Thursday, March 19, 2020

Most of the eateries that were open with outdoor seating yesterday are closed. That’s not due to any new edict, though. It’s been raining and chilly. Few people want to hang out outside. Those who are walking do a dance of avoidance, trying to keep two meters between themselves and the people they pass. Traffic is a little slower than before. The buses that lumber past are nearly empty. To my right, a tall teenager skips down the middle of a side street, her long hair waving behind her with each bounce. Bulletin boards along the way, usually covered with posters for upcoming events, bear random scraps and staples where people have torn down the signs for shows that now won’t happen. A massive dog, off leash, blocks the end of the pedestrian street, watching me as I walk toward him, a block away. I watch him, too, alert to his stance and movement. If he were to charge, I wouldn’t be able to either outrun or fight him. But I sense that he is calm. After a while, he turns and trots back toward the yard where I had seen him patrolling before. I pass where he had stood and reach my house moments before the rain returns.