Friday, March 5, 2021

Gustavo Perez endures the pandemic and turns eight today.

I have posted something similar in my blog The Secret Asian Man Gets Stabbed (https://samstabbed.blogspot.com/)  which I mention for those unfamiliar with the story, Today is the eighth anniversary of my getting stabbed in the neck while feeding the homeless. This last year, a few rumors about some sort of virus were starting to make the news. No idea that I'd be looking for a new place to stay eight weeks later, as both of my classical musician roommates saw all their gigs get cancelled for at least five months, and instead of incurring months of back rent they'd never be able to pay back, elected to give notice at the beginning of April.

As inconvenienced as most of us have become, the pandemic had an even greater impact on those who live outside. Many food programs elected to suspend operations. But the harshest thing to deal with was probably the closing of the public libraries; not only did they provide a respite from inclement weather, they were a source of internet bandwidth, restroom access and perhaps most significantly, electricity to recharge any and all electric appliances, without which they would be cut off completely from the rest of the world. And of course, if people were already inclined to avoid you on the street, they become even more motivated to do so now in lockdown mode.

It's been almost a year now. It's become the new normal. That frightens me more than anything else.