April 11

April 11, 2020

Last night I made the mistake of watching the news after a few drinks… I think watching the news is tough enough, not sure drinking is the best remedy.  The math and the numbers have me confused; in BC we have 1410 cases of covid and 55 deaths out of a population of over 5 million.  Inherently I know that the measures we have done are the reason it is so low, yet I can’t help but question the logic and the math.

It’s hard to avoid the conspiracy theories, the questioning, the debate.   I get sucked into the online universe, the connection with other people, discussing our situation.  The problem is we don’t really know the whole truth because the people in charge don’t know the whole truth either.  Unprecedented times.  I escape my technological trap and head outside to clean up the mess in my yard and in my mind.

My neighbour is outside as well, enjoying the sunshine and working on the yard.  Everyone should have amazing yards when this is done.   Matt helps me load my trailer to go to the dump, strange how internally we both feel nervous about getting too close. The two metre rule silently screams to us; we must stay away.   Loaded up in separate vehicles, we head for the dump.  Everyone has the same idea and the line for the dump stretches down the hill.  I have never seen a line this long for the dump.  Yellow vested guys come walking down the hill placing pylons to control traffic.  Everything is about control these days.  I maintain some self-control and decide the dump is not worth the wait today.

Out for our walk in the evening, we run into another neighbour who is health care worker.  We stop to chat, at a distance of course.  We ask her what her day was like. She looks tired and a bit frayed.  She has spent the day calling people who have tested positive for covid.  The look in her eyes is all we need to see to realize how difficult that must be.   We strive to find something else to talk about but invariably we return to the subject.  When I hear her perspective and how insidious this virus is, I understand a bit more the reason for our draconian measures.  Even she understands why I question the math.  She is sure this bug is not going away unless we do what they recommend. We must push through and look forward to better days.

We are getting into a new pattern, and like humanity we are adapting.  My yard is clean, we are cooking at home, and my wife and I are inseparable.  Strange days indeed.  Looking for a laugh we end our day with the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”.

I am amazed at how much things have changed since the movie was made in 1987.   The movie wouldn’t even work today… everyone has a cell phone now; back then they weren’t even in use.  The movie is still very funny and I remember those days. It was another world but still the same…  People laughed, people cried and people loved.