Welcome to 2020! Yes I know I am a bit late but it’s been hectic so today I am finally kicking off Strange Notations from a Laborious Life for the year. And what a year it’s been so far. Fire, floods and pandemics. It’s the end of the world as we know it! So, I figure a nice photo of a puppy will soothe those nerve endings which are twitching under the weight of the imminent threat from Covid-19; the Coronavirus.
Europe is in lock down, the President of the United States is being tested for the virus and China seems to be trying to shift the blame for the spread of the disease from themselves. I really hope it doesn’t come to a lock down here in Australia but I suppose a couple of weeks of inconvenience is better than our health system being overwhelmed which I think is the major worry. The disease itself, so I read is quite mild for the average person as these things go but of course can be deadly for the more vulnerable members of society such as the elderly and those already plagued by certain types of ill-health. I am not particularly worried for my own health although I do suffer from asthma so I am being alert, not alarmed.
It makes you wonder how the world would cope with a virus that was capable of killing people on a large scale. I guess Hollywood have broached the subject time enough, my personal favourite being “The Omega Man” (let’s hope it never comes to that!) but it’s something we aren’t prepared for and I think we would struggle to cope. Just today the government has implemented strict new border controls. Anyone entering Australia from overseas has to self-isolate for two weeks. That will put a dampener on tourists traveling Down-under no doubt.
Of course the thing that a crisis like this highlights is how prone to hysteria and and paranoia the average person can be. The savage rush on shops for toilet paper is human debasement at it’s most basic. No one can actually explain to me why there is such a phenomenon occurring or why the need for toilet paper is so great and no one I know is admitting to be a hoarder so it will remain a mystery to me. The world disappoints and bewilders me again.
I have been working for a cleaning company and doing quite well but part of my duties is to clean and re-stock a public toilet block. As I walked across the parking lot towards the toilets I was to service the other day, a dozen toilet rolls in my possession, a wave of anxiety suddenly swept over me. What if someone saw me with so much contraband? Would I be rushed? Overwhelmed? Would I need armed protection? Alas it didn’t come to any of that of course but it is quite hilarious to think that toilet paper has become such a sought after provision.
So after bushfires, flooding rains, and a worldwide pandemic, Australian society continues to persevere as we march deeper into the year 2020. Let’s hope things don’t go from bad to worse.
Stay safe.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 