With all that’s happening around us, I am not sure whether people are taking time to assimilate the changes and convulsions coming our way almost on a daily basis – much of it having to do with the fact that we have been in supposed “lockdown” for more than three months now.
So, on Monday, beaches, rivers and the zoo opened. And all public servants were expected to return to work, albeit under different arrangements to cater for physical distancing and overall safety from the coronavirus.
It’s not over yet, though. Not by a stretch. Follow what has been happening in other parts of the world and you would realise that this thing is simply not going away very soon, no matter how great the isolated victories.
I think social media have helped us come to grips with some of the challenges. So, today, I decided I would post a few reflections here, together with some suggested social media acronyms and abbreviations, in order to make sense of what we’ve been through ... so far. For example, who would have though SOS would one day represent ‘Sauce on Speed-dial?’
1. So. Be honest. Do your shoes still fit? I am a sandals kind of guy, so I am used to having to squeeze into leather shoes when the need arises … every now-and-then. But, tell me. Don’t you now need at least another half size? Or have you regularly been wearing shoes around the house, or on journeys to the supermarket or pharmacy? FTW – Foot Too Wide.
2. Did you realise that you can survive without perfume and underarm deodorant? That the people in your immediate vicinity are not entirely repulsed by your natural odour? That you can actually take a quick trip down to the vegetable stall and back without it? SMH – Stinky Market Haul.
3. I have also been noting (not necessarily through a process of first-hand observation of course) that women have in fact been celebrating freedom from the bra’. Not one extra word on this. Zero. I fraid. But it appears to be a liberatingly truthful assertion. FTB – Free The Bra!
4. Did you ever notice that your pet cat has a dozen specs of black on her belly? Or that she prefers food off the table over that expensive dried stuff? And, where did that dog come from? RT – Real Trouble.
5. Then we have Wi-Fi and mobile data. If you do not want to go completely crazy, do NOT try to imagine what life in pandemic lockdown looked like during the Spanish Flu of 1918 without WhatApp, Skype or Zoom. BTW – Baby on the Way!
6. Haven’t you noticed that T&T has more virologists, epidemiologists and general medical practitioners per capita than any other country on the planet? Make one Facebook post and witness the gratuitous flow of advice, treatments and expert opinions. ROFL – Real Old Frauds and Liars!
7. Oh, the conspiracy theorists. In addition to a surplus of medical expertise, our country also boasts a wide variety of specialists on the true origins of every conceivable disease/condition. They invariably emerge from the anti-vaxxer/flat-earth/5G/Bill Gates/China/No Lunar Landing bunch of crazies. Stay away from me, I say. Stay away. TMI – They Mad Indeed.
8. Office bosses. Haven’t you noticed that your charges are fully capable of performing their duties when not sitting at their desks under your watch? And, you know what? Most of them did so without shoes, bras or underarm deodorant. BGD - Bettie Goatie Doh!
9. So, the beaches are back in business. Just sitting here noting the number of people who have developed a sudden addiction to beach-going. BRB – Beach Really Back.
10. Exercise. Listen. You know it and I know it. You didn’t really want to get any exercise. You just didn’t want to stay home and HYMC – Help Your Mother Cook!