I've only spent a couple nights in jail, a long time ago, and not for anything serious, but it's easy to imagine a worse fate. You know, a case of mistaken identity, a deluded eyewitness, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Our common crime this time around is being human. An enemy force has rounded us up and thrown us in jail. The door is unlocked, but if we try and escape, the enemy is waiting out there for us. Better to stay inside the cell.
***
This is the age of the Great Unhappening. High school senior? No homecoming queen, no prom, no graduation ceremony. No getting drunk out on the town.
College senior? No prominent graduatation speaker, unless of course you are a cadet at West Point.
Were planning to get married? Try having an event while maintaining social distance.
Were going to die soon? No funeral, no memorial service, nobody comforting your survivors. At this rate, you might as well put it off if possible.
It's all just too weird. Of every catastrophe I've witnessed or imagined, nothing prepared me for this one. Scary nightmares are downright comforting by contrast.
Hurricane? I was in East Biloxi for the aftermath of Katrina in 2005. It was awful, very sad, and a cautionary tale for storm preparedness.
Earthquake? Try Loma Prieta in 1989, the most devastating in Northern California that I've experienced. The lesson for me was more preparedness, especially in the form of canned foods and bottled water.
Nuclear War? Well there's not much you can do about that one. In one way, Covid-19 is like the aftermath of nuclear war. The contamination is all around. It moves silently, soundlessly, without smell or any kind of physical sensation as it settles onto your body. Then it eats up your insides.
Some of our prison cells are nicer than others, of course. I certainly can't complain -- perched in the hills overlooking San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate, Mt. Tam and the coastal range. This is one of the prettiest environments in the world.
All the buzz now is when will our sentence be up. When will we be delivered back to what's normal? But what if the answer to that question is "Never?"
What if this is as good as it gets?
At least we are alive. and those of us with enough resources can get virtually anything delivered, so we have plenty of food, drinks, prescription medicines, healthy snacks, entertainment, the company of the cohort (family, friends, roommates, fellow inductees) we were staying with when the order came down.
Shelter in place.
Public health experts warn of the next wave, as Covid-19 apparently is nearing or passing the peak of its power the first time through the human community. They say it is inevitable that it will return, probably this fall and winter.
If the politicians who want to rush this "return to normal" deal get their way, and no huge adverse consequences result, we can expect a summer of hyperactive socializing. Single people of mating age in particular will be desperate to find mates to settle in with before the next wave rushes ashore.
This could be a summer of unprecedented partying. "Meet and greet" could be supplemented by "complete" so you have someone to share your cell with when the next sentence comes down.
That a new type of insanity is inevitable seems incontrovertible. Tell me one sane thing about any of this?
If R.E.M. were to hold one of those huge outdoor concerts now, the crowd would have to wear facemarks and gloves when they sing "Losing my Religion."
Consider this
Consider this
The hint of the century...
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much...
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
-30-
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