The distance from my home on Staten Island to the parish I serve in Brooklyn is about 16 miles. Ten of those are on an expressway that is normally completely jammed with traffic, even at off-peak times. Pre-Covid, it was not unusual for the trip to take 90 minutes. During the months of strict lockdown, I made the trip once a week to go through the mail and prepare a deposit. The streets and highways were empty. As a New Yorker inured to traffic, it was an unsettling, not a welcome, experience. The lack of traffic increased the unease and fear of those days. About a month in, the City began to take advantage of the empty roads to do repairs. The first time I was caught in heavy traffic with lanes closed due to construction, I was relieved and delighted to encounter a more normal trip.
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Father Jerry K.