The dog park is now the apex of my social life. Not because I am one of “those” dog owners, though, I have been known to carry a bag of dog poop around the streets while saying, “who’s a good puppy?”
No, dog park has become the highlight of my social life because I don’t have any other social life. You might think of Mexico as the place to go to escape from various things; real life, for example. But there seems to be no escaping this coronavirus, COVID-19 thing. Have you heard about it?
Well, it’s made its way to Mexico and people are starting to pay attention. The bars are closed. The schools are closed. My gym is closed. Snowbirds are flying North early so they can be sick in the comfort of their own homes and infect their family and friends.
To discourage organized soccer games, the municipality even removed the grass from the fields.
We know all the buzz words - flattening the curve, chasing the dragon, beating around the bush. We don’t go out, except to walk the dog, and then we keep our safe 2-meter (6-feet) distance from anyone else and start all of our conversations with the words, “Boy, this is crazy, huh?” After only a few days, we realize that there’s basically nothing to do except prepare our tax returns. Thank goodness for the IRS.
Mexico may be particularly hard hit. Not only is the president acting almost as idiotic as the president from our neighbor to the north and sending the message that he’s not taking things seriously - he made a big show the other day at his news conference of blowing the noses of all of his cabinet members and then NOT washing his hands - but he’s doing this in a country that isn’t able to pipe potable water into people’s homes. Even in the best of circumstances, with as few people infected as possible, we have no expectations that the country is equipped to handle a health pandemic.
And San Miguel, where we live, seems like a perfect place for the virus to take up a long and fruitful residence. It’s a popular tourist destination for both foreigners and wealthy Mexicans. Visitors have probably been bellying up to the bar with the virus for weeks. There are perhaps 15,000 expats living in the city, and many of them are old, so fall into the category of people most likely to die from this virus.
The local Mexican population generally live in close quarters with many generations in the same household. They continue to go to work, take the bus, hold hands while crossing the street, and stand shoulder to shoulder while lined up to get into the bank. Although they might not be exposed to the virus if they remained in their own communities - no one has the money to travel or interact in situations where the virus would be - they often work as cooks, cleaners, and gardeners in the homes of old gringos who do have the money to travel and are more likely to be exposed to the virus. So, the rich infect the poor, and then the poor bring it back to their communities.
Pay phones are off limits while San Miguel grapples with covid-19.
On March 19, Friday, the city government finally cancelled all events that were to be held in public spaces, suspended non-essential public services and street vendor permits, limited restaurant capacity, prohibited standing passengers on public transportation, and postponed all city-sponsored soccer leagues. Most of the families I know that employ Mexican household help have told their employees to stay home.
These are both positive developments that show some people, at least, are starting to take things seriously. But there are also people just outside of town who live in caves. I don’t know if they are getting the message. Even in town not everyone is getting the message. My elderly Mexican neighbor beckoned me over yesterday afternoon and offered me a swig of tequila directly from his bottle. I declined the swig but returned with a glass so I could have the drink.
Pickleball makes me happy
Even I am having a hard time getting the message. For example, I want very much to say yes when I am invited to join a pickleball game. (Pickleball shirt picture) After all, the players stand six feet away from each other and don’t lick the ball. But ultimately, I have to decline. I understand that social distancing requires that I eliminate all non-essential contact with other, filthy human-beings from my life.
While I could make a good argument that pickleball is essential, I understand that if I did go play, my wife would refuse my snuggle-advances during the entire epidemic, and perhaps for eternity. And now that I’ve completed both our federal and state tax returns, what else is there to do? I have a hard time just sitting around the house watching television all day.
The conflict over what is essential or not has spilled over to our children’s wants as well. I’m inclined to allow my daughter to visit her friend at her home because her friend and the family is in exile as well.. But when I mention it to my wife, she looks at me like I have two heads, neither one working properly, and forwards me sixteen articles to read about stopping the spread of the virus. Even the dog seems to know better.
My 14-year old son, on the other hand, hasn’t been any problem at all. He’s been holed up in his room playing video games with his online friends since last August. It’s almost like he anticipated and has been practicing for this exact scenario.
A team from the city’s disinfecting team taking a break from the work & ignoring all the rules of social distancing.