I am starting to feel like I am keeping a diary because our lock-down has turned routine. With my recent participation in open society, for myself, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. The task is daunting for many. Healthcare workers have been working at stress levels not seen in generations. Business people have had to deal with unprecedented barriers to existence. Production elements are under stress to reopen, while not being able to secure all the necessary inputs. Any person in a position of managing anything has been left without any process, plan or guidance for any individual decision. Anyone who had any relation to travel has been left in limbo. Many have been forgotten, elsewhere in the world, then where they call home.
At our apartment, we are worried about what to feed the kids, how to keep everyone away from us, and how to entertain the kids. Keeping my job is high on the list, but as we all hope, there are so many issues up in the air hopefully there is no time for firings? Who could possible substitute me in this position anyway? The world is full of irony, tragedy and joy, but all these things are relative.
Today we were eating our morning oatmeal and my wife asked me if we had any chocolate. Being a man that often speaks before he thinks, I answered “I ate it all last night.” I don’t really eat much in terms of sweets, so my wife knew I was hiding it, but not the kids. The crying started immediately and it took a good fifteen minutes out of my morning to convince the boys that I did not actually eat the chocolate and there is some in the apartment, without letting them actually win and showing it to them. If the former were true, their world would be crumbling into pieces, a more horrendous event could not possibly be contemplated.
Another example of relativity in the era of lock-down is our own relationship between my wife and I. We are lucky to be healthy, have the liberty of home-office, enjoy the time with children etc. with some inconveniences. But last night before I went to bed I left a plate on the counter instead of putting it into the dishwasher. That caused a show down from which I quickly backed down and stayed mute. The potential for such conflicts to explode in the current environment are massive. How is it that humans can be in the midst of something terrible, yet seem to relate to unrelated things to vent anger, frustration or unwillingness to conform?
Another example of a light at the end of the tunnel was from my little pre-school. I had received an e-mail that they would be up and running as of May 19th. Apparently, the private little “almost pre-schools” were not obliged to close as they have too few children and are more of a care center. I was excited about the news but I still need to convince my wife that it is safe to go outside.
I am a believer in the recent findings and/or suspicions that the virus is much more prevalent in society than we believe. Since testing is still fairly limited, and many carriers show no symptoms, there is a possibility that much higher affection rates are the case across the globe. Perhaps we are much closer to the “herd immunity” championed by some leaders than we think.
With farmers markets, car dealerships and craft’s people being allowed to open as of this past Monday, we can get shoes repaired, phone screens replaced, shop for veggies outside and buy new cars. It’s a good idea as our economy can’t hold together without the cash circulating. So go out and buy something. Today’s lucky business was a bike shop which opened up close to where I live. I planned on having my bicycle spring tuned, unfortunately I am going to have to wait for two weeks as the demand is to great.
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.
