When will this be over? When can I go to a restaurant? When can I travel? When, when, when? Well that remains to be determined. A few years ago I read a book called No Picnic on Mount Kenya. It was written by an Italian who had been captured by the British in Africa during WWII. He knew he'd be there with his fellow Italian soldiers until the end of the war. He was treated well, but the boredom and uncertainty was driving him crazy.
He had been a mountaineer back in Italy and the POW camp was near the base of Mount Kenya, the second highest mountain in Africa (17,050'). The author and two friends decided to break out of the camp and climb the mountain. They planned to come back once they had accomplished their mission. They say the Italians can make cheese out of dirt and these clever men made climbing equipment out of scraps found around the camp. Their map up the mountain was the drawing on the label of a can of Mt. Kenya brand vegetables.
It's a great book. I recommend it. Our situation with the pandemic is similar. We know we can survive (unless we get the virus and die), but it would help if we knew when things will return to normal. I don't recommend breaking restrictions like the Italian mountaineers. They got in a little trouble when they returned from their adventure, but the British admired their sporting spirit.
I know people are getting restless. Lots of people are heading up to the lake. I'm seeing fewer masks at the grocery store. Donuts are back in the communal cabinet rather than in individual plastic containers. I expect the virus will sense this movement and hop a ride north. European countries are slowly reopening. Maybe a trip to Croatia would be in order. We shall see.
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| Nice place for a picnic |
I like how you blended the presence with your usual style for your Friday post. I'm thinking how to do the same for tomorrow. ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe create a lesson plan for teaching kids how to make cheese from dirt on just Saturdays.
ReplyDelete"If the Italians can do it, us mixed vegetables* can do it!" *presuming you're thin on Italian ancestry in your family. Now there are some people that can accomplish the impossible, for sure -- not denying that. Some guy named Jesus Josephson was reported to have done similar things, but I wouldn't go as far to believe everything I read, if you know what I'm sayin'. such as, "These clever men made climbing equipment out of scraps found around the camp . . ." This is a "Really Dad?" statement.
"Scraps" have an immediate food connotation. If they can make cheese from dirt, why stop there? I've seen full-size Holstein cows made from butter! What those guys lacked in nutrition obviously limited their imagination! Hell, the movie "Flight of The Phoenix" ought to have taught them a thing or two about using scraps! They could've flown themselves out of there using nothing but sheets of pasta and spaghetti. Or at the very least built a pasta-bark boat, laced with spaghetti and sealed with pasta. There's an adventure for the kids!
LOL. Just seeing this now, Steve. Alas, I'm lacking the Italian ancestry. But will a healthy appreciation for MacGuyver be an adequate replacement? I loved the movie "Flight of the Phoenix"! We DO have a summer project which is to convert our little shack/house in the backyard from a receptacle holding tree bark to a playhouse. Stay tuned!
DeleteThe author's restlessness is palpable and communicable. Has the author listend to or read the Governor's latest lessening of restrictions list? Restaurants can now serve patrons in-house with reservations - that's the "I want a table" kind, not the "suspicion" kind). Gyms, martial arts dojos, and yoga studios may open again with capacity limits as of next Wednesday. Much more on the list. I agree, we're giving into our restlessness too early, and yes, the virus will emit of "tee-hee" and jump on the first positive, northbound travelers. The grocery stores are a good litmus test, and sad to say, my observations there are the same. People aren't even honoring the one-way aisles, much less wear masks. Thanks for the reality check. Hope others read this. JP Savage
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