In Tesco today I bumped into someone from my band, which was nice - good to get a wee catch up, even if only briefly before we both needed to move on. Except that at one point he stuck out a fist expecting to receive a bump.
Gah!
Seriously, why would you do that? Yes, the risk is now very low, and the proposed contact fleeting. But we're still in the midst of a pandemic, and we still need to eliminate those non-essential contacts. And I had my daughter with me, and so have an additional obligation to show a good example. Yet now I have a choice to make.
Actually, it's quite surprising just how quickly attitudes change - eighteen months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about a fist-bump, a high five, or a handshake. Or even, with closer friends, a hug (in a strictly manly way, you understand). And yet suddenly the prospect of even a fleeting contact becomes a huge issue, provoking instant dread and in the longer term a blog post. It's funny.
But hopefully it won't be too long before the vaccine has this thing beaten, and things will go back. This absence of physical contact, while necessary, isn't really a good thing.
#19: "The Poisonwood Bible", by Barbera Kingsolver (a book from The List - fifteen to go)
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