12 February 2022 06:00 am Views - 511
Bags packed and at the ready, folks with constant ‘wanderlust’ throw caution to the wind at the hint of being able to travel a few miles away from their homes. Invites fly around asking, needling, and cajoling to be ‘part of the pack’ that literally and figuratively pack villas, hotels and private homes alike. Now is it just me or are we still in the midst of fighting a rampant pandemic that has devastated so many lives? It seems that the invites to join in the exodus out of the city, is a thinly veiled invite to join the latest covid cluster that is almost guaranteed to happen! Are we this desperate to belong? Belong to anything that gets attention? Even a covid cluster?
With generations trapped in the same spaces, little knowing who is or isn’t a walking ‘cluster cause’ every caution is thrown to the wind, along with masks and sanitizers. Grandparents along with their spritely socially-ambitious offspring, and along with their younger offspring, mingle mask-less with more of the same from other households. How can anyone keep masks on when photo ops are beckoning?
Draped on lounge chairs, plunging in pools and toasting the consistent and ever predictable beautiful sunsets, masks are considered ‘optional’ in the case of social media uploads. As the cocktails flow so do the contagions as the ‘party scene’ kicks off many an hour spent heavy breathing on each other while attempting to navigate the limited floor space of the ‘must check in at’ hot spots! Inviting infections seems to be somewhat of a goal!
With April around the corner there will also be the predictable annual exodus of city dwellers who need to follow the colonial trail to cooler climates, to congregate again, at the same properties again, while seeing the same people they see in the city, again! Apart from wearing coats and boots channeling the imagined social scenes in Gstaad and Saint Moritz, they also need to emulate the likes of Madeleine Astor and Consuelo Vanderbilt with hut sized hats, to watch exhausted horses being bullied around a grassy field. How about we leave the poor horses alone and ask the lovely socialites to run around the track? Now there is something I would venture away from my home to see!
Apart from flouting global health guidelines, the dangers of close proximity socializing, does not really present a mystery when it comes to rising infection rates. Hugs and air kisses aside do we really want to regress to 2020 again? Global economies may be unpredictable, while we ourselves are facing a catastrophic financial situation within our shores that cannot tolerate more economic downturns from the infected numbers rising. Can we accept invites, enjoy our time, and still be safe? With common sense and caution, I certainly do think so.
I may come across as the poster child for cloistered living and anti-social behavior, but the few who spend time with me within my sphere may beg to differ. I have always, just like my mother, been very content with a close circle, and the way of the world at the moment has only solidified this trait. As I have said before do go out, spend money, inject much needed revenue into the economy, but do be safe, and aware. The instant gratification of enjoying the ‘now’ should not lead to long-term fallout that would not only have an effect on individuals but impact society as well. We are all part of a social fabric that intertwines and being so, we should make sure that while we thrive in our own existence, we also need to have a sense of responsibility for those around us as well. Have fun, but make sure that while you have fun, you have health as well.