I wore myself out working on a long piece this morning, I’ve been working harder being sequestered at home than I was when I could move around. I sense we are entering a new phase in Corona World, not the end, but the beginning of the end.

Hospitals up here in my are laying off health care workers, the hospitals are empty. There are only a handful of coronavirus patients, and no other treatments and surgeries were scheduled. Nobody wants to go near a hospital at the moment.

They are the quietest places around.

My governor, Andrew Cuomo, a fox in nurse’s clothing at the moment, pulled a fast one on the President, calling a regional governor’s council to start talks about opening up businesses. The President had a tweet fit insisting he was in charge, not the governors.

Why do I keep thinking I’m trapped in a Middle School playground at recess?

But one rule of politics is simple – if you have to say you are in charge, you are not. The governors have emerged as hot stuff during the epidemic. They were left to their own devices, something I think President Trump seems to already regret.

But if Andrew Cuomo is talking about returning to normal, and calling “re-open” meetings, then it’s on the horizon. It might take weeks or even months, but it is coming. They weren’t talking that way a few days ago.

I lay down at the end of the day to meditate and rest and Bud hopped up on my lap, it is always a pleasure to see him comfortable and happy. This sweet creature understands what deprivation means, and the two of us sat in front of the fire on this windy and stormy day and just looked at one another.

Bud always seems grateful to me – it’s probably a projection – but it’s sweet to think of it.

I think we both felt lucky to be where we are and mindful of all the suffering and death in New York City and Chicago and Florida and New Orleans and many other places. The virus seems to favor men, minorities, the elderly and cities.

And people like me, of course.

I have this chilly feeling that the Angel Of Death swooped over us.

It is too early to relax or get lazy, I’m staying inside, wearing my mask when I go out and rigorously avoiding people. The governor and Dr. Fauci have gotten me this far, I’ll stick with them to the end.

But the energy has shifted, it feels like the beginning of normalcy is on the horizon. The virus no longer seems out of control and impossible to contain. The governors were right.

I think we are all breathing easier, Bud certainly is, me too. Maria is feeling stronger as well and more at ease. We are proud of one another in some ways, we both have managed to do some good. We’re going to do another podcast tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for hanging in  there with us, I’m not going anywhere, I am just grateful for all of the support I felt from so many of you.