18-03-2020
We are
cooped up in our houses. A virus is racing around, attacking the poor and the
rich, not making any distinction between race and gender, the colour of skins.
A new and amazing phenomenon, since we do. But this pandemic as it is now
called, does not divide humanity into class, race, groups. We are all the same,
academics and the uneducated, the immigrants and the others. There are no
others, we are all alike. There hasn’t been time to flee to the hills, to a
healthy environment as in the time of Bocaccio. The virus has surprised us by
its speed and sneakiness. We try to find out its path, how people get infected.
So far, no success. Will social isolation help? Not mentally, as we do need the
support of our fellow beings, especially now. We are cut off from them. Happy
are those who have a garden, a great escape. Spring is tentatively on its way,
and nature just does what it always does, irrespective of viruses. Trees
blossom, buds are thickening, bulbs prick up their spiky leaves, goldfish appear
when he sun is out as if basking in the warmer temperature of the water, Frogs
all of a sudden appear from nowhere and splash around in the pond, looking for
a mate. No social isolation here, but quite the opposite. During the Middle
Ages when the pest was going round people would flock to the churches, pray
there and find solace, if no cure. But in this secularized world, not many
people go to church anymore. For those who do, no church services or any large
gatherings are allowed. Too risky. The virus might be an unwelcome gatecrasher and
infect us all. How do we keep up morale, survive a time of isolation, a time
without human contact, without cuddles or a hand on one’s shoulder if we live
alone? Bocaccio’s remedy was telling stories. Stories take our minds off the
problems, give us energy, set us thinking or dreaming about things which are
possible when life has returned to normal, opens other worlds where everything
is possible.
Although we
can’t physically take refuge and tell each other stories, we have the internet.
In times like these it can connect us. Church services can be streamed, loved
ones talked to face to face, letters and e-mails can be exchanged. Music and
concerts can be streamed. It helps, although nothing can beat making music together,
singing, playing concerts, going to exhibitions seeing the wonders of the
world. Travel is out of bounds. However, museums have opened their collections
on the internet so that we can enjoy those treasures from the relative safety
of our homes. Since schools are closed and parents work from home if possible,
the streets and highways look deserted. But young children roam the streets, and
it feels as if the nineteen fifties are back. Board games, knitting, reading,
listening to CD’s, all that helps to spend our time not idly, but in an enriching
way. Telling each other a story every day, although not in a remote and
attractive village in Italy – especially not Italy which is the center of the
infection in Europe – can certainly be done via the internet. We will have to
do without the different voices of the storytellers, without their facial
expressions and use our imagination.
Let us
imagine we are hiding in a remote hamlet, just a group of a dozen people or so,
men and women. We are lucky to have found an abandoned villa, in a wooded and
mountainous area. A perfect spot away from others. The place is well stocked
with provisions, firewood for the cool evenings and cosy beds. During the day
we go about our business, preparing food, cleaning the house, exploring the
surroundings. But when the night closes in, we stay together round the fire,
and start to talk, telling about our
lives, dreams, children, family connections if any. There is a limit to that,
so after a while we decide that in turn we will tell a story every night to
keep us going. Who will be the first one….. ?
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