Postmortem 54

It is hard not to get super neurotic during a pandemic.  While two women really went out of their way to safe distance themselves from me, on a trail in Stanley Park, no one around and lots of fresh air circulating...well when they made themselves so piss delicate neurasthenic and absolutely terrified of getting sick and dying, I simply quipped as I passed them, "I just held my breath, we're all going to live, so chill!"  I imagine they felt only gravely and mortally insulted that a stranger would speak so frankly to them, and well, too bad, they deserved it, they needed it, and I trust in the long-run that it'll be to their benefit. 

The fact of the matter is, we are perfectly safe outside, and the safe-distancing is only required indoors, or in crowded public spaces.  Likewise those idiots who wear hospital masks everywhere.  I even see people in single-occupancy vehicles, windows rolled up, bravely sporting their medical masks, as though someone had just gone inside their precious Mercedes or BMW and openly sneezed and coughed everywhere.

Um...darlings, those masks are not going to protect you.  They do protect me from your germs, but my germs are still going to flow in behind your protective coverings.  I do wear a bandana on my lower face if I am going into a fairly crowded store, but for the protection of other people, since it's going to do piss-all for keeping me alive.

Then there were the two women who tried to safe distance from me a few minutes later, but they seemed more concerned than frightened, so I remarked to them, "We're outside, we're going to live."  And fortunately they both had a sense of humour and we were all laughing about it and I also admitted to them that I also get neurotic about it. 

On the other hand.  I don't want to put myself at risk either, and occasionally, I do find myself in rather delicate situations.  The other day, I was walking by the Dr. Peter Centre for people living with AIDS and one of the residents, an aboriginal man in a wheelchair, asked if I could help push him up the ramp.  I reluctantly refused, because it would have put me too close to him for safe distancing and I didn't want to put either of us at risk.  He seemed to have comprehension challenges, and I don't think he really got it, so I offered instead to go to the door and summon staff for help.  Fortunately, a friend of his appeared right away and helped him, though also to their mutual risk. 

I do know that under different circumstances, I would have helped him, because I have done this for others in the past.  For this reason, I particularly resent this pandemic for how difficult it makes us to properly care for one another.

All for today, Gentle Reader...