"I want to be alone"--Greta Garbo
Whenever my late mother was feeling really sick, she liked to say that she was going to "Take to the bed," one of her many Southernisms. If she just wasn't feeling well, but not truly ill, she stayed out of bed and the household routine would continue as normal. But "taking to the bed" was something else entirely, and it meant that there would be no grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and no clean laundry for a day or two. She was, after all, in the bed, and she was not going to get out of that bed.
When I had COVID I felt like a had a case of the flu for two days--and during that time I really did follow my mother's routine of taking to the bed. What was unusual about COVID was what followed, the quarantine period of several more days to keep from spreading it. I don't like isolation, much less imposed isolation (partly because I don't like being told what to do). But in hindsight, I see some benefits in spending some time by myself. This is something distinct from a vacation, which many people view as a time of rest and relaxation. If you have ever taken children to Disneyworld, though, you know that so-called vacations can be anything but restful. When I returned from such a trip once, I told friends that "after that vacation, I'm going to need a vacation." My wife and I enjoyed tremendously the Windstar cruises we took, but that also involved almost daily planned excursions, where we would leave the ship to tour the local areas. I love history, so I loved our time at Normandy beach, site of the D-Day battle; and during some time in London, we visited Winston Churchill's World War II bunker. I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything, but what they provide is not exactly the rest you would get from just being alone with nothing really to do.
Whenever there is a crisis--and the pandemic certainly qualifies as one--many people will assume that once the crisis has passed, life will return to the way it was, back to "normal," before things fell apart. What evidence can we find to show what aspects of life seem to have changed permanently versus those parts of life that have regained their old, familiar shape? I suspect that the pandemic-imposed reprieve from an overly active life has taught some of us that being alone doesn't have to mean being lonely, that some intentional quiet and solitude can be an occasional elixir. People (like me) who are prone to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) likely didn't suffer from that much during the pandemic, because there wasn't anything to miss out on. Maybe now we have learned that it's okay to miss out sometimes, but my best bet is that we have shifted our priorities, so maybe the things that once seemed to be the end-all, be-all are just no longer that high on the totem pole.
One change that is still playing out is the remote work/work from home development. Some firms want their people back in the office, while others seem fine with the new arrangements. People need to be in an office for tasks that require face-to-face collaboration, while other functions can be performed at any location with a laptop. And then there is Zoom, which has now become a verb. We still don't know the long term effect on commercial real estate. People will say, as they say about retail space, Oh, firms will always need an office. But how much office? Success or failure happens at the margin, and it doesn't take every business bailing out of office space to cause problems for commercial real estate. And people will always do some shopping at bricks-and-mortar stores, but how big do those stores need to be? This could be a double whammy for commercial space, especially if employees are demanding work from home as part of their job descriptions.
Travel took a major hit during the pandemic, and now we are seeing a surge in pent-up demand. There is even an acronym to add to our lexicon: YOLO, or You Only Live Once. Generation Z (birth years 1997-2012) and younger Millennials (birth years 1981-1996) tend to be more oriented toward "experiences" rather than the acquisition of material goods. If we follow the money, that means more funds spent on travel, maybe going snow skiing instead of buying a new car. I learned a long time ago not to let my personal tastes cloud my investment assessments. Case in point: Airbnb (ABNB, $160). I have no desire to stay at an Airbnb because I prefer hotels, at least the ones that offer room service. I really do not want to go grocery shopping to stock the kitchen while I'm on vacation (although that's exactly what we do when we rent a beach condominium every summer). Airbnb seems tailor-made for these younger cohorts, of which I am definitely not a member. A not-so-familiar name in the travel-related space is Clear Secure (YOU, $20), which offers an identity verification and security platform. The app allows users to digitize documents, such as passports and vaccine records, for what the company calls a "friction free" travel experience at airports. The market cap is just shy of $3 billion.
The hardest part of the pandemic for me was the lockdown phase, which meant no social gatherings and no church services (even funerals). I thought for a time that I was going to lose my mind, cut off from being with my friends in groups, large or small. One secret to a happy and healthy life is balance, time spent with other people leavened with some time carved out for doing nothing, except perhaps reading a good book. Too much of one thing at the expense of the other and life is not in balance. The more I think about it, I view alone time as something like exercise--you don't exercise all day but you make time for it regularly, a slice of the day that breaks up your busy routine.
Maybe this weekend I'll set aside some time to finish that Stephen King book I've started reading. Actually, I'm becoming a little bored, so I think it is time to set aside my inner Greta Garbo and find a party--don't want to catch FOMO!
Life is short. Get busy.
Jim
Disclaimer/ Disclosure: Individual stocks are mentioned here for the sole purpose of illustrating investment concepts, and nothing stated here should be construed as the advice to buy or sell any security.
Copyright 2024 James Brinkley Taylor, Jr.
Email me with any feedback, questions, or comments:
jbrinkleytaylor@gmail.com
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