Tom Hanks in the Pandemic Year: Never play solitaire again

During a period of blockade, quarantine and social distancing, the loner seemed a harmless undertaking, a cream for the mind and hands, a safety valve that meant having something do. The deck of cards was right there on the table and, without thinking about it, my hands would grab that 52 file to raffle, shuffle and cut. A game would be dealt, by myself, by myself, in a line of seven cards with a growing pile face down. The cards he had in his hand were revealed in threes, and the blacks were played at the reds, etc., and an hour or so would pass. I would also play solo later in the day or the next morning.

I never cheated to win; winning was not the point. Getting closer was good enough and there was always another game, why not do it? This time he could win. And what else was there to do?

Actually, there was a lot to do! Damn! There was a sink to clean and a dishwasher to empty. Laundry to sort. Rice to put in the kitchen with the timer ready for breakfast. Letters you could have typed and typewriter and stationery to do so. The books he had packed in a suitcase were placed in a reading stack, unread, even though he was always reading one of them. There were floor exercises and yoga stretches to do. I have kids to talk to when they are available. I have business partners to contact. I have fun and interesting friends. I have scenes to study and work to prepare. I have stories in my head — and I tell stories to make a living — that could have been sketched, pointed out, and sketched. I could have watched “Chernobyl” again on HBO.

I devoted myself to doing many of these things. I fulfilled most of my responsibilities and explored some creative spaces within my thick head. But those hands of the loner accumulated minutes lost in the hope that a red six would come out or that a king would turn to be able to fill an empty column. What no Instead, do I?

Covid-19 has taught us that life and health are precarious, that the smallest part of our physical world, like a virus, can rob us of vitality, community, family and purpose, whether we get sick as if not. This pandemic affected us all, costing so much, too much. Our time is limited and finite. The loner wastes what is beautiful. Never play solitaire again.

But, cradle? With my son, who can I rarely beat? Anytime.

“Sir.” Hanks is an actor, screenwriter, producer and director. He is the author of “Unusual Type: Some Stories.”