A Story of Quarantine – July
As of today, bars and the beaches are closed. Cases are at 127,461 according to the NY Times. In a few days, weeks, this post will be ancient history. I don’t know what the future brings. So, come what may (to quote Moulin Rouge) I can only speak for this moment. And, for today I can say that quarantine has been a journey. A stressful and sometimes tedious journey, for sure. But nobody said that journeys were magical wizards and cool evil that emerges from hot lava. Where’s the adventure movie about anxiety and unstructured time alone? Let’s just say I never thought the pandemic would involve so much consumption of bread and pasta.
The journey began on March 16th, when Governor Newsom gave the executive order to shelter in place and the quest for #toiletpaper began. I live by the beach, a fact that has proved a yuge blessing when you are literally not allowed to go anywhere. I spent a lot of time taking pictures of sunsets and posting them on Instagram. I also spent a lot of time deleting pictures of sunsets. I think for those of us who gathered at the sunset hour, we hoped to find some answers, like maybe a new Jesus dolphin would tell us what the f- is going on.
Since I published my book “Salsa Chica: How I Learned To Dance Salsa And Avoid Real Life” on March 11th (just in time for quarantine and the end of salsa…my timing is amazing) I enjoyed many Facebook and Instagram readings of it. I am proud of it, but it also closed a a literal chapter of my life.
In the years to come, I believe the pandemic will mark an end to a lot of things; marriages, relationships, jobs, and just lifestyle. I never realized how much of my life was on the run until I could no longer do it. The pandemic is exhausting, but so was my life pre-pandemic.
The world no longer resembled anything I ever knew or saw. Venice looked like a movie set of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Cue the zombies.
One day a friend told me to meet him at the ocean. The waves were lit up from the bioluminescent algae. Very burning man. This had not happened in ten years. People came to the beach in droves late at night. It’s like nature was offering a free subscription to HBO. I went to the beach at night with friends and wondered what indigenous people thought when they saw this happen centuries ago. Was the earth possessed?
As quarantine extended, I felt politeness drop away and got more real and honest with myself. How much shit did I tolerate in my post-pandemic life? Well, I wasn’t the only one. The oppression of black people in our country is unconscionable and with the death of George Floyd, the feeling exploded in a world-changing moment. We might think the world we live now is crazy, but the truth is the old world was even more insane. Systemic and institutional racism and sexism was tolerated for hundreds of years. Each day I read the news, and struggle with anxiety. But more and more, my old habits (bra-wearing) fall away.
We’ll see what this month brings. Be safe and please wear a mask.
