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| Good morning village! |
It's another sunny day in the south of France. Hard to believe that there is anything to worry about. Until you step outside or pay attention to the news. Then it's a different story. And it makes you reflect on the fragility, not only of life but of society and civilization...
You know that game with the blocks piled high to create a four sided tower and each player pulls out a block without causing the tower to fall? Yeah, that's what life is starting to feel like. Not so much personally, because we are in a good space and adequately provisioned - at the moment. But it's what I'm hearing and seeing from people in the streets and online that makes me feel discomfort.
Some people are already complaining and it's only Day 4! They can't understand why they shouldn't be allowed to go wherever they please. And if they are saying so, it makes me think that they are also doing so. If we want to break the chain on this epidemic and flatten the curve, that's not the right thing to do. My partner and I fear it will mean more drastic measures later as the number of people exposed and contaminated continues to grow. It's time for reflection on what is more important - a few weeks of your life, or your life. I know which I'm choosing. Enough said.
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| Sping has arrived! |
130,000 French people have found themselves stuck outside the country. I know of British people who are here in my village that had intended to return home this week. But, instead, they will ride it out here. A family in the house next door came to help their grieving father deal with being newly widowed. They cannot leave and will be here for the duration. However long that is. They wave to us from their terrace and we wave back.
The sounds of people saying good morning from terraces and balconies told us we'd better hurry and implement our plans from the night before. There was laundry to hang out and a
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| Keeping a meter apart |
My partner and I read every rule and knew that we were allowed to go up to two kilometers from home for provisions that were not available in our quarter of the village. That is as long as we took our appropriate papers, kept our distance, and made it brief. The car was running on fumes when we last returned from shopping six days ago. The price of gasoline has fallen by over twenty centimes and if we needed to evacuate at some point, we didn't like the idea of the tank being empty.
So we drove to the big Intermarché (A French Supermarket chain, somewhat like Raley's except that they have their own gas stations too.) It is 1.8 kilometers from the house according to Google and so just within the limit. We hated the idea of giving up our parking spot in the beautiful plaza a few steps from our front door, but we felt it was a must. Also, I'd made a list of further provisions I wanted to get.
You know, the essentials - like fresh garlic and creme fraîche. Right. Maybe you have to live in France to experience it. But I can tell you it makes ordinary sauces into gourmet food. It's a bit like Philadelphia Cream Cheese... but not. It's more liquid and lighter. And different. Right....
Anyway. We drove to the station and filled up the car. The price of gas today was 1 Euro, 21.9
per liter - oh come on, you can do the math if you really want to know the price in dollars per gallon. Let's see. The Euro today costs 1.07 Multiply 1.219 by 1.07, yes, that's $1.30 a liter. There are 3.785 liters in a gallon (American gallons, not Imperial, before my British friends correct me.) Multiply again and you have $4.92 a gallon.
Hey, are you smiling now, my American compatriots? I know you are paying a whole lot less. And that's cool. A whopping 60% of the price we are paying is in taxes to the government. But I know precisely what my tax on the gasoline is buying every time I drive on the well-maintained highways, the beautiful bridges, and good local roads with pretty roundabouts.
Next, it was into the supermarket with our list. This time there were no lines and no waiting. The only thing different was that a clerk asked us to sanitize our hands and the on our shopping cart, which goes by the charming French words "Chariot" or "Caddie." Love that! The aisles had all been replenished, we shopped quickly, and drove home.
It was no surprise at all, to find that our parking spot was taken when we got here. So we unloaded the car at the front door and I sent Y off to find a parking spot at the train station. I can tell you it took some juggling to fit the new items into the fridge, pantry, and cave beneath the stairs!
Then, wonders of wonder, he returned in less than a minute with a large smile, "J'ai trouvé un parking just a côté!" Yes, someone else had left the plaza while we were unpacking and so he'd parked just a few yards from the house. Hurrah! That's it - we're not going anywhere in the car for a while. Gotta keep that spot!
I'd done the logistics while he was parking and was quite pleased to have found a place for all the new bags of potatoes, onions, beans, and more. The fridge was nearly bursting. My partner eyed the pantry and exclaimed, "Mais Robin, tu nous as bien approvisionné pour un siège!" Yep, he was saying I had prepared us for a siege. You betcha, I did. I take good food very seriously! My closest friends can tell you I get grumpy when I'm hungry. And we will eat it all eventually no matter what the next step in this lock-down is.
It could become a long wait. If it takes two weeks to show symptoms and some never do, we are going to need far more than the two weeks they've told us. It will take a month or more of people doing the right thing to ride out this epidemic. And because there will be rule-breakers, at least at the start, that will prolong the wait.
It feels strange, especially when the streets are empty, but we CAN beat this. By next year there will be a vaccine. And the important thing is to keep yourself and your family as isolated as you can right now. We can do this - together! And, as I'm adding these days - at a distance.
Take care, nos amis. It' will get harder but we are all a lot tougher than we realize. Be brave, be happy. There is beauty wherever you find yourself. Life is going to change in ways we can't imagine. The economy is going to suffer in spite of the measures being taken. But we are alive. We have each other. Tell me what you are thinking and how you are doing. We care about you.
Meanwhile, dance or do whatever it takes to keep happy and safe. Spring is here. From the darkness, seeds of a new life will sprout. There will be a renaissance. It's just going to take time. Be patient.
A demain, nos amis!
Link to DAY 5
So we drove to the big Intermarché (A French Supermarket chain, somewhat like Raley's except that they have their own gas stations too.) It is 1.8 kilometers from the house according to Google and so just within the limit. We hated the idea of giving up our parking spot in the beautiful plaza a few steps from our front door, but we felt it was a must. Also, I'd made a list of further provisions I wanted to get.
You know, the essentials - like fresh garlic and creme fraîche. Right. Maybe you have to live in France to experience it. But I can tell you it makes ordinary sauces into gourmet food. It's a bit like Philadelphia Cream Cheese... but not. It's more liquid and lighter. And different. Right....
Anyway. We drove to the station and filled up the car. The price of gas today was 1 Euro, 21.9
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| You can see others had the same idea |
Hey, are you smiling now, my American compatriots? I know you are paying a whole lot less. And that's cool. A whopping 60% of the price we are paying is in taxes to the government. But I know precisely what my tax on the gasoline is buying every time I drive on the well-maintained highways, the beautiful bridges, and good local roads with pretty roundabouts.
Next, it was into the supermarket with our list. This time there were no lines and no waiting. The only thing different was that a clerk asked us to sanitize our hands and the on our shopping cart, which goes by the charming French words "Chariot" or "Caddie." Love that! The aisles had all been replenished, we shopped quickly, and drove home.
It was no surprise at all, to find that our parking spot was taken when we got here. So we unloaded the car at the front door and I sent Y off to find a parking spot at the train station. I can tell you it took some juggling to fit the new items into the fridge, pantry, and cave beneath the stairs!
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| Snacks - check out DeGaulle |
Then, wonders of wonder, he returned in less than a minute with a large smile, "J'ai trouvé un parking just a côté!" Yes, someone else had left the plaza while we were unpacking and so he'd parked just a few yards from the house. Hurrah! That's it - we're not going anywhere in the car for a while. Gotta keep that spot!
I'd done the logistics while he was parking and was quite pleased to have found a place for all the new bags of potatoes, onions, beans, and more. The fridge was nearly bursting. My partner eyed the pantry and exclaimed, "Mais Robin, tu nous as bien approvisionné pour un siège!" Yep, he was saying I had prepared us for a siege. You betcha, I did. I take good food very seriously! My closest friends can tell you I get grumpy when I'm hungry. And we will eat it all eventually no matter what the next step in this lock-down is.
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| We're still allowed out...for now |
It feels strange, especially when the streets are empty, but we CAN beat this. By next year there will be a vaccine. And the important thing is to keep yourself and your family as isolated as you can right now. We can do this - together! And, as I'm adding these days - at a distance.
Take care, nos amis. It' will get harder but we are all a lot tougher than we realize. Be brave, be happy. There is beauty wherever you find yourself. Life is going to change in ways we can't imagine. The economy is going to suffer in spite of the measures being taken. But we are alive. We have each other. Tell me what you are thinking and how you are doing. We care about you.
Meanwhile, dance or do whatever it takes to keep happy and safe. Spring is here. From the darkness, seeds of a new life will sprout. There will be a renaissance. It's just going to take time. Be patient.
A demain, nos amis!
Link to DAY 5
I wish I had a Yannick. It's so strange, I usually don't get lonely, but now, I feel very isolated because I can't go visit my friends, who are all very vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine! I was thinking about that earlier today. I worry about the neighbors in my old village who live alone. There is only the one little shop and a bakery. I can't even go there to check on them and I feel bad about that. Be courageous, my fellow writer and friend!
Delete26 degrees and sugar snow here in Colorado! In my heart I feel Spring but the rest of me is Freezing! Books, Playstation games and a slow cooked pork lion are today's blessings.
ReplyDeleteOooh! That is cold. I hope spring arrives there and warms it up! I'm glad you have family and such a great joy for life, mon amie!
DeleteKeeping to home and garden here in Spain, with changeable spring weather. I ache to take the car for long drives along wooded roads to contemplate all the greens, but there will be more springs!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. Yes, I miss the drives. I'm glad you have a garden to give you a bit of spring at home. Keep well, Maria!
ReplyDelete