The new beginning

John Mangun

Several weeks have passed since the famous “Flattening of the Curve” became obvious. hearts and families are still being broken by death but these are no longer front-page news. The tragedy of the soldier who is “Killed in action” even as the peace treaty is being announced takes their place. Life is not fair.

The world, our world, is not back to normal any more than what happened after the Baguio Earthquake or the Pinatubo Eruption. “Normal” does not simply wake up one morning and announces its arrival like a rich balikbayan relative walking out of the airport. We expect “Normal” to be just the same as when we saw him before “The Event,” but it does not work that way.

The “keyboard warriors” are still harping on what should have been done or could have been done by the government, the private sector, and even by “God.” But the rest of us are still trying to put our personal lives back together. After what seemed like months of being “locked down,” we are still trying to adjust to life on the outside as if we have been released from prison.

Did we learn anything as individuals and as a nation? We learned that our neighbors can be both our best friends and our worst enemies. We learned that when we are all on the same lifeboat it is critical that the strong and rich must help the weak and poor.

Handshakes and hugs are still rare, and if we are brave enough to venture into the recently opened shopping malls, we keep our distance from other people. Some of us are still wearing masks and carrying a bottle of alcohol. It is hard to be trusting. When we hear a person loudly coughing, our reaction is almost the same as the fearful feeling caused by a truck rumbling by after the earthquake.

In an effort to begin life again, we did buy that new refrigerator, which was on a big sale as both manufacturers and retailers try to get cash flow moving again. Some of the smaller stores in the mall will never reopen, and you no longer have to wait for a restaurant table even at lunch on a Saturday.

One thing that is obvious, and maybe even a little surprising, is that there is still noticeable “quietness” in the world. We can now clearly see the distant mountains, as pollution has not returned to “normal.” The nation’s education system is still trying to come back and there is a bit of reluctance in sending millions of students back to the classroom.

The business community is in the process of trying to fill up the black hole of revenues and profits that the enhanced community quarantine destroyed. For some, it will be a futile effort and many will sadly succumb to the devastation of the virus in 2021. Others were able to go into hibernation and will actually come back stronger than before.

See “Mangun,” A7