Here we are, adjusting to this new world of “social distancing.” Not long ago, if you walked into a bank with a mask on, everyone would raise their hands and tellers would stuff money into bags.
Now groceries are increasingly filled with masked shoppers, moving silently through the aisle, anxiously seeking hand sanitizer and toilet paper, like Diogenes searching for an honest man. Occasionally I will sort of recognize one, whispering a line from The Lone Ranger, “Who is that masked man”?
I’ve watched New York Governor Cuomo’s and President Trump’s Coronavirus Taskforce updates. Both stress the importance of “social distancing.” One “walks the talk” while positioning his budget, medical and emergency management advisors six feet apart. The other has five or six aides grouped shoulder to shoulder as in a crowded elevator.
One provides insightful information, answering questions the best he can, admitting when he can’t. The other, often meandering and back-patting, occasionally demeaning reporters, most insightful when his two medical experts speak.
One is reminiscent of FDR’s confidence-inspiring Fireside Chats. The other, well, not so much. I take comfort in the fact that this is an election year, with the hope that “this, too, shall pass.”
Support nonprofits and local businesses suffering financially, while continuing to serve our community the best they can. Thank the clerks who stock the shelves, ring up our purchases and bless teachers and all those who are out and about on our behalf.
We will get through this, social-distancing for the sake of those we love. – John Ilgenfritz, Helena
