The Beat Goes On

July 20, 2020

In the immortal words of Sonny and Cher (I know, I am really reaching here) “The Beat Goes On". I feel I just lost all of the kids and made most of the adult’s groan. Good, I got your attention. (BTW, does anyone remember when they did this song on their show --before videos, kids-- why they wore those puffy fur coats? Go ahead, check YouTube, I’ll wait…….)

But the beat is going on. I am seeing more and more people at classes; the summer is going full blast with 90 plus temps this week. I am in touch with all the instructors and we are improving classes, planning the next few weeks and trying to keep up with the rapidly changing developments. I am feeling very positive.

I see instructors coming up with great ideas on new classes with physical distancing (I am using that term now as, let’s be real, we are distancing physically. That is the correct term, we are not staying apart off the Internet! but I am ranting and off topic. It’s not like you have been to my classes or anything J). But I am very happy with what we are doing within the Covid-19 protocols. Some things stay the same and other things change.

Rachel and I did the NYT crossword this Sunday morning, like every Sunday morning (in pen, but we do on occasion use white out) and then we had a Zoom call with an old friend; that is a new phenomenon. Some things say the same and other things change.

Now to the point, when we re-opened the Governor stated July 20th was the expected date for us to have “normal” classes but, no surprise, that is delayed. He stated when he pushed that back, “weeks, not months” but we are still observing all the protocols I had distributed when we first reopened and will keep you updated as we hear anything.

I want to remind everyone to try Iaido as it is free now. It’s a perfect time to start, Derrell is focusing on the basics with the group of new people trying. Come to those classes!

We are getting a great turnout for the Thursday Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) class. I will be recording the first third of the Form and posting on YouTube for your reference at home shortly. Zachary is heading up to Maine tomorrow so I will lose my uke for this week’s class. He is going to rest his tired legs (you know what I mean if you came to a TCC class) by hiking and cutting up trees.

But the beat goes on, life continues, and we all take great solace in the immortal motto of the Bangles – “Walk Like an Egyptian.” Yeah, I know, I got nothing. I thought I would when I started this letter but, sorry, nothing came to me by the end, so I tried to wing it. I will just finish up and start cooking dinner.

See you all at the dojo. Stay healthy and I look forward to the day we can roll together.

--Sensei Jay