Elder Advice - Thinking Inside the Box - Week 2
The threat of more elder advice was not an idle one.
A friend of mine, who should know better, said today:” It hasn’t been a good March or a good April and It’s not a Good Friday either!” I resisted the urge to disclose that the pre-pandemic, original Easter was not a jovial occasion either. What with the crucifixion and all. And indeed, before bunnies and chocolate inexplicably overran the holiday, Easter and elation were rarely synonymous. My mother never spent less than three hours in Church on Good Friday, and there were always serious tears - enough to cause annual alarm and inquiries about the health of my grandmother.
My friend’s whinge prompted thoughts of war and snowflakes.
"War", because grandiose calls to arms and Churchillian quotes abound. There has been no end of ill-considered Canadian commentary these days comparing this public health emergency to wartime. For some in health care, in government and in those public-spirited companies who are retooling to manufacture medical equipment, the analogy has application. And KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON is appropriate advice at any time.
"Snowflakes", because, for most, the call to stay home, the fatigue of being a couch potato and the horrors of battle over toilet paper at the No-Frills, hardly qualify as comparable. In the truly perilous times our parents and grandparents faced – wiser times when people thought less of their rights and more of their obligations – death and destruction, privation and rationing, all were orders of the day.
So let’s maintain some much-needed perspective here. And appreciate that your paramount concern should be that, despite repeated requests, the folks at Loblaws still refuse to card me when I arrive for the Seniors Only shopping hour.