Nostalgia

Since I have been self-quarantined at my home and unable to go out anywhere, I have spend a lot of nights watching TV, mostly British murder mysteries, there are many good series and they are very entertaining. Classic movies from the thirties are also a favorite along with movies and TV series from the sixties. You might say that I have been in a state of nostalgia for periods of life long past.

I have quickly become used to the new normal, which has been imposed on us by the coronavirus, (Covid-19). That is, practicing social distancing of staying away from people at least 6 feet. Ten feet in restaurants when, (and if), they open again and wearing masks in public. No handshaking, no hugging and definitely no kissing of strangers, (or friends). No groups of 10 or even 3 people, depending what your party affiliation is. No movies, theaters, sporting events, parties, weddings, funerals, churches, museums, conventions, in short, everything. The awful nature of the virus is that it does not show symptoms in most people who contract it, therefore many continue to circulate, infecting others without knowing it. The virus itself now exists in many mutated forms, some being more deadly then others. And like flu viruses, which it is related to, it may come back every year in a different form. And we may need to develop a different vaccine every year as we do with the flu. So what is the worry about the coronavirus? On average 0.1% of people who get flu die while the global average coronavirus death rate is 4.7%, a small but significant difference. In my age group the number is a 0.83% chance of dying from the flu to a 2.7% chance of dying from Covid-19, again small differences, but who wants to take the chance. The flu and the coronavirus spread in the same way, viral particles that travel between people in tiny droplets of saliva or mucus. If a sick person sneezes, coughs, or eats within 3 to 5 feet of someone healthy, the particles could land on a healthy person, if the particles enter that person’s eyes, nose, or mouth, they could become infected.

The thing about these old movies is, that everyone is shaking hands, hugging, eating, breathing, coughing, sneezing and kissing everyone. They are in large groups on the streets, in stadiums, theaters, movies, parties and everywhere. I have become judgmental overnight, why are these people behaving like that? It is a completely insane attitude, after only a little more then a month I have changed my view of social interaction. My age and pre-existing health conditions have driven my fear of infection to a great extent. Just going to a drive-up window at the local pharmacy is fraught with danger. I already miss the old days of going out whenever and wherever I wanted to. Nostalgia for a simpler and less complicated time is infecting my mind. Will I ever be able to watch any TV or movies from the past again without cringing?

(The Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night, 1964. Concerts filled with thousands of screaming fans, breathing on each other, packed shoulder to shoulder, we never had to worry about it before.)

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