how am I supposed to get any exercise?