Disclaimer: I
just hope you will find charming when I spill over the limits of my English as
a second language.
March 24th, 2020
As much as I like winter and miss its bright white coat on snowless Christmas
eves, yesterday morning when we met I didn’t even care to say “HI!” I secretly
hoped it will get the message, take its snowflakes and go to the North Pole.
But after staying for three-days-in-a-row at home, yesterday I had to
undress my car of its white robe offered for free on a 24/7 frost shop. The
mild physical exercises that used to be dirty work, now made me smile and an “I
am normal again” thought flagged its presence. Probably the winter caught my
ambivalence and today decided to send another flake legion of 2.654.392
soldiers to freeze the city under their white reflections. Next time we’ll have
a face-to-face meeting - that is programed when I run out of bread - I’ll try a
different strategy to see if I can persuade it out of here.
March 31st 2020
Seems that I know nothing about the art of persuasion, at least when it
comes to convincing winter to relocate. Today it came back and got not only a morning
face but a frowning morning face from me. However, after a handful of fresh
water contributed to the revival of my face, I’ve started to view the quiet and
gracious snowflakes ballet differently. Watching their free movements prompted
the many occasions when the winter and I got along quite well, even to the
point of forming an enviable partnership. Not only that I was born in January,
but when I was about three – my dad told me – I experienced such an intense
childish happiness when diving into deep snow that he forgot all about the “be
careful with him” instructions my mum entrusted him with. And between 7 and 10
sledging was among my top fun activities. One afternoon, after a long and
intense time in total connection with the snow, on my way back home I wondered
who invented it. And elaborated about the smartness of such a freely offered
invention that whitens the whole landscape and allows us to simultaneously
slide, make snowballs and snowmen, and helps Santa deliver his presents. But
after I discovered the thrills of speeding downhill on sky slopes nobody could
convince me that winter is no fun. In time though, I discovered that
occasionally it was late for Christmas and even for the whole winter vacation,
and despite my insistence for it to behave, its capricious mood seem to
autocratically decide when and under what condition to send its snowflake
legions. And little by little I learned that embracing the winter - with its
whimsy habits and unwanted cold, and ice, and slash - is actually the only
attitude worth embracing. Since that realization - except my occasionally rude,
no greeting behavior – we mostly entertain good relationships.
But wait a minute!
Isn’t the siege drafted and perfidiously deployed by CORONA similar to a winter
and colder that the coldest Siberian snowstorm? It froze our economy and social
life, stopped most of our travels (and all the fun ones!) like a snowstorm, and
forced us to retract in our dens for months despite our repeated protests and
resentments. Those without medical training or current political
responsibilities were left with just the imposed hibernation
option. Staying home in isolation resembles in many ways a forced
hibernation, don’t you think? We leave our dens for short intervals, mostly to
bring in food. We rely on previously accumulated resources – be them related to
our finances, abilities or grandpa’s dumbbells that suddenly increased their
value ten times. We wait for the sun to get stronger, melt CORONA’s crown and
cast her away in shame after holding us hostage for such a long time. And hope
that by summer our lives will resume, and we could hug each other again, and
have a pizza, and then work our ass to rebuild the ruins that have grown during
our hibernation time.
For now don’t get too excitedly carried out by such prospects, we are
not there yet. We are just serving our time in the den, grudgingly! We did that
from the very beginning, remember? When the emergency hibernation exit was
first suggested and then severely imposed by authorities, most of us didn’t
even care to say “HI!” We really hoped it will get our hate messages, take its
stuff and go back to China. We just couldn’t consider such a possibility and
fully resented it. We field a sound censorship motion, hoping that our shrewd
financial arguments will hold any snowstorm, but to our dismay the arguments
didn’t hold and the motion didn’t pass. Despite our insistence for CORONA to
behave, its capricious mood seems to autocratically decide where and under what
condition to send its legions of viruses. We are desperate to contain it, but
the “no viable solutions” we have now only extend the prospect of our
hibernation time.
But I wonder whether little by little I could also learn that embracing
my stay home in hibernation - with its whimsy days and unwanted isolation, and
worries, and pains – represents the only attitude worth embracing. As of now,
such embrace seems colder and less comfortable than my previous hugs with the
winter. To be honest, when I first learned to embrace the winter I also felt
uncomfortable and cold, but we gradually got to know each other. For the
moment this kind of imposed hibernation is also cold, and socially
distant, and unnatural. But in the end I just hope that - except my
occasionally rude, no greeting behavior – I will get to entertain a good
relationship with my temporary den; and along the sobering photographs, I will
also collect some happy ones for my life’s album.
Note:
If you happen to be a journalist and think that every now and then I could
contribute to the success of your publication, be bold and came up with a good
offer. However, bear in mind that I only write about topics I deeply care, so
let me drive the roller-coaster.
Email: Bogdan.Tulbure@e-uvt.ro
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