shopping is mostly remote now. really one no longer knows what to do in a brick and mortar situation. do you only take cash? how quaint! as a result i do not get christmas carol fatigue. in fact the music has been fairly tastefully jazzy with only an occasional smattering of white christmas in poor acoustics. that said, someone ought to disable daiso's sound system at christmas time.
church is remote and disembodied. i hope our church fathers know how pernicious this is to our hallowed beloveds of fellowship ministry and outreach. because if, as a multi-decade veteran i feel that going to church is a day trip, i wonder about other people. to be precise, it is an exhausting day trip to a shrine and back.
the crowds are back. as are covidiots. that is to say, the covidiots have always been there but there are more of them concentrated per square foot now. and all the nice piped-in jazz in the world cannot change the fact that the lady behind me in the line is a tad too close and telling her life story to everybody on her 'phone.
the trekkers have crawled out of the wood onto every path and byway in the land. as have the less ambitious walkers who suddenly have the time. as have middle-aged cyclists in lycra with their bro groups and smokes. as have the more pragmatic mom 'n' pop cyclists on their foldable bikes. and also, delightfully, a number of doggies.
being a less ambitious walker, my knees hurt. as does my back. on some days, so does my tummy. and occasionally i have to jump out of the way.
there have been blessings worth another post and more. but really i guess, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
