This time last year, I took myself to an author talk with Elizabeth Gilbert in Harvard Square. This year, all author talks are virtual, and I can’t remember the last time I was in Harvard Square. When will it feel safe to go into a crowd again–to mingle with strangers? The rush of community–the thrill you feel walking down a crowded street or congregating with other readers, sports fans, or theater-goers–is something the virus has stolen from us, at least for now.
Today J and I went walking at Minute Man National Historic Park. J had never walked down the Battle Road there, and it has been a long time since I’ve been walking there: a year or so, or more? This time, I was mindful of the space between us and other walkers, joggers, and cyclists, and I carefully noted whether each passerby was or wasn’t wearing a mask. Strangers in the time of COVID-19 have become something dangerous or at least suspect: a new form of stranger danger.
On our way back to our car, J and I saw a large family posing for a group photo, one of the family members taking a photo of all the rest. In the Before Time, we might have stopped and offered to take a picture of all of them, together: the kind of thing Friendly Strangers used to do. Instead, I quickly calculated the potential risk in my head: the risk of stopping, the risk of drawing near enough to offer help, and the risk of touching and taking a photo with someone else’s phone.
The risk was too great, so we walked on. It will be a while, I think, before being a friendly stranger feels safe again.
Jun 22, 2020 at 10:54 am
It’s a shame, isn’t it? I feel the same way whenever I’m out and about, weighing the pros and cons (and the necessity) of any interaction. I’m so sick of this virus!
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Jun 22, 2020 at 3:21 pm
We’re all sick of the virus…but unfortunately, the virus isn’t sick of us. 😦 I find myself wondering how many of our “new normal” behaviors will stick around after the pandemic is over. Will we ever go back to shaking hands, for example?
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