DAZE WORK: Coming out of the Covid Cocoon

Believe it or not, after nearly 12 months of hunkering down, quarantining at home, wearing almost exclusively sweats and living like a hermit, I think I’m coming out of my Covid Cocoon.

Motivated by an old “Seinfeld” episode and spurred on by my first haircut since last July, I believe I’m ready for the New Normal. Bring it on.

I’m tired of being a lazy bum, working from home three days a week and sometimes never changing out of the T-shirt and sweatpants I wore to bed. Enough of that. And I have good, old George Costanza to thank for my reawakening.

Remember this “Seinfeld” scene in Jerry’s apartment: George is slouching against the table, mindlessly eating chips from a family-size bag when Jerry starts the conversation.

“Again with the sweatpants?” he asks.

“Yeah, they’re comfortable,” George responds.

“You know the message you’re sending out to the world with those sweatpants?” Jerry offers. “You’re telling the world, ‘I give up. I can’t compete in normal society. I’m miserable, so I might as might be comfortable.’”

Not that there’s anything wrong with that ... but I’ve pretty much been wearing sweatpants the past 18 months (the state says it’s been 42 weeks, but I was still recovering from another health issue when Covid hit). And this is coming from a guy who used to wear khakis and ties all week and nice blue jeans on the weekend.

So not wanting to go through life akin to George Costanza, I took a long, hard look in the mirror and decided I also definitely needed a haircut for the second time in two years.

Yep, my hair hasn’t been this long since the Nixon Administration.

And when I went to text my trusty hairstylist, Roxann, I noticed the last time I had contacted her about a haircut was last July. Definitely time for a little off the top.

Tuesday afternoon, when I got my Covid cut, Roxann trimmed about six inches off, the clippings covering my barber cape, the chair and the floor. Who knew I had so much hair?

Even Roxann seemed amazed, and she’s been cutting my hair almost exclusively -- except for two rogue trimmings at Great Clips and another out-of-town shop -- for more than 30 years. First at Crosscuts, now at Salon 14 and in between at her home south of Greencastle, the back room of her ex-husband’s business on the square, a shop on the dead end across from Putnam Inn, the Tiger Den and even in a storage room at Mill Pond.

So when I find something good, I stick with it. Which makes it tough to trade those Dixie Chopper hoodies I’ve been lounging around in for my old dress shirts.

Oh sure, I’m still wearing a mask, although it’s not really part of my wardrobe. But it really is the least we can do for ourselves these days.

And I’m still contemplating getting the vaccine. But I’m allergic to eggs, and that has always precluded me from getting flu shots. So I don’t know.

It’s just that this might be as close to a New Normal as I’m getting for now.

So more or less, it’s feeling like another “Seinfeld” moment ...

As George might say, “I’m leaving the Covid Cocoon! I’m back, baby!”