Reparations
April 2, 2020:
Pop quiz. It’s early morning, just before sunrise. You’re out and about foraging for food, but the trail you’re on leads you to a misty barren road. You apprehensively step out into the opening. Suddenly, faint lights appear, coming towards you, getting brighter and larger with every passing second. You’re caught off guard. If you stand still you’ll be consumed by the approaching doom. No time to turn back. Do you jump into the dubious unknown path that lies ahead?
Nothing is normal right now. These are extraordinary times and we are all in a unique situation. Some challenged to the max, others maybe not as much, but one thing is for certain, at least from my perspective anyways, keep moving, or be consumed.
Even though I was baptized a Roman Catholic, going through my first communion, doing midnight mass at Christmas and all that jazz, I have never been a big believer in God. I know that’s a pretty heavy statement to blog out and it’s not like I can afford to lose any one of the few readers that I have, some of whom may be practicing Catholics that I’ve possibly just offended (btw, thanks to all who read my posts, love you – mean it, please don’t judge me), but I do still ascribe to a higher power.
A true angel if there ever was one
Sometimes that higher power comes from the ability of mankind to adapt, overcome, improvise (there he goes again, quoting Clint. Find a new source would ya). Seriously though, the capability of industrialized nations is astounding. To go from constructing cars and manufacturing appliances to fabricating masks and engineering ventilators, or simply installing plexiglass kiosks in grocery stores and pasting red coloured “stand here” circles onto the ground exactly six feet apart, and all seemingly up and operational overnight. Humankind, as a whole, has an innate knack for making do under extreme circumstances.
One possible instance of perseverance under duress (in my mind anyways) might be Jim Carey’s character in Dumb and Dumber where he queries a good-looking female friend that he knows, asking her what the chances are that she might go out with him some day. Her response is, “Not good.”
He replies, “You mean…not good…like one out of a hundred.”
She says, “More like one out of a million.”
He hesitates and then smiles gleefully, exposing his chipped tooth, “So…you’re telling me there’s a chance. WHOO!”
Okay, maybe not the best of examples, but these are unprecedented times and I thought that was funny. I mean, if we can’t retain a little bit of humour in periods of adversity then what’s the point of keepin' on goin' on, right? Also, to me at least, it shows that even the minutest flicker of hope can become a resounding beacon of light that will help keep us off the rocks and safely guide us through the Covid storm. The lesson here is to never give up because just like the "stable genius" to the south of us, “this too shall pass.”
As social media makes abundantly clear, there are an incredible amount of people out their making the best of a pretty crappy situation and as time goes on more and more of them (including entire families) are exhibiting their talents online in ways they never would have dared if not for this improbable situation. They're making it look fun and easy as well. Kudos!
Makes me wonder what it might have been like back in the day before heavily populated areas, automobiles and technology? When the horses were parked in the barn for the night and we actually stayed home because it was an undertaking to go out, and yet somehow we still managed to entertain ourselves. Hmmm?
Okay. Pop quiz. You chose the unknown dubious path like the rest of us, because self-preservation is as strong a motivator as any god. What do you do now? Tread cautiously? Gather up some intel? Re-assess the situation? Absolutely, and over time, just like my repaired fence, things will get back to looking somewhat normal, but sure, there's bound to be some variances.
Until next time.
P.S. Whatever you do don't click the like button because too many likes might make my fence fall down again. Could happen.