A Dream… a Reality?

The other night I had a very strange dream. I dreamed I was walking to a theatre, to meet with my wife and see one of our newest local productions.

Suddenly, someone tapped my arm. I turned and saw a tall, good looking redheaded woman, who asked “Hi Tracy, how’s things?“. I recognized her, but couldn’t remember her name – although I know she was a dancer I seen perform. We made some small talk, and I explained I was in a hurry to meet my wife, and had to be on my way. She gave me a hug (she is a hugger, me – not so much) and we kissed cheek-to-cheek, Latino-style.

As I crossed the street, my friend Bill yelled out “Hey Tracy, What’s up? What show are you going to this evening?“

I laughed “How do you know I’m going to see a show?”

“You’re always off to see something artsy,” he replied. As I shook his hand in greeting, I explained that I was heading to the theatre. He laughed again, the character he is, and exclaimed “I knew it!”.

When I got to the theatre, my wife was chatting with some friends over an espresso. “Have you picked up the tickets?” I asked. “Not yet.” I started towards the ticket window. It was a bit crowded – and it was actually difficult to discern the queue. After a few “is this the queue for tickets“, followed by “no, over there“, I found my place in line.

Then I woke up.

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I woke up in Arequipa, Peru, day 9 of a 15 day COVID-19 lockdown. We are not allowed out except for trips for groceries, pharmacies, and to the bank. Officially, we are to go singly, not together. In the centre, there are police and soldiers everywhere questioning people randomly and stopping every car that attempts to enter. Drivers are questioned, they, their car, and their license plate are photographed. Official certification is required to drive. Everything seems calm and civilized.

Today, if we go outside (even to the bank) we carry a bright yellow shopping bag from the grocery store – to transmit our intentions. It’s our first mask.

A few days ago, when we arrived at the grocery store, there was a queue marked outside on the sidewalk with black/yellow warning tape.There were police all around, and as we waited, a group of soldiers passed us carrying a pile of pizza boxes, which they handed out to other soldiers in the street.

As we got near the front of the store queue, the clerk controlling the access barrier told my wife she was to stand behind the tape – away from me. Her objection, that we sleep in the same bed, was worth nothing. We moved apart, lest we be blocked from entry.

Walking back with our groceries, we noticed that the local plaza, generally very busy with tourists and locals, was blocked off entirely with construction tape warnings.

We passed a street with a lot of dogs. The barking and wailing was intense. The dogs, not happy with isolation were communicating their discomfort. With no traffic noise – they could hear and complain to each other for blocks.

Yesterday, at a different grocery store, we were refused access, no mask. There were several pharmacies open nearby – but, not one had any masks for sale. Of course, an enterprising young gentleman on the street held out a plastic bag, in hands covered with rubber gloves – offering masks at a special price. The first one he showed me was broken, although it appeared to be unused. We had little choice, and bought two. We entered the mall (after having our hands doused in sanitizer) to find another queue to enter the store, and a sign – only one person per family. I waited outside.

In theory, today is day 10. Every day, the news from around the world gets stranger and stranger. Every day, we see more people in masks, not smiling. A city that was full of life, music, and dancing is full of silence and fear.

I have no idea where this is going. In theory, we are free in 5 days. What will happen? Will the lockdown be released or extended? Our flight home to Canada, scheduled in four weeks, has been cancelled. We’re guessing our replacement will cost three or four times the cost of our flight here. On the one hand, we are lucky. We have a nice place to stay, excellent landlords and a good long term relationship. One Canadian, not so lucky, was forced out of his hostel because the police decided that “hostels are not essential services“.

I have lots of time to think, about a lot of things…

– is this lockdown saving lives? Or will it result in more death and misery itself?
– are there other ways? It seems many countries have many different approaches.
– will there be long term studies of the positive effects, and negative effects of this worldwide action? Or will the studies only focus on the disease?

– will social distancing become a new religion, with obligatory face masks, rubber gloves, and antiseptic everywhere? Maybe I should shift my investments?

But perhaps most important, to me, are questions like: Will we learn to hug again? Will we be able to bring back the kiss on the cheek, the handshake? Of course, I am aware that some people (Trump is a well known example) use the handshake as a power tool, and that some people might take advantage of the kiss on the cheek to get close to a pretty girl, but these are the exceptions, that need to be dealt with individually.

When will we be brave enough to trust each other, brave enough to touch and accept touch as a gesture of friendship, companionship, mutual support, not a threat of disease.

When will we be brave enough to wear the no fear t-shirt again?

When we live in fear, fear grows. When we wear a mask, we live in fear. Even smiling is difficult and impossible to observe.

Under the lockdown, greetings have been reduced to a nod, if that. It’s ahrd to smile, harder to say a simple hello or goood-day. Many people I’ve pass simply drop their eyes and seem to avoid interaction.

If this goes on, we need to get creative.

Our masks need to become friendly again. We need to make them friendly. To show our support for each other. To show that we trust, that we are happy (or sad, it’s OK to be sad too), or simply that we are up for some fun, some good times.

Can we move forward? Can we move past the COVID-19 fear it generates?