I was sitting at home, like many of us have been since the novel coronavirus shattered our world, when someone knocked on the front door. I could see through the window that it was someone with bags in his hand. Probably just a delivery. I’ll wait.
After a minute, the dog is still barking his head off, so I get closer to the window.
Now I see that it’s someone I know from church. I wave, thinking he’ll put the packages down and leave. That’s what we do nowadays, either leave the packages or step six feet back so we can talk without inadvertently sharing air space with a potential carrier.
He waves back. And stays there. Right in front of the door.
Okay, now I’m confused. I know I should social distance, but I don’t want to be rude. He will probably just step back when I open the door, right?
Wrong. As soon as the latch turns, he’s within two feet of me. I haven’t been this close to another human being (other than my carefully cloistered wife, kids, and caregivers) for at least 45 days. I freak out.
“Dude! Six feet!” I yell and pull back on the joystick of my chair. I fly backwards a little too far, smashing into the dining room table.
He laughs playfully and offers to set the bags by the front door. “I gotta be careful,” I say, a little embarrassed, still trying to figure out what is going on.
What is he thinking!? Did we not just experience a pandemic? Mass graves. Bodies stored in ice rinks because the morgues were too full. Empty cities. Massive layoffs.
He’s not even wearing a mask. Did the threat of COVID-19 magically evaporate overnight? I know, some states have lightened restrictions, but we are still supposed to avoid getting within spitting distance of each other, right? Does he not know the governor extended the stay-at-home order two more weeks? Am I crazy or is he?
He tells me he just got back from a trip to St. George, Utah, where, he says, all restrictions have been lifted. “Yeah, people are hanging out together, swimming in the pool at the hotel, no masks,” he says. “Everything is back to normal.”
He probably notices the look of terror spreading across my face.
“I should probably be more careful,” he admits. Then, referring to his victory over cancer, he says, “But it’s been five years, and I feel good.”
It’s a Community Thing
CONTINUE READING this amazing article direct from NewMobility .com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then, please CLICK HERE– to SUBSCRIBE for The MS BEACON e-Newsletter
The strangest thing happened yesterday.