The trees and the flowers remain unconcerned, but why would they be? As for the people, it’s going to depend on whom you speak to, but the numbers of skeptics are dwindling rapidly. There will most likely be waves of paranoia and all the reactions inherent to that. There will be some ugly flare ups not unlike the virus itself, in clusters and pockets, but so far nothing particularly outrageous. There are already heroes though, largely due to just plain imagination. Jean Tarrou was right. What we need is imagination.

People are looking for joy. They’re looking for hope. They’re looking for just little windows of escape. DJ D-Nice @dnice is one who delivered, for example getting up to 150,000 viewers at once on his Instagram page for “Homeschoolin” the Club Quarantine, spinning classic records. Questlove picked it up last night on @questlove Instagram page and The Roots’ Youtube homepage spinning old reggae and then soul slowjams. There was another collective swoon for tens of thousands of listeners. They’ve both been a godsend. On a quieter less glamorous note, shout-out to the staffs of grocery stores for suiting up and showing up and smiling from beneath their masks, from what I could see from the crinkles around their eyes (all at a safe social distance of 6 feet). Medical professionals are showing up and doing their thing for shifts longer and crazier than their usual.

Shoutout to anyone I passed yesterday who smiled.

Really.

The trees and flowers are chill though. This is not their problem.

I saw a beautiful young couple in the park having their wedding photos taken. No family. No wedding party. Just their beautiful selves and a photographer in a mask. A little love will go a long way.

But lest I sound like a hippie… I guess I need the joy and hope as much as anyone and I’m still capable of seeking it out. That shows I’m still together.