My wife has been to Asia five times. I’ve been three times, reluctantly. I go because she’s the one who plans the trips. When I first met her she said she wanted to go to Nepal and I thought, this woman is nuts. Who’d want to go there ?

Our last trip to Asia was to Nepal. So obviously she is a woman with a strong disposition. She also seems to think that a lot of people are either gay or depressed. No slight intended, of course. She has a gay brother and the older gentleman who lives next door to us and is our best friend on the street and looks after our house when we are, you know, on long trips to the Himalayas, Burma and southeast Asia, is also of that persuasion. In fact, my wife seems to prefer gay men to the straight variety. Any difficulties that exist in our marriage I attribute to the fact that I’m not a gay Asian.

And depression ? Who doesn’t have a family member not afflicted with what Churchill called ‘Black Dog’? Apparently the medical industry hands out prescriptions for anti-depressants like the federal government distributes CERB cheques in the ongoing pandemic. It’s painless, at least for now, it lessens the discomfort and if you’ve got a better idea then let’s hear it.

That’s why I’ve been a lifelong reader of self-help books. Not that it’s had any discernible effect. Family members tell me that I’m just as impatient, short-tempered, impetuous, old-fashioned and set-in-my-ways now as I ever was. That’s why I talk to my dog a lot. And to myself. Together we are the most patient and compassionate companions that I’ll ever find in this world.

And I’ll only start popping pills when my dog starts talking back.

At least all of this depression and anxiety stuff is now acknowledged and taken more seriously than in previous decades. Even in the military. My association with those guys is limited to the ones that I play hockey with and they tell me that the old army expression was, “Got a personal problem? Go see the chaplain, and he’ll punch your ‘tough shit’ ticket.”

Nowadays, in our kinder and gentler age he’ll listen for twenty minutes and then punch your ‘tough shit’ ticket.

Of course it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize what a role social media plays in all of this. I mean, even an unabashed Luddite like myself can easily go on those social media outlets that I’ve heard about and see everyone smiling, having a great time at the cottage, riding sea-doos or whatever they call them and I’m sitting at home in the basement with my dog beside me and I’m waiting for the day when midget wrestling makes a comeback on t.v. Oops. Sorry, little people out there. If any of you readers have ever seen me then you know I can identify with you.

So let’s all hang in there and ride this pandemic crap out. Although the media tells us that once this one is over another stronger one will ride in on a ‘second wave.’

Okay, forget my sanctimonious bullshit about society’s addiction to pills. How do I get a prescription?