TODAY’S MOSTLY TRUE SHORT STORY: Life is Life. Always
Needing both something to eat and an excuse to get the hell out of my apartment, I ordered a sandwich from the local pizzeria in town for pick-up. So, as I often do, I used it as an incentive to walk from my apartment on the outskirts of town and into its center. I’ve done it since I moved here over 30 years ago. However, this time, it was a little different.
In this, The Year of the Corona, dealing with the devastating COVID-19 virus of 2020 has changed the way we live our lives in so many ways, with some more affected than others. And, that became apparent to me within the first few minutes of my sojourn.
Most of the day had been grey and chilly. However, just as I started to walk, the sun began to break through the clouds, showing his smiling face and warming the air, instantly improving my mood. Just a block from my house and across the street, I noticed a boy of about 8 or 9 with a woman who was most likely his mother at the corner. They sat on the old bench that was still there, left over from the days when it was a bus stop. She was in her late 30’s, well dressed and totally preoccupied with her cell phone. The boy sat comfortably close to her. Since he was too short for his feet to touch the ground when he sat back on the bench, his legs were rocking back and forth.
And, he was singing. Man, was he singing! He didn’t seem to care who was listening or watching. Lost in her cellphone, his mom hardly seemed to notice. But, I did! His voice was very pleasing, clear and sweet, like the adolescent choir boy he may have been. From the shear joy in his voice, it was obvious that he was happy and, at that very moment, didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
I think that I may have been even a little jealous. After all, it seemed a long time since I’ve had such carefree joy. Plus, with so much lost to this virus, it was like a breath of fresh air, literally! It sure made me smile as I continued on to my ultimate destination in town.
After a few more blocks, I came upon 2 middle-aged men holding a conversation in front of the library. Both were practicing Social Distancing and were the required 6' apart. One was standing while the other sat on one of the benches that flank the approach to the library. Since they were standing a distance apart I could easily hear their conversation. The man seated on the bench had a type of slurred speech that led me to believe that he had some type of disability. It may have been caused by a stroke or it may have been some other infirmity. But, it was obvious that something was not quite right. He was speaking while the other man listened. Despite his speech impediment, I could clearly hear what he said:
He used to drive me. Now, I have no one. I don’t know what to do.
Despite not knowing the exact circumstance of his obvious dilemma, I could sense fear and uncertainty in his tone of voice. It made me sad. And, it also made me think that, somehow, the virus had robbed him of an important facet of his life.
The incredible range of emotion I experienced in just a matter of a few blocks was not lost on me. First, there was the pleasure of a beautiful Spring late afternoon and a young boy singing, without a care in the world, for the simple joy of it. Then, there was the reality of a cruel disease that punishes indiscriminately and without pity.
But, this is the Yin and Yang, the two sides of the same coin, the balance that is life — not only now, in The Year of The Corona, but always. That’s why we must live each moment of our lives as if it is the only one. Because one day you may be singing in the sun and the next, struggling to merely survive.
Stay safe. Be well.
