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Attempted normality in abnormal times!

June 15th: Queues from 3am, excited, expectant crowds who eagerly and unapologetically cast aside any accepted form of social distance. It was not the arrival of some celebrity or the promise of glorious freebies, which generated this buzz.

Instead it was the reopening of Penneys, a previously taken for granted store, whose absence from the lives of so many has actually shaken its customers worlds so much, yearning to behold it again.

I found an old video yesterday of a friend’s son when he was three. He is now thirteen and she sent me on pictures of them both, still trapped in Barcelona, both wearing full face masks.

I really do wonder, if we will ever again feel comfortable without gloves and masks. Maybe we all just have to put up with the accepted ugliness of rubber and expressionless faces.

I think most people are realising the importance of face masks. I think we are certainly over the worst and bar we stupidly import it, there will be no second wave. So I do hope that we disallow flights from America, Brazil and India at least.

I often did find President Trump’s pomposdy amusing. But his narcissism has been displayed as very much an aid in the spread of corona virus. Apparently Florida is still rife with it despite a Presidential gagging attempt.

I heard on the news yesterday that his addressal of an Arizona rally, promised a faster attempt at building the border wall between Mexico in order to keep out corona virus. His language in/actions are devoid of any semblance of humour at all, at this stage.

I can only hope the American people get it right this time and “fire” this patently unqualified reality TV star.

Hopefully this will be my last blog on this tragic topic. As I said before, it will only be sheer stupidity if we find ourselves regressing and back in unhappy lockdown once more.

Over the next couple of months, the true horrors of what went on in lockdown, will steadily trickle out. People who were having heart attacks or accidents at home, but who were too terrified to be admitted to hospital, all the occasions/milestones missed, botched operations or treatments that were never received.

I myself had cataract surgery at the Eye & Ear hospital, which did not go well and of course the whole country went into lockdown the very next week, leaving me absolutely stranded. It would not be until April 22, before I got any follow up check. I hope it has not been too long a delay, but regretfully my vision is far worse in the operated on eye now.

I think we are well justified now, to insist that next time lockdown means lockdown. I have no doubt that a similar situation can easily arise in the future. I guffawed when I would hear about the happy faced post people, delivering papers to elderly residents in lockdown.

Feeling deluged daily by reports of the great community spirit, expressed by people delivering meals and vigorously checking up on their vulnerable clients, I had to wonder if I was in the same country, or was this some sort of staged propaganda.

We never saw the army, had only one or two spaced phone calls from concerned neighbours and our postman would still wordlessly deliver other peoples’ mail, despite having the situation explained at least three times to them and their office.

The only business that stood out for me during this time, was our local chemist who sometimes would drive out on a Sunday to deliver an emergency prescription, that my mother had failed to order up in time. There was no taxi charge ever asked for and they were truly exceptional.

I felt very sorry for young people, those sitting the leaving cert or any other sort of student exam. There is so much more to school, than learning facts and figures though.

There is the whole social and emotional learning that goes on, that has often been overlooked in the past, but which is now glaringly obvious. I hope they will only be temporarily stunted by all which has happened.

“Covid-19” has entered the venacular, of even the youngest child. How could it not? My young niece received a lovely response from Leo Varadkar to allay her fears. This was at a time when every second child was writing to him, but she still got a lovely personalised and reassuring response. Hopefully this is now destined for the memory box!

The biggest lesson of all to me, is the tenacious power of the human spirit. We cling onto life and living in a very steadfast way, no matter what happens!

I only hope that the animals and eco system of the earth have enjoyed their break from us. I hope the wildlife population has exploded and that we will not be so vicious to them again, once the tables turn once more!

I hope everything returns to our new version of normality now. Hopefully people will savour and relish, all the freedoms and possibilities that their working bodies can bring.

Some of us remain in lockdown indefinitely though, battling through disorders or poor circumstances. For a fleeting moment, we were all in the same boat, but I am overjoyed that the majority will move on, hopefully in a more compassionate and measured way.

Don’t look back!

Links used for this blog:

Corona virus in America: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/coronavirus-u-s-map-where-virus-has-been-confirmed-across-n1124546

Europe may block American travel: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/e-u-may-block-travelers-america-u-s-struggles-contain-n1231966

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