Cowering in Fear
Today, in response to the Corona virus, HU decided to cancel
face to face classroom instruction and will finish the semester with Internet
and Zoom classes. Shuddering in utter fear, I have climbed the cliff face and
have retreated to my cave overlooking the sea. Nobody’s here and it is awfully
quiet, but I feel safe. I wonder if I can get Wifi here. If not, I will resort
to using carrier pigeons to communicate with my students. Earlier, I tried to
order a box of carrier pigeons but couldn’t find any on the internet. I’m
guessing the huge lines at the stores have exhausted the supply of carrier
pigeons. I’m also thinking of putting some class notes in a bottle and tossing
them into the sea. I hope they get the notes in a timely fashion.
UPDATE: Social Distancing: Alone, Cold and
Afraid
Yesterday was a depressing day. In addition to suspending
campus classes, three of my upcoming speaking engagements were cancelled or
rescheduled and another one probably will be whacked as well. As I mentioned in
the previous post, I retreated to my cliff cave, but I found the accommodations
unsuitable. The Wifi was lousy and I used up most of my toilet paper cleaning
up after the carrier pigeons. I’m leery of the pigeons, since they could be
carriers of the virus. I’m told that’s why they are called carrier pigeons. As
a result, I’ve left the seaside cliff cave to the pigeons and retreated to my
mountain lodge. Consequently, I have resorted to a new mode of communication
with my students. I knocked a hole in the roof of my cave and will henceforth
use smoke signals.
UPDATE #2 Isolated, Lonesome and Frightened
This social distancing stuff is more difficult than I thought. The messages in a bottle and Carrier Pigeons were ineffective. And the smoke signals were even worse. None of my students responded to my lectures and I inhaled so much smoke that I think I’ve got black lung. So, I’ve come up with a better idea. I’ve moved down from the mountain top to a cave deep underground. There, I can tap on the rock walls and my students can pick up on the signal. When I arrived underground a colony of bats greeted me by flying around my head. I assume this was a traditional welcome ceremony. I was honored to be their guest. Do they usually treat guests to guano? Not sure what to make of this gesture.
UPDATE #3
Looking for a Friend – Cold, Confused, Secluded and Forsaken
I just noticed that I have 666 friends on my Facebook. What am I to make of that? Is this some foreboding sign of the times? What does that say about my friends? Are these 666 people really my friends? I think I need one more friend.
Last week we were in Pennsylvania. While there, I took several long walks in the morning. The air was fresh and the sun was bright, but there were scant few people outside. It was bitter cold, but a friend will walk with you when the world is cold. I was disappointed. I wasn’t able to see some people during that time in Pennsylvania. During this time of social distancing it feels that our world is cold, dark and lonely. I need another friend. Good friends are hard to find and harder to forget. Don’t forget me and I won’t forget you.
On Sunday we returned from Pennsylvania, carrying who knows how many diseases. When we arrived home, for sanitation we went through the Car Wash. We weren’t bothered by our wet clothes as much as the hot wax application. I won’t get waxed again.