America's bipolar summer

But what about those who don't want these thrills or can't afford them? Fear of infection will persist for some, even after we get into herd immunity territory. We may think some of this is irrational or driven by misunderstanding or misinformation, but that won't change the fact of it. When Memorial Day kicks off the summer season, we'll be 15 months into habits of caution, anxiety, and generally feeling weird. Habits so entrenched can be hard to break, even with excellent reason. There's also the reality that topline economic recovery won't bring back most of the businesses the pandemic killed. Some industries are growing right now, but others have crumbled. Around 100,000 small businesses were thought to have permanently closed by May of last year; by this summer, it could be as many as one in every 10 or even one in three of the 31 million small companies in the United States. A number of big chains have declared bankruptcy, too, as the pandemic accelerated pre-existing shifts in retail. And there are other, less visible economic troubles, too, like the backlogged bills facing some renters and small landlords alike. The end of the pandemic will open up new and renewed economic opportunities for the people thus affected, but it won't immediately, directly fix these losses and woes. Nor, of course, will it undo all the other losses of the prior year and a half, included the casualties of the pandemic itself. Social distancing rules have precluded normal routines and rituals, including grieving practices — practices we need. The winding down of distancing rules will make sudden space for so much that has been skipped, suspended, or suppressed.