It has been quite a while since the world experienced the covid pandemic lockdowns. And as I reconnect with my readers with a new blog, my focus will be around my many observations of our post-Covid world. The fallout from this period continues to affect our global societies. The discovery of a pandemic organism that rapidly spread across the globe is a poignant reminder that life can change in the blink of an eye. Countries locked down their citizens, families housing an infected member were separated by closed doors, businesses failed, and the result changed our way of life forever. The trauma from our individual pandemic encounters of lifestyle freedoms continues to permeate many difficult expressions of our social structures.
My critical curiosity has had me reflecting on the various societal changes. One of my observations indicate that “Post Covid Life” social interactions are guarded. There is a shift in personal lifestyle, an obsessive energy to live life precariously on the edge of debt, to increase the acquisition of goods, to imbibe more substances deemed pleasurable, including indulgent foods, drinks, and drugs. Mental health issues are on the rise, along with obesity and illicit behaviors. Isolation and solitary existence have emerged as disturbing buzzwords. Can some of this be attributed to what one calls “avoidance behavior?” Or to grief, loss, fear, the inability to adapt and accept one’s life circumstances? Do I have an answer to any of this? No, I do not. Each of us needs to assess our own personal demons that have emerged from the result of this insidious virus, and decide for ourselves how we will cope, re-emerge, re-invent, re-connect, and re-create ourselves and the beloved society that is now post-covid.
Today, I share with you an encounter with two gentlemen.
I am a true extrovert and I enjoy meeting people. I have never met anyone who did not have an enchanting story to share. When I travel, I like to luxuriate, shall we say, in a dirty martini - precisely – a Tanqueray dirty martini, stirred, not shaken, two olives - at the hotel bar. This one evening, I sat down near a gentleman who was having a conversation with the bartender about the various tequilas he enjoyed. I was curious about his selections and his comparison to the production between tequila and mezcal, so I gently complimented on his expertise. He gave me a cold stare, as if to say, why are you invading my private conversation. The bartender diffused the situation by asking me about my knowledge of tequilas and that broke the ice with this person. We continued to have a reasonably convivial conversation.
Later that evening, after I had enjoyed a meal and my second dirty martini, another gentleman came into the bar as I was leaving. He sported a lovely black blazer, the fabric patterned with a paisley design, and embellished with a red rose boutonniere. His appearance made a dramatic statement. I complimented him. He turned toward me and gave me a stare that could have knocked any person to the ground. I repeated; “I love your jacket.” In a serious tone, he then asked me to take the seat next to him. I asked the bartender for a glass of water, and we proceeded to have an interesting conversation about our vocational lives and our travels. He was a fascinating character - once he let down his guard. And as I proceeded to leave and wish him a good rest of his evening, he waited for a customary French Bisous goodbye.
In my encounters with these two gentlemen, I would not regard their initial reaction to me as rudeness. I considered their disdain for my social interaction as an appeal to protect their personal space, and as a thus, and initial exhibition of mistrust in my intentions. So, I wonder, what impression did I make on these two encounters? Were they positive?