Which Relationships Survived the Pandemic and Which Didn't?

“Have you gotten your vaccine yet?” has lately replaced “How are you?” among the people I text, talk to, see when I walk the dog or stay in touch with on social media. It’s even replaced the organ recital that sometimes constitutes conversation among people my age.

Now that I and many of them are answering affirmatively, we are emerging gingerly from lockdowns and isolation like survivors of a nuclear holocaust in one of those old movies like On the Beach. We are not being foolish; we’re not making any reservations we can’t cancel with no fee, we’re thinking of flying…