Do you reember the one-hit wonder group called The Five Man Electrical Band?
They had only one hit that I can recall, “Signs”, released ~1971:
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery
Breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign?
I thought of this song as I have been building out a new photo gallery – Signs of the Time.
In other words, Signs in the Time of Coronavirus.
Stores, libraries, parks (parks!) closed until further notice.
Various venues listing limited hours.
Restaurants doing take-out only, and usually for limited hours.
Retail outlets posting rules about in-store population density, accepting no returns, and often offering hours dedicated to the elderly (the most susceptible to respitory illnesses, like coronavisurs).
Many signs have a “Stay Safe/Stay Home” message (often churches).
These are all good messages for a good reason: To flatten the curve and save as many lives as possible, we need a concerted effort to stay home and reduce to a bare minimum anything close to human contact. While this will not solve the problem, to not take these painful but necessary steps would be foolish and inhumane. To greatly simplify, these social distancing measures are to help delay a rapid spread of this disease – for which there is currently no cure or vaccine. By keeping the disease from spiking, this allows hospitals to treat those afflicted with COVID-19 – or a heart attack – in a less rushed, better-supplied manner. This will lenghten the infection period, but this is balanced by better care for those adversely affected.
But it’s kinda a bummer. Both because we are (were) living in an age of instant gratification (“Let’s go out for Thai!”; “Let’s pick up a [book/movie/faucet]!”), and because the reason for the self-isolation/shelter in place is so serious and unlike anything the US has seen since the Spanish Flu of 1918 (and that kind of stayed below the radar due to the heart-wrenching death toll of World War I).
Which is why I spent the time capturing a handful (and will continue) of such signs. These are the reality of today, and – hopefully – they will just be a snapshot of this period tomorrow. A remember when? gallery.