WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | MAY 13 - 19, 2021 | 13
COVER STORY Janet Price, a retired physician, fi lls a needle with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a free vaccination clinic May 6 at 44 Lakeside Ave. ASHLEY GREEN/ TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
LOOKING AHEAD
WO RC E S T E R B E G I N S T O C O N T E M P L AT E L I F E A F T E R PA N D E M I C Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Every year, Colin Novick camps and section-hikes the Appalachian Trail. Or he did — until last year. As an outdoor pursuit, hiking might have been considered one of the few activities relatively unaff ected by the pandemic — and for many, that might have been the case.
But for the serious hiker, it’s often necessary to book a motel room in the area the day before in order to make a dawn start on a trail the next morning. That meant dealing with interstate COVID guidelines, restrictions on visitation, testing requirements and quarantine periods. Given Massachusetts’ frequent “red” status for infection rates, even going next door to Rhode Island proved impractical.
Instead, 2020 was a year of “minihikes,” as Novick called them, staying in the Worcester area. After receiving the vaccine, the chance to visit new terrain and fi nd the local quirkiness of another place, he said, “sounds like a frozen container of Cool Whip that I have been longing for a taste of for over a year now.” The COVID-19 vaccine has come to symbolize the return to normalcy for
which we have all been yearning. While it may not be quite as cut and dried — precautions still need to be taken — receiving the vaccine will no doubt provide a very real sense of freedom. Traveling to reunite with family and friends or travel for physical recreation that sustains us in hard times is crucial to our state of mind. “We’re like trees, all Continued on next page
