Our youngest decided to wake up at 4:30 today, just to remind us what it’s like to have very young children. I want to thank all collaborators who contributed to inventing or engineering the possibility of 24hour streaming cartoons on demand. The early wake up, combined with the coziness of us being locked in together all day, makes for an edgy day.
At 8:00 sharp I locked myself in my makeshift office and told everyone I needed to work. I made some calls, completed some tasks and in general had a very productive morning. It was one of those great days when one completes more things in four hours than most days in nine. It freed up the afternoon to call some friends and colleagues to see how they are doing and how they are managing. I should have stuck to working.
I have several friends who run restaurants, bars, recruiting agencies or other service oriented businesses. I did not put enough thought into just how affected these entrepreneurs are; and I mean financially and emotionally. Most of them don’t even see a way out. They need to either live off nothing for the next year, adjust staff levels to unknown levels, figure out how to pay off the debts they are incurring daily, and/or try to understand when things may return to a level which makes sense to operate, let alone make a profit. It was remarkable talking to people who I had always admired for being successful, and living the entrepreneurial dream, and seeing them lost for words. I made a note to get out and start spending some money with these small businesses who will probably not find much in terms of benefits from government programs.
I remembered my list from yesterday and certainly needed to get out, so running was the first thing I checked off. It was 14:30, the sun was out and the cool breeze was blowing. I ran out of the building and felt like a tiger released into the wild! I had read that facemasks were no longer necessary when running, so it was full freedom. It has been a year or three since my last jog, so I knew I had to pace myself and aimed for the riverside. By the time I covered the 400 odd meters to the river, my breathing was heavy and I had kicked into a few cobble stones which were sticking their heads out a millimeter higher than the others. But I knew where my target marker was and I would get the four kilometer run in as planned, failure was not an option! At the river I found my pace and enjoyed the fresh air and all the people staring at me. I felt that I was being given disapproving looks as I glided by on the sidewalk, especially from mothers with their small children. It was as if I was the zombie which had brought upon us the apocalypse. Is not wearing a facemask now unthinkable? If they only knew who I was, that I could make them famous in the Prague Monitor! They would regret their scolding demeanors.
In the time it took most of you to read that paragraph I was gasping for breath. I don’t remember running being so taxing on the body. I was looking for my half-way point marker but it was nowhere in sight. I tried to keep the pace, but my legs felt heavier and clumsier. I pulled and pulled but the pavement under my shoes barely seemed to be moving at all. I looked up and there in the distance was the little post I used, so many years ago, as the halfway marker for my morning runs. Suddenly everything seemed possible again. I got the eye of the tiger and roared!
Arriving home is always a treat. Upon coming inside my wife looked at me and asked if I had been attacked. I went to the shower and as soon as I got out she informed me that I got my break, now it’s her turn. Barely able to walk I rounded up the kids and tried to convince them that it was puzzle time. They laughed and insisted that it was hide-and-go-secret time. The kids always win so it was off to the races one more time!
Naturally I didn’t manage to order the tire change or haircut but it was a great balanced day, one step at a time.
Paul Lysek – The idea of writing a daily update came to me by seeing, hearing and trying to understand all the things that are happening around us at this time. This story is a combination of all those sources, including friends, relatives, and experiences with attempts to bring out the satire, emotion and changing environment of the situation. It is entirely fictional, with the exception of my sarcasm.
