Joined A Bike Gang
I am still having a very hard time with writing. Keeping up with the news, the awareness of the suffering and stress in this country take up much of my free time. I work, read news, bike or hike, work, read news, rinse, repeat.
I am not complaining but like everyone the pandemic has rendered my life full of idiosyncratic moments. I interviewed for a job and the interviewer’s camera did not work but mine did so I spent the interview watching myself be interviewed. I still have not bought a new bra but often forget to wear one. And even though I hear of salsa events and parties (aka, superspreader heaven), I have not attended one. I can not imagine a more suitable place for the virus than a dance party where people change partners.
On June 26th, I learned about Venice’s Electric Light parade from a guy named Sebastian who puts LED lights on bikes on the path between Venice and Santa Monica. I went with an open mind and ended up riding with the first Electric Light Parade in Venice since the pandemic. A cacophanous twinkling light parade of colorful lights and people. We rode through Santa Monica and Venice and because life had been shut down for so long, people cheered and were happy. It felt like a sign of life. Like the human spirit. You can have a country that elects a sociopath president who can’t manage simple solutions during a pandemic, a lockdown that guts small business, and puts people in total isolation, but you can’t stop a loud, bright bike parade! I can’t dance or perform comedy in any safe way, but I can surely join a bike gang.
