REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL....
as Ian Dury put it. As a disabled survivor of the 1949 polio epidemic, he might have some sage words of advice if he were around today....
DADS & KIDS - I see many dads hanging with their kids in the parks of Melbourne. Hopefully this continues in the post-epidemic world. Perhaps we'll see a more equal society in which more fathers work part time to share the care? With my own family quarantining elsewhere, I'm spending more time with my 19 year old daughter than I ever have since she was a toddler. We go on walks together every other night. Together we saw the first tawny frogmouth I've ever seen, a night flying bird which behaves like an owl, but is only related to the nightjar amongst all beasts....
NATURE - And that's not all; my empty suburban street rings with the beautiful call of the currawong some evenings. Hopefully more wildlife migrates into the quiet streets.
HOBBIES & PASTIMES - I've been planting veggie seedlings today, like millions of others around the world. After a long loss of confidence I've forced myself to start writing again. The music teacher from work gave all the staff ukuleles to practice on; while I haven't really started watch this space. I'll be George Formbying it up in no time. I'm playing the tin whistle more than I used to. I'm reading less than usual, but catching up on weird ass TV I don't usually watch. I like classic BBC dramas from the 'Play for the Day' series. Favs include Mike Leigh's 'Nuts in May' and the surprisingly uplifting 'Edna the Inebriate Woman." Art provides meaning...
DOWNTIME - Up to 60% of Australians consider their jobs meaningless, if my memory serves correct. Around 30% actively hate their job. Now that the government has provided many of us with a universal basic income, we have time to take stock. Unemployment isn't so awful if you can afford it. Maybe some will take this opportunity to retrain online and change careers? For some, this will be the only rest from excessive workings hours and stressful conditions in their adult lives.
EXERCISE- Despite the lockdown, I'm taking more exercise than usual. The springtime weather in Melbourne has been perfect the last few days. I cycle around the Sunday quiet streets in my sexy blue latex gloves, never stopping long enough to catch the virus (I hope.) Many others are doing the same. Enjoying a bit of nature along the creek bike path, though it's almost too crowded. People watching, at a distance. I'm pumping my dumbbells on the veranda too. A little.
NO POKIES - The dreaded slots AKA pokies have fallen idle for the first time in decades. Victorians lose about $3 billions dollars to pokies annually ; Aussies lose an astonishing total of around $13 billion, beating even the casinos of Las Vegas. Hopefully chronic gamblers reflect on the misery caused by these awful machines and stay away from them when this crisis is over.
Feel free to add your own reasons for cheerfulness in the comments box......
No comments:
Post a Comment