This Could Happen to You.
The same day that Montreal reintroduced emergency measures something strange happened to me. If you have not been living in a cave you are aware of the Covid Pandemic and the latest surge caused by the Omicron variant. Governments at all levels have been imposing restrictions on people at all levels.
Schools, theatres, bars, and even workplaces are shut down. People are to work from home. Home events can only be for 10 people, and maybe those numbers will be shrunk. There is a malaise about it all. In the middle of all this I went to an Open Door book launch event. I was the doorman, trying to help maintain a flow of people but with only 10 or fewer being indoors, the rest had to hang around the park like area outdoors.
One of the attendees told me that travelling downtown from “Little Italy’ restaurant after restaurant was closed and the place felt deserted. Not too many people were walking around downtown either. There was plenty of street parking available right across from the Bay. That is usual.
Slightly after 8:30, the event wound up. We packed up and I headed towards the McGill Metro station. The metro was just arriving, good timing, and there was plenty of room to sit down and I pulled out my book by Louise Penny, and started to read. Her latest book, which I have not completed, is the Madness of Crowds. It deals with a post-pandemic world where Covid is eradicated clearly fiction; and the potential need to cull humans. The premise is we can no longer afford to care for the elderly and infirm and the handicapped.
As I have not completed the book, I will not comment on it. Although I think the story would have been more compelling if the author would have continued the Pandemic. Then she could have argued that the economic strain of the Pandemic was forcing this debate. Perhaps. But as it was, the economics did not make much sense, but I will read on.
Anyway, as I am sitting there reading the book the strange event occurred. (Yes, I know the preamble was too long, but that is the way I go.) Some fellow stuck a long cocktail toothpick like device into my book. I was surprised, perhaps even shocked. I was taken aback.
I quickly looked up and realized that I did not know this clown. Did he not know that there was a Pandemic? Was he a Typhoon Mary type and was deliberating trying to spread disease? Was he a nutter?
He grinned, put the toothpick back into his mouth and walked away. Yes, he was supposed to be wearing a mask but his was around his chin. “Important to keep that chin protected,” I thought.
Now, I am almost 6’2’’, and a little too over 240. He was a little over half my size and maybe half my age. I considered a kick to the back of his knee to stop this spread. But he just wandered down the metro with the toothpick in his mouth and a grin plastered over his face.
Breathe.
It quickly dawned on me that this clown, was not well. Welcome to another casualty of a stressed mental health system in the best of times, and clearly overburdened during the Pandemic.
Breathe.
I placed the book in a compartment of my backpack. I cleaned the book with alcohol rubs when I got to my apartment. And I decided that it was better to tell a tale, rather than let the incident fester.
Breathe.
People are having a hard time. People are losing or looking after loved ones. People are losing jobs. Owners are losing businesses. People are isolated. The only thing that is clearly going up is STRESS.
Breathe.
Why would an adult do what this person had done? It is not ‘normal’? It is not rational? It is not you or me. We must give leeway for the follies of others. We need to show some empathy, even when the situation may not seem to warrant it. If I could walk a mile in their shoes…
Breathe.
My message from Christmas Eve was going to be one of HOPE. Instead, I told a tale of a guy on a metro that needed some attention. And I took the time to breathe, ponder, and not react. Perhaps there is hope.
Happy Birthday to all those born on December 24th, and may your gifts be plentiful and varied!
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
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