The things we do in a pandemic

During this recent unpleasantness, the kind of self-isolation that we have all been asked to take part in has been a revelation in many ways. The distinction between what is actually ‘necessary’ and what is surely ‘unnecessary’ has come into focus as never before.

Grocery stores, pharmacies and access to proper medical care are all basic needs. Being able to head off to Walmart, Provigo or Super C at the drop of a hat to browse for this week’s special on ground beef is not; nor is crowding into line at the check-out counter with your cart gently pushing the back of the knees of the person ahead of you to just to speed things up.

We have also learned, as much as some people enjoy them, that rock concerts, raves, sporting events, beach parties, parades, church gatherings, cribbage clubs, dart leagues, and a hundred other instances of socializing are not vital. To bring Matthew 18:20 up to date, “. . .where two or three are gathered together you shouldn’t be there.”

One other noticeable change that I have perceived is the effect all this is having on hair styles. With barber shops and hair salons in lock-down we are becoming a relatively shaggier society. If, as suggested, our social distancing remains in force for three, six or possibly twelve more months it will be a back-to-the-future moment revisiting, at least for men, the sixties and seventies. Think of it. Seventy-six-year-old

Mick Jagger’s hair will be back in style – and the same colour.

With this in mind, I recently made an important decision. For much of my life I have managed to

buck any trend in hirsute adornment. Perhaps it was my mother’s insistence that her sons would only receive one hair cut per summer when we were younger but for whatever reason I have maintained the “short top and sides” cut - until recently. Call it a late life crisis or delusional, the term my bride prefers, but I decided to let my hair grow. At my age, I reasoned, if you have it flaunt it.

In my youth, another reason for keeping my locks shorn had been the fact that my head of hair was thick and curly. This was far from ideal for someone who was heavily involved in sports where the combination of sweat and dust would have made for a high maintenance mop. My hair, although still there, is considerably thinner now and the curl less noticeable. As for athletic activity, my main sport is walking the dog: which brings me to the absence of barber shops.

Now, She Who Must Be Obeyed will tolerate my peculiarities up to a point but when stray curls - there are some left – started to poke out at odd angles she suggested that I was due for a trim and to accommodate me she offered her services as stylist. Normally I would advise husbands to avoid situations in which their wives approach them with any type of sharp implement but what was I to do?

As it turns out, the love of my life is reasonably adept with scissors – I drew the line at electric clippers – and managed to bring some order to my somewhat shaggy mane without any major mishaps. There was the occasional “oops” and one or two prolonged “hmms” which caused a little concern, but other than that, things went fine. She did insist, however, that looking at the back of my head with a mirror as one does at the barber shop wasn’t necessary. One wonders.

Panier Bleu and the local economy. Valuing our local economy, encouraging our businesses, our industries, our entrepreneurs, our workers here, what an ideal, it’s what we need to recover from this pandemic. What about the Quebec taxi industry? We are currently delaying subsidies for it. Should we not rethink this industry and its workers, who have been squeezed out by American companies? Should we not rethink the Act respecting the paid transportation of persons by automobile, or at least put it on hold, to rethink it?

Taxi drivers are currently working, wanting to serve their communities, making deliveries, building their own dividers inside their taxis to protect themselves and their clients. Not a lot of Uber drivers these days, there are no events for them to make attractive profits. There are taxi drivers trying to survive after the tsunami of 2019.

With the Panier Bleu and the local economy, it is time to apply the ideal of a society that we want to rebuild by including everyone, including our taxi companies.