This photo was taken on March 16, 2020. I know that, because it was the last time I rode the bus to my job at VoiceAmerica, and I had stopped in at McDonald’s for a Sausage & Egg McMuffin. The next day was St. Patrick’s Day, so I got a Shamrock Shake.
And it wad SO green. Like, I expected the mint-flavored ice cream to be green, but not the color of actual shamrocks. So I took this photo and posted it to my (now deleted) Twitter account with the caption, “This milkshake is too fucking green,” before heading off to my second bus.
My bus rides in the morning consisted of one bus west that stopped right in front of this particular McDonald’s, and then a 15-20 minute wait to take another bus North, which dropped me off a block away from the office (which has since moved). So stopping in at McD’s on mornings when I didn’t have time to make breakfast for myself wasn’t TOO common, but it wasn’t unusual. Maybe three or four times a month.
But this particular day felt different. The CDC had recommended limiting gatherings to smaller groups as COVID-19 was making its way across the United States. The previous Friday, an independent wrestling show I was planning to go to had gotten cancelled. And the day before, I met a friend at our local card shop to play the Transformers TCG, and the store was strangely empty.
On the second bus ride, after McDonald’s, I was VERY aware of all the people coughing and wheezing while I sat in this tube-shaped petri dish, helpless to do anything to prevent exposure to whatever they were spewing out of their lungs. Riding the bus can feel kind of gross at times, but that day was extra gross.
Later that morning, after our staff meeting, I asked if it would be okay for me to work from home for a while. I was the only employee who rode the bus, so I had the greatest chance of catching something and spreading it around. Everybody agreed that it was a good idea.
By the following Friday, with the exception of the audio engineers who had to be in the building to run shows, the entire company was working from home.
It’s amazing what kinds of memories a single photograph of a milkshake with too much food dye can stir up.
I still think it’s too fucking green.