What is the longest distance between two places?

Tennessee Williams has the answer

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of four-years-since-Covid-lockdown posts on social media with people sharing memories of those early harrowing days of the pandemic. It’s reminded me of a fantasy I regularly indulged in, starting probably about half a year into lockdown.

At the time, I was receiving twice weekly shots at an allergy clinic, which was basically the only time I spent a significant amount of time indoors with other people besides David, and even then, I was double masked. My drive home often took me past the Emory campus and Emory Hospital in particular. There were days I was so (irrationally) scared of catching Covid or giving it to someone by just being in proximity to the hospital that I’d keep my mask on and roll up the windows while I was in the area.

The same drive would take me through this underpass that was close to where my gym had been located until it moved in the early months of the pandemic to another nearby facility. The move was planned long before Covid hit, but it turned out to be fortuitous timing because the new space had a huge parking lot where outdoor fitness classes were held for about a year.

Going through the underpass on my way home from the allergy clinic, I would fantasize that it was pre-Covid days, and I was about to head to my usual noon class at the former gym spot. I would picture myself standing in the warm up circle with the other attendees, one of my favorite instructors leading the class from the center. I followed along with the warm up, not worrying about how many people were in the room or how closely we were breathing. I pushed hard during the workout, and I imagined myself sweaty at the end giving someone a high five.

I’d become a trainer at the gym about half a year before Covid started, but in this fantasy, I was back to being a regular gym member with very limited responsibilities outside of my own workout. This was my happy place, and I knew even if the pandemic subsided I would never be able to return to it because the gym had moved, I’d become a trainer, and life just doesn’t work that way.

When I left my job at the gym last year because I was moving to the Northeast, a member who I cared about very much said to me, “this place won’t be the same without you.” Which was a sweet thing to say, but it made me think about the version of the gym that I had lost, the one in the old location.

This week I’m headed back to Atlanta, and I’m planning on stopping by the gym for a class. I did this too when I visited last October, and it was fun to catch up with people but also strange. Because things hadn’t stayed locked in time. There were new members, new trainers I didn’t know, and I was different too.

This all reminds me of a quote I saw in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine when I visited New York City this past January. There was a part of the church called “The American Poets’ Corner” that had all these quotes from famous authors. Many of them stood out, but this one hit me the hardest:

“Time is the longest distance between two places.” - Tennessee Williams

Here’s to my happy place, even if I can never make it back there.

---

---