"Of all the hardships a person has to face, none is more punishing than
the simple act of waiting." from; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled
Hosseini.
So many people around the world spent Easter without family and friends,
myself included. For those of you who are religious, perhaps this was even
harder, as this is Christianity's holiest of holy days. It is the affirmation of
life over death. Church services in most of America were canceled or
televised. not the same. Perhaps you partook in one of the drive-up Masses,
again, no Easter bonnet required. Did you see the sun rise?
It was also Passover season, the day of remembrance, when families gather
together, telling the story of how the angel of death passed over the homes
of the faithful. From the youngest to the oldest, they eat the same meal
their people have eaten for centuries. And remembering to set a place at
the table for Elijah. The gatherings this year took place over Skype and
if Elijah came to the door, you couldn't let him in.
And in Islam the feast of Eid Al-Adha, marking the beginning of the Hajj.
Saudi Arabia was forced to cancel travel and accommodations for those
coming to Mecca. For those who planned this for years, it is a fateful blow.
As the Quran says all people of faith must make the pilgrimage once in
their lifetime. It is one of the five pillars. What happens if that time never
comes again?
I remember Easter when I was a child. In our house, there were only two
times a year when we got new shoes, Easter and back to school. Easter
was more exciting because the shoes were a bit dressier, church, wedding
and funeral shoes they were. I always wanted a pair of patent leather Mary
Janes with a silver buckle. Never got 'em, mama said they weren't practical.
But at least the Easter shoes weren't the oxblood oxfords we wore to school.
My older sister always got a new dress, I got her refurbished dress from last
Easter. Every year mama had to sew a ruffle on the hem, even though I was
five years younger, I was four inches taller. My brother, being the only boy,
got a new shirt and new trousers and a bow tie to set it all off. Mama would
take down the hat box and fluff, and poke, and punch until she was sure our
hats would serve for another year. I'm sure we made quite a sight, all of us
marching off to church.
There were no baskets from the Easter Bunny at our house, I don't know why.
If the bunny ever did show up, papa would have shot him and mama would have
made hassenpfeffer out of him. We did have a huge basket of food that was
blessed the day before; there were colored eggs, ham, kielbasa, pierogi, and s
lamb made out of butter. One thing that never ceased to amaze me; mama left
a basket with green plastic grass and filled with colored eggs out on the dining
table for days until they were all eaten, and no one got food poison.
I remembered too, Easter with my children. The two boys always got new slacks
and sport coats and new shoes, real shoes not athletic shoes, that always started a
big argument. But the little princess, she got a beautiful dress, a new bonnet, and
Mary Janes, black patent leather with a silver buckle, like she cared. Mama was
right, they aren't practical. They scuffed something terrible and had to be polished
with Vaseline every Saturday. The new dress went across the street to the neighbor's
daughter in three months, and the shoes didn't last until July. The boys shoes only
made it to prom senior year and then into the donation bag.
Funny the things you think of sitting alone eating re-heated tuna casserole for
Easter dinner. This is day 36 of my isolation, and there is really no end in
sight. But Saturday two friends stopped by, not together you understand as
that would be verboten. But with each one, I chatted over the railing on my
patio, mindful of the six-foot rule. We laughed at how ridiculous the situation
was, and then swallowed a tear or two. Later in the afternoon, I drove out to
see another friend, we laughed and talked in her front yard until it got too
cold to carry on. She went in alone and I drove home alone. But with all three
there were virtual hugs and blown kisses. Not much but it would have to do
for now.
At noon on Sunday, Andrea Bocelli gave a performance at the Milan Cathedral.
The Cathedral was empty, it was just he and the organist, but he was singing to
the world. At the end, Bocelli walked outside and sang Amazing Grace. While
he sang all four verses, we were shown live shots of major cities; London, Rome,
Paris, New York. The streets were devoid of people, no cars, no bicycles, nothing.
It was like they dropped the bomb and all the buildings were saved, but where
were the people? It was incredibly sad in a way, it only made me feel more alone.
We cannot begin to know how long this will take, no one has ever experienced this
before. I know it will be longer for people like me, my age and other conditions
will keep me isolated longer, perhaps until they have a vaccine. But I ask myself,
if this is the new normal, if I must give up my friends, my freedom, do I wish to
live like this? Life must have some value, otherwise it is just existence. How long
can someone live on memories? Have we entered the Twilight Zone between life
and death?
I'm just sayin'
