“The New Normal.” I hate that phrase.
That is how people are describing the lives we are leading these days. In this 2020 where nothing is the same, the way we live our lives has changed, probably forever.
So far, my friends and family have been blessed. We are all healthy. I hope it stays that way. I grieve for those who cannot say the same.
In trying to stay healthy, we have all made sacrifices. But not have all been worse. Lots have been better.
I used to spend at least 90 minutes in my car everyday driving to and from work. That’s over. Forever. I’m never going back to that rat race. I used to drive to meet clients. I used to wait for clients to come meet me. Over.
These days, when I have a meeting, I walk from my pool to my office, slip my collared shirt and tie over my head, button up, comb my hair and sit in front of my Zoom camera. Twenty or thirty or sixty minutes later, I am back at the pool working again.
Wishing for things to be normal again, for me, would be insane.
This is what Covid has taught me: we are adaptable creatures. This pandemic is not the end of the world. For some, it is the beginning of living. For some, being forced to wear a mask means that freedom has begun, it hasn’t been taken away. Because by being forced to wear a mask due to Covid, commutes have ended, endless meetings have ended, and time is our own.
This is the first summer since high school when I can remember what it feels like to be on summer vacation. And believe me, it feels good.
My point is this: if you think folks are going to go back to living the way we lived on March 1st, you are fooling yourself. And if you are fooling yourself, you are going to get left behind, and this Covid pandemic is going to be catastrophic for you.
Because people like me are never going back. And there are a lot of people like me.
The court system – one of the slowest institutions to adapt to change – is moving in a change direction. Already conferences, arguments, and hearings are being conducted by video conference. Once the technology is in place, we are not going back. Good-bye to the cost of maintaining costly courthouses and offices. Good-bye to costly infrastructure.
If the courts have figured it out then you can bet that businesses that are in the business of making money have figured it out too. And taxpayers will start catching on pretty soon as well.
Prepare for green spaces, leisure time, and home-cooked meals.
All the infrastructure that you need, believe it or not, is in that smartphone in your pocket right now.
I thought Uber and self-driving cars were going to end transportation as we know it. I was wrong. Working from home is going to end cars as we know them. I used to put 35,000 miles on my car annually. This year, I won’t get to 10,000 if things keep going as they are.
Goodbye car payments. Goodbye gas payments. Goodbye insurance payments. Hello freedom.
Wearing a mask is freeing indeed. The world has changed forever. We’re not going back folks. Wear your mask and enjoy the freedom. It is going to be blue skies and green spaces coming at you.
That is how people are describing the lives we are leading these days. In this 2020 where nothing is the same, the way we live our lives has changed, probably forever.
So far, my friends and family have been blessed. We are all healthy. I hope it stays that way. I grieve for those who cannot say the same.
In trying to stay healthy, we have all made sacrifices. But not have all been worse. Lots have been better.
I used to spend at least 90 minutes in my car everyday driving to and from work. That’s over. Forever. I’m never going back to that rat race. I used to drive to meet clients. I used to wait for clients to come meet me. Over.
These days, when I have a meeting, I walk from my pool to my office, slip my collared shirt and tie over my head, button up, comb my hair and sit in front of my Zoom camera. Twenty or thirty or sixty minutes later, I am back at the pool working again.
Wishing for things to be normal again, for me, would be insane.
This is what Covid has taught me: we are adaptable creatures. This pandemic is not the end of the world. For some, it is the beginning of living. For some, being forced to wear a mask means that freedom has begun, it hasn’t been taken away. Because by being forced to wear a mask due to Covid, commutes have ended, endless meetings have ended, and time is our own.
This is the first summer since high school when I can remember what it feels like to be on summer vacation. And believe me, it feels good.
My point is this: if you think folks are going to go back to living the way we lived on March 1st, you are fooling yourself. And if you are fooling yourself, you are going to get left behind, and this Covid pandemic is going to be catastrophic for you.
Because people like me are never going back. And there are a lot of people like me.
The court system – one of the slowest institutions to adapt to change – is moving in a change direction. Already conferences, arguments, and hearings are being conducted by video conference. Once the technology is in place, we are not going back. Good-bye to the cost of maintaining costly courthouses and offices. Good-bye to costly infrastructure.
If the courts have figured it out then you can bet that businesses that are in the business of making money have figured it out too. And taxpayers will start catching on pretty soon as well.
Prepare for green spaces, leisure time, and home-cooked meals.
All the infrastructure that you need, believe it or not, is in that smartphone in your pocket right now.
I thought Uber and self-driving cars were going to end transportation as we know it. I was wrong. Working from home is going to end cars as we know them. I used to put 35,000 miles on my car annually. This year, I won’t get to 10,000 if things keep going as they are.
Goodbye car payments. Goodbye gas payments. Goodbye insurance payments. Hello freedom.
Wearing a mask is freeing indeed. The world has changed forever. We’re not going back folks. Wear your mask and enjoy the freedom. It is going to be blue skies and green spaces coming at you.
The Law Office of Eric R. Brown 
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