Sometimes I think that when I write about what is happening now it implies the very high risk of venturing—maybe even getting lost—into mediocrity! Rhetoric on good feelings and good intentions.
I’m not sure I’m able to elude the sticky seduction. So far I avoided giving away the “What to Do”, and the “Lists of Things You Can Do”, or the latest recipes in the “Times of COVID19.”
How is life in Italy during these trying times?
Fear
As the numbers of sick raise, the possibility of getting sick, of suffering, even of dying, also raises. It is not the most interesting and certainly not the most instructive form for a reflection on the meanings.
But there is also a fear of community: the life we were used to and which we took for granted, may no longer be the same, even after the acute phase of the emergency. Not just our individual fragility, but a collective fragility.
There is a profound melancholy, and sadness too.
However, there is a general compulsive need to express ourselves on everything; even before one has the elements to do it without risking saying or writing nonsense.
I found myself having so very little patience for cheap rhetoric lately.
Learning is the remedy for me these days. Learning is the only thing the mind never manages to exhaust, from which it never lets itself be tortured, which it never fears or which it never distrusts, which it never regrets.
The Great Courses is offering free or discounted courses these days.
Isolations
There is a lesson to be learned from isolation too, and not just by reordering the drawers of the house Marie Kondo’s style, but in ourselves.
Below is a video of an empty Venice. Venice like nobody has ever seen it. Not in our lifetime, at least.
1. The drop on pollution and the clean waters of Venice Canals sent us a clear message. We need to give the planet, the seas, the mountains, our countries, and our cities a break;
2. We are not omnipotent, things happen against our will;
3. The trues value of some words: welfare state for example, and solidarity;
4. It has become evident that whoever does not pay taxes commits a crime; if there are no beds and respirators, it is also his fault;
5. I hope I’ll give my next handshake the true meaning it deserves;
6. I learned the need to reach out;
7. Borders don’t exist and that we are all in the same boat.
Over to You now
The Deadly Virus is Traveling West
As I look up the raising number in the Americas, I do not feel like giving out cheap advice. Just the one that I kept saying over-and-over #STAYHOME.
On a Funny Note
As I decided to go down my pantry as I prepare my meals while trying to stay off the supermarkets, there are good days of good-to-very-good meals and days of very sad and pathetic ones.
Life in Italy 
Thank you for this peek outside your window and a perspective on the emotional and societal effects of this time. Sending you all my best wishes from NYC, about 2 weeks behind you in terms of preparedness and response. 🇮🇹 stai forte!
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You too. Please Stay at Home as much as possible. Together we will fight this thing.
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Lovely post. Forza e corraggio.
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Thank you. Yes we need some more courage, and then we should have more to help the USA. They are galoppìni towards the worst too.
Stay safe ❤️
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Galloping
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On January 20th, I truly breathed a sigh of relief that we have in the US a shot at becoming a better place. I truly felt joyous that the Biden/Harris administration took charge and yes, seems to be galloping forward on so many fronts with Covid at the top of the priority list. Actually, I think they really do understand that restoring trust comes first with facts and truth on a daily basis.
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We all did!
Not just me because America is still in my heart, but for all Europeans because we feel that we are closer to America than what we like to admit.
It was not because we were afraid to lose a good example of democracy (yes that too), but because we still want that leadership and example to follow. We like to see a leader that leads, we didn’t not like the “me first” rhetoric.
And also because the big numbers of deaths didn’t seem acceptable for a country like America where COVID could have been controlled much better.
Europe breathed a sigh of relief. And I can’t tell you the disbelief we had when we saw the attack on Capitol Hill.
No more. We hope that there won’t be any more of such insurgencies.
(that may be a good question for GJ :. “What actions will the USA implement to prevent future attacks to it’s democracy….?”
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Here’s a link to a new bill that could get some traction…. could be a good question for GJO.
I have yet to look into its chances of passage but the bill sounds beneficial… agency coordination, what a concept!
https://schneider.house.gov/media/press-releases/domestic-terrorism-prevention-act-dtpa-2021-introduced-house#:~:text=The%20Domestic%20Terrorism%20Prevention%20Act%20of%202021%20would%20strengthen%20the,threat%3B%20and%20providing%20training%20and
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Speaking of Life from a window, I recommend “A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles. I completed the audiobook which I thought was a good way to take it in.. It’s about a man sentenced to life quarantined in the Metropol hotel in Moscow after the revolution who adapts and masters his circumstances.
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