No Pants, No Fire

If you say that you’ve not done one, most or all of the following - I’d say you’re a liar.

The past year has revealed our collective savage side. Days that slide by one after another, after the next - without showering. Lots of us had a personal best of days where soap and water did not touch our skin. This was surely following a record number of days we’d been wearing the same clothes. And forget about our hair. Mostly we’ve started to look like cave people. Our hair is UN-cut, UN-colored, and UN-washed. But facial hair is big. And by big I mean men are growing it with reckless abandon. Young, old - it doesn’t matter. They all look like some version of Grizzly Adams (dated myself there) or Santa Claus. In a word we’ve become scruffy.

It’s been an interesting experiment and it’s always fun to get a little ragged, but are we ready to clean up now? Doesn’t it sound good to get clean, smell nice, put on clothes that make you feel spiffy? Whilst being out, hanging with your people, listening to live music, drinking and eating sublimely.

Spring has sprung. Us too. Soon.

Mommy, What's a Pandemic?

What’s a pandemic? The phrase bouncing around social media explains it well; we’ve been sent to our room to think about what we’ve done. Perhaps we’ve pushed Mother Nature a little too far. It’s not like humans have treated the planet very well, or each other for that matter. Karma?

I don’t believe life occurs in a vacuum. Swirling around, random, disparate, disconnected. Maybe meaning can’t be attached to everything but believing that things happen for a reason or that there aren’t any accidents is what gets me through. At the least the theory makes me curious enough to come out from underneath the covers.

Perhaps the stages of COVID-19 go something like this:

1. Anxiety level 10. Weight Watchers or AA? Eating/drinking (or both) feelings.

2. Getting a grip. Establishing a new routine.

3. Settle in, it’s going to be a little while longer before the quarantine lifts. One day at a time. Practice gratitude.

4. Go on a news diet. Staying glued to the news can be toxic. Consume in smaller doses, preferably with a day(s) in between broadcasts.

A pandemic is sure a great equalizer. A stripping away of the superfluous down to what’s really essential. Ordinarily there are different interpretations of necessary, COVID-19 makes it pretty simple. STAY HOME. Wear a mask when outside your house. Keep to social distancing of 6 feet. Not that hard really.

Maybe we all needed a refresher on what our humanity entails. Will we share our toilet paper? Volunteer at the food bank to load cars for our neighbors who lost a job and don’t have enough? Will we donate money when our own budgets are tight? Will we cut other humans in our circle some slack by understanding that everyone is scared, anxious and on edge?

Maybe it’s our turn to rise to an occasion, like generations before us. We are lucky to do it with amenities they didn’t have. Zoom keeps us in touch, practically in person, in real time with our friends and loved ones. There’s so much to entertain us it’s ridiculous. Streaming television to the point of bingeing, video games (Fortnight anyone?) and if board games make you bored, you can play Cards Against Humanity online.

We can do this people. Stay well, hang on tight and we’ll ride this through to the other side. As we always do.

Martini anyone?