A LONG WAY FROM LONDON

When Americans visit London and take their first Underground ride, they are surprised and a bit confused by the ubiquitous recorded announcement to "mind the gap." It refers to the space between the edge of the door and the edge of the platform. If I recall correctly, some of the station platforms are curved, meaning there really may be a gap.

This isn't public transit. It is the side of another Mexican restaurant on Cherokee Street. Of course, it refers to social distancing but if you have never been to London the meaning would be lost.

PANDEMIC IN SPRINGTIME - CORONA TREATMENT

We live in a small housing development. Its single street ends in a cul de sac. Our house is at the far end. With mild temperatures late yesterday afternoon, our neighbors set up a spontaneous, well-spaced happy hour in the circle with the beverages of your choice.  My next door neighbor is a lawyer, too, and so has a way with words. I do not know if he was drinking this for the irony or because he likes it.          

PANDEMIC IN SPRINGTIME - FRESH AIR AND EXERCISE

We've been going for walks in Forest Park and it's clear that some of the community really has cabin fever. The young women in the top picture were posing for a friend so I just grabbed the opportunity. Nobody minded but it occurred to me that I couldn't do this when I was 20.

The second photo brings back a memory. If any of you are old and weird enough, you might remember the bit of 70's way-out-there comedy from the Firesign Theatre, High School Madness. Porgy and his pal Mudhead are about to graduate from Morse Science High School. Jughead asks about his friend's plans for the future. Porgy exclaims,"I'm gonna cut the soles off my shoes, sit in a tree and learn to play the flute!" Sounds good to me.

Note the lack of distancing, though.              

A LITTLE LESS THAN TWO METERS FOR MOST OF YOU

A sign in Forest Park. The city closed some roads in the parks to car traffic where too many people were congregating too closely. Otherwise, the parks are open for walking, running and biking. St. Louis County, which is a separate political entity, closed its parks altogether. That may be a bit over the top.

The occasional rant: it's so stupid that this country, and it alone, has not adopted the metric system. Why? For starters, we're a bit geographically isolated. We have only two international land borders. Canada has 10% of our population so we often ignore it. Mexico is held in contempt by our national administration (why else the wall?). Too many Americans think of Mexicans as purveyors of burritos and tequila, non-union construction workers and gardeners. It's systemic racism. Everybody else is a good sized plane ride away. So here we are - big, a bit off to ourselves and not giving a damn. We don't have to.            

SOCIALIZE? SURE!

Not specific to St. Louis but anyway...

Families don't get to spend time together these days. My family is spread across the country anyway. One of my intelligent relations organized a family get-together on Zoom yesterday. Three months ago I had never heard of Zoom. We got people on there from Manhattan to San Francisco. By the time we had finished yakking the meeting had devolved into cocktail hour. Oh, and everyone is well.       

FIGHT LONELINESS

Before our not-very-strict stay at home order went into effect, I went cruising around town hoarding photographs like some people amass toilet paper. As I drove by the front of the closed art museum I did a double take. 

Across the lane, under the statue of St. Louis, I met David. He had quit his job as an emergency medical technician (!) a few weeks ago, spent some time out on Missouri's Ozark trails, came home and decided not to be a hermit. He had set up a folding table full of granola bars and other snacks along with an ice bucket of flavored sparkling water. He was asking a dollar for them, implying he had gotten them for less at Sam's, but was giving them away on Monday. Then there was this display.

I still had lots of questions but other people walked by and engaged him. Why did he quit his important job? What motivated him to set up this display? What is he going to do with himself now? I hope he stays well.