Writing Prompt: Paper Rock Scissors
You never know about chicken; they hide, for one thing. Locking up my neighbor's chicken coop for the night while they are away, I count to be sure they are all inside - first there are 11 and then 13 and then maybe 12? Should be an even dozen of the tawny, red-wattled hens. But they get all bamboozled up, Scissors, as I call one of them, over Rock and Paper behind Scissors and then when I look away, one flutters down from a higher perch and they are cooing and moving their necks and watching my finger as I try to count them and now Paper is over Scissors and Rock has moved behind Eight Ball. Finally, I see how they are all layered and in place and accounted for. Whew. I check the wooden nest-boxes for eggs. I don't want to leave any behind overnight.
So I've been handling unwashed eggs, still warm from the chicken, but salmonella seems like small potatoes now. I know how to deal with it - good strong handwashing, for one thing, antibiotics, for another, should other methods fail. It's this new disease we don't know and the future we can't see that has us tied in knots.
And yet, when could we ever really see the future? No doubt, much of
the world will be the same or similar when we return to it - there
will still be roads and cars, shops and sales, banks and schools. There
will still be work. And gardens. Some things could be very different
- more telecommuting might bring about less traffic, cleaner air. We
might return to the way olden days of delivery of groceries and eggs and
goods, as a habit, if nothing else. But we have to get through this first, subdue and subjugate this new disease that has put a huge dent in our fabric of living, twisted it, rent it, gnawed huge holes in it.
Rock, Paper, Scissors - what solutions will be used to quell Virus? Testing, physical barriers, social distancing - how many times will we go through this routine before a Vaccine puts a hex on this beast? We can't know this now - we'll have to experience it. And take notes.
The upside: People using bicycles more for transportation. Shopping locally, growing their own food, realizing they don't need to shop for pleasure. Play more music , use their brains and MOST IMPORTANTLY make better choices at the voting polls. Miss you Bacon Bag. Keep wearing the hats
ReplyDeleteMiss you, too! Glad you are safer where you are. And yes, these are all great solutions -- and part of the Hippie Platform from decades ago. Always wearing the hats -- and knitting some of them too. Let me know if you need a beanie!
Deleteelbow bumps and eye hugs until we meet again .