March 28, 2024

Still Muddling Through

Rehoboth Ramblings

Posted

If you find yourself compulsively glued to a screen these days, clicking on one scary news story after another, there’s a phrase for that: doomscrolling. Yes, that about sums it up. When this miserable and frightening crisis finally passes, whenever that will be, it will be such a relief not to talk about social distancing. I agree with whoever it was that said “physical distance” is a better phrase to use.  I’ll be looking forward to a time when we don’t have to constantly worry about masks, gloves, and disinfecting wipes, a time when the news doesn’t start with the daily death count, to a time when we can view someone as just another person, not a walking germ factory.

Silver linings: More people are getting more outdoor exercise. Have you ever seen so many people out walking? Plus traffic is lighter so there’s less chance of getting hit by a car. There’s much less air pollution. Nature is rebounding – animals in places like Yosemite are having a great time without all those pesky humans around. Gasoline is cheap, even if we’re not driving much. There’s a funny quip going around about getting three weeks to a gallon of gas. We’ve returned to the Sunday drive of my youth, back when people drove around the countryside on the weekend for an hour or two, just for a change of scenery.

But this is grasping at straws at a time when everything seems to be going wrong. I haven’t even broached the severe financial crisis; that is beyond the scope of these few paragraphs. Mostly I seem to muddle along with a sense of gloomy resignation. The days all blend together yet each day seems very long. I’ve been cooking and baking more, which gives me something useful to do in these trying times.

We are fortunate at our house to have two people who can work from home. My husband is teaching an engineering course on Zoom from our dining room three times a week and it’s going pretty well (labs are of course impossible to do from home). Our daughter is staying here for the duration, rather than the Boston area, and also going to the grocery store for us (being careful with mask and gloves, etc.) Parents of young kids who find themselves at home with the schools closed have my heartfelt sympathy. I can only imagine how difficult that must be for all.

I find it hard to focus. Why don’t I use all this time to tidy up the house? Answer: Why start now? Who is going to see it? The kitchen and bathroom fixtures and counters are very clean anyway. I’ve seen friends on Zoom but feel that it’s not that good a substitute for in-person meetings and visits. But at least we now have all these digital helpers to get us through isolation. The dog is enjoying the extra attention, if not being propped up so everyone can see her on Zoom for a minute or so.

I wish I had taken more books out of the Blanding Library before it closed for the time being. (You can download e-books from the SAILS system with your library card, but I prefer the traditional form of book.) I now have the leisure to browse through “1,000 Places to See Before You Die: The World as You’ve Never Seen If Before” by Patricia Schultz. This is one of those coffee table books that is the size of small coffee table, with gorgeous photos from all over the world.

The title is most unfortunate these (or any) days. I’ve never liked the “before you die” line in any title, nor do I care for the term “bucket list”.  Why not refer to your must-do list as a wish list or a life list, like bird watchers do? Why drag death into it?  I’ve only seen about one-tenth of the sites in this book in person, but I have visited some other places they left out that I would have included. Browsing through this book is a pleasant way to pass the time anyway and doesn’t require a lot of concentration.

I also enjoy my daily emails from Atlas Obscura, the fun website that spotlights offbeat places around the world. If I have to be stuck somewhere, I’m glad that it’s my own home in our town, rather than a city apartment for example, but it’s nice to remember there’s a big world out there. It will be even better when someday we will be able to go see it for ourselves again.

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