April 8

April 8, 2020

Dreams, strange and haunting dreams plague my night; dreams of social distances and dreams of Calgary.  I often dream about my original hometown.  I spent thirty six years in the city by the beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  I often say I escaped Calgary to live in the wonderful Okanagan Valley, but a piece of my heart still belongs to city on the Bow River.  Flashes of my dreams stick in my head as I awake and start the day.

Pouring a coffee, I sit down in front of the TV and start to watch the news again.  Five minutes into Trudeau’s speech I get up and walk away shaking my head.  I can’t take any more – the coverage and incessant talk is wearing me out.  I get the chance to ride my motorbike to work today and I am very happy to do so.

Pulling out onto the highway I feel the connection to my machine. Easily progressing through the gears, I enjoy a freedom hard to match.  Amazing how quiet the traffic is. I can definitely handle the lack of cars and the silence of the roads.

I park in front of the high-rise building and go into the lobby; inside there is a sense of abandonment. A lonely looking, older lady is in the lobby, she seems lost and anxious.  She implores me to help; she can’t get to the fourth floor to drop off her taxes.  I can tell right away she is from another era.  She has no idea what social distance is and why she can’t get to the fourth floor.  We use my phone as she shows me the card of the person she needs to see.  We call and confirm with her that the office is closed and she has to mail in her taxes.  Having done my good deed for the day I sit down to wait.

I need to go to the roof to do my inspection of the roof anchors, and the building manager arrives to take me up the elevator.  We get on the elevator together observing the sign that says 2 m distance, in a room that is less than 2 m… Weird we say to each other and shrug; we silently agree that the world is definitely weird right now.  We both enjoy the view from the top as we step outside.  Commenting on the beauty of the day we share a smile and carry on with the job.

The ride home is as exhilarating as my ride that morning. Driving up our road some neighbour kids wave joyfully and it is easy to forget the societal virus we are infected with.  Strange how in some ways it is a good thing:  We are reconnecting with our neighbours and we are seeing people we never see even at a distance.  We are forced to stay home and spend time together as a family.  If it wasn’t costing so many lives and everyone so much money the whole Coronabreak would be a healthy reset.  Mother Nature, God, Allah, Buddha, Shiva whatever belief you have, we are being taught a lesson as a species to slow the fuck down and breathe.

Every day one of the most important things is to breathe.  Relaxing at home with my wife I feel very grateful I can breathe.