Men’s Health USA – April 2022
English | 98 pages | pdf | 62.72 MB
IIF YOU’RE A follower of @MensHealthMag on Twitter or Instagram or, I dunno, Facebook, you’ve probably noticed that every few weeks, I do this thing where I show up unannounced in your feed, basically uninvited, soliciting questions about working out or losing weight (or traveling!) that I can then answer for you in this here letter. Some of the questions I get are very, very specific. (Sorry, buddy: Can’t recommend the right dosage for your cholesterol meds.) Others are pleasingly smart-assy. (I don’t have washboard abs, so not sure whether
I can bounce a bottle cap off them.) But every now and again I get a gem that kind of cracks the universe open and requires me to actually think for a second. Like this one.
What does it mean to travel in a time of roller-coaster infection rates and lingering restrictions, masks and quarantines, rapid tests and at-home kits and Greek letters run amok? How do you weigh risk versus responsibility— for yourself, for your kids, for your parents, for strangers—when the benchmarks for risk and the boundaries of personal
responsibility seem to shift from day to day (and person to person)? I’ve met people who haven’t stopped traveling since March 2020, marveling at the deals the rest of us idiots are missing on Caribbean cruises and European airfare. I’ve also met people who still won’t go to a restaurant, let alone get on a plane. Most people I know, me included, are bouncing
around the middle, cautious about most things Covid, wary of long-term planning and lost security deposits—yet desperate for a real change of scenery.
And so, like so much else today, we have to manage risk without ever quite eliminating it. Back in December, as Omicron began its savage, stealthy march across America, I had holiday plans to visit western Michigan, where the infection numbers were really, truly not great and my in-laws were waiting to hug their grandkids. Should we stay home and miss another year of memories? Or should we commit to wearing masks, avoiding crowds and stuffy rooms, and trusting that our vaccines and boosters would protect us from
serious illness? We ended up going, and we were all fine, but were we reckless? Or were we just learning to live with risk and uncertainty the best we could, knowing that we get only so many Christmases with the ones we love?
I wish I knew for sure. Everyone needs to determine their own comfort level with risk, both for themselves and for the people around them, because it seems like we’re going to be in this limbo for a little while longer. Whatever you do, planning ahead is key. Check local mask mandates and testing requirements to make sure you’re on board with them. Call ahead to check the hours and accessibility of your destination. (Websites often don’t reflect changing Covid-19 safety measures and guidelines.) Opt for bigger, more modern airplanes, which typically
have the best ventilation and air filtration. Get tested before and after you travel. And for the love of Fauci, wear your mask indoors and around strangers. Your next trip just might depend on it.
Richard Dorment, Editor-in-Chief
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