Overheard today: “During the pandemic, we used to . . . ” It’s so natural right now, right here, in southern California, to feel like it’s over. Vaccines are being given, restaurants are opening up, cases and hospitalizations are down. Our governor says the economy is posed to “come roaring back.” I earnestly hope so.

Last year we knew so little about this virus. Now we are seeing the results of a full year of research along with six months of vaccine experience. I’ve sorted the major stories into three categories: Openings, research, and regulations.

The first time I encountered the phrase “impending doom” was in the section on acute hemolytic transfusion reactions in a medical technology manual. It read like this: “Ominously, the patient may report a feeling of ‘impending doom.’ ” Such an emotional-sounding phrase seemed out of place alongside physical symptoms

Are you making summer plans? There’s a general optimism in the air right now that is hard to resist. The Olympic torch, which left Greece a year ago, started its relay in Fukushima yesterday. The next four months will see

Doesn’t it make sense to celebrate New Year’s on the first day of Spring? We’ve reached the time of year when, in the Northern Hemisphere, the daylight grows a little longer than the night each day and we look forward to having more sunshine. I remember our first year in Iran when our neighbors invited us

How our attention has shifted! Only a year ago, on March 10, 2020, the word “pandemic” occurred only 4 times in the Los Angeles Times. Today I counted no less than 38 occurrences and tomorrow, the anniversary of the pandemic declaration by the World Health Organization, will no doubt have many more. I call it Pandemic Creep.

The Pandemic Anniversary! We’re almost there. Can you feel it? I can, because my chronicle, at least this phase of it, is almost at an end. One year ago, on Wednesday, March 4, we took off for Portugal. I had been following the coronavirus story in the news for weeks, curious about how this would actually develop.