I was in first grade when I lined up with most of the children in my school as part of mass testing of Jonas Salk’s new polio vaccine. My parents had explained the big word “placebo” to me, meaning that I would be getting a shot but it might not be the real vaccine.

I once had a client who had always dreamed of being a veterinary technician. She had pursued the schooling, the hours of practical experience, the necessary certification, and she had achieved her dream. As often happens, however, after a number of years the dream had faded.

We expect summer fog in San Francisco, but this year has been particularly foggy. It’s disorienting to see no landmarks, to have a nearby street or the entire Bay invisible in the mist. Of course, if one keeps going, the streets and hills do come into view. You find your bearings, choose your direction, and move forward.

When the San Francisco Bay Area shut down in mid-March of 2020, I was almost relieved. The previous few weeks had involved way too many unaccustomed choices: Should we be eating in a restaurant? How close should we get to other people in the grocery store? Were we really going to that concert, or was it going to be cancelled?