A Wondrous Universe

In times of social distancing, which is rather an odd phrase- it reminds of China when they took over Tibet and had all the kids learning Chinese instead of Tibetan learning, what's that called enculturation?- we can take the time to write. In times when things are not quite at all the usual, though for me things have gone pretty much as usual.  I am no longer at Peacehaven for the time being but maybe I will be able to do some online learning with the residents that I work with there that are now at home.  Fortunately I have been able to pick up hours at Backpack Beginnings, a warehouse and non-profit involved with Americorps and the Partnership to End Homelessness, by packing food for school-aged kids.  In this time of uncertainty people still want to act as if nothing has changed.  We might find ourselves being angry because we no longer have a job.  We might be angry because Corona Virus is seemingly not that big of a deal and so why is everyone making a big deal of it?  I

I have been feeling sad lately.  Things seemed to be going along relatively smoothly then the proverbial shit hit the fan.  Now many are scrambling to the grocery store to buy up all the goods.  Some people have been preparing for this for many years.  Perhaps they are in their hidden bunker now, tucked away.  Maybe some of you have survival kits at the ready.  Many are being extremely cautious, some are not.  The people I meet and see give me a taste of how serious I am taking our current state of affairs.  For me, probably many, it is always a mixture of feelings and thoughts.   Today I drove for Lyft for a bit.  One passenger got right in my front seat.  He could see that my sweatshirt was occupying the seat but that didn't matter to him so I moved it.  As we were getting ready to depart I admitted to him that I was uncomfortable with him being so close to me with the Corona virus going around.  He kind of chuckled and I admitted that it probably didn't make much difference

Someone mentioned today 9/11.  They said it was their guru.  That was a little mystifying but it ignited synapses in my brain.  When the September 11 attack happened in the United States I was at home getting ready for work.  When I showed up to work the woman behind the campus police station desk said to me, "You have no idea what's going on, do you?"  She gave me my radio and my keys to the library and off I went.  Once I got to work people were gathered around the TV placed in the hallway watching the smoking Trade Tower building.  It wasn't too much later when the second plane hit.  It stopped everyone in their tracks.  Alarms went up.  By mid-day all of the campus security guards, including me, were wearing bullet proof vests.  The campus police were assigned to the International Center and other areas around campus that might be considered a target by foreign and domestic attacks. Today we face a new kind of attack.  A virus.  Someone said to me that many a ye