In the discussion about our current predicament, while the experts disagree on many details, there seems to be unanimity on one specific and indeed troubling point. As Richard Preston, author of "The Hot Zone," a best seller about the Ebola crisis put it, "We hear some people saying, 'Well this is a once-in-a-100-year event.' It is absolutely not. These really devastating outbreaks of new viruses have been happening more frequently and ballooning faster. It is part of a pattern, and the story, by no means, has ended."
If the consensus of those in the know is that pandemics are inevitable and increasing in frequency, what do we do about it? There are debates about preparedness and open borders and wet markets, all of which are important topics. But what about you? What can you do in your own personal world? Things that didn't seem relevant just a month ago now have you looking at your home and immediate environment in a whole new light. After all, if the current situation has taught us anything, it's that we don't have enough sweatpants, zoom-worthy backgrounds, or big enough pantries. Put another way, if you're redecorating for the coming apocalypse, what is the best color?
Let's start with your kitchen. Whether your family is 2 or 5, you probably had a rhythm and flow that worked. But that was based on a schedule which had a full house only at dinner, and maybe even then just a few times a week. Now that you've had a totally different scenario come to fruition where it's filled all time, how would you change it? Bigger refrigerator? More stools and chairs? Less room for dishes and more for snacks? That coat closet filled with multiple winter coats now seems like so much wasted space when you have no place to put that case of chickpeas.
As our household shrunk over the past number of years, we streamlined our furnishings to be more accommodating of occasional guests as opposed to full time residents. But now that we've gone from empty nesters to running an Airbnb/WeWork, having more than just a pullout sofa is helpful. And so we dug out of the basement the numerous Ikea legs, trestles and tabletops we had acquired, and often thought of dumping. That enables our re-expanded family to each have their own work space vs. sitting on the bed. And we have changed our minds about giving away old furniture.
When just talking on the phone was the state-of-the-art, you could do it from anywhere: bedroom, living room, breakfast table, didn't matter. But with the world moving to Zoom and other video-based siblings like Skype and WebEx, suddenly where you call from has become a factor. Surely you've seen people sitting in front of unmade beds, distracting paintings and book shelves where the titles are more interesting than the people. So what are the new rules? Talking with family? Then at the kitchen table with the fridge in the background is fine. Chatting with some old friends? Then a nice looking background showing off your home makes sense. Business call? Something neutral and non-distracting works. And if you want one of those beautiful scenics, a blank wall is best. Green (screen) is the new black.
Even walking outside, whether with family or with an appropriately socially distant friend has implications. It's not the walk pers se, but rather the fact that you do the same route again and again and again. Admittedly doing your neighborhood at strolling speed rather than driving offers new opportunities to note landscaping, updated paint jobs and ornamental tchotchkes. But wouldn't real art be nice as well? On one of our favorite routes, one which we used to walk ever week or so but now have journeyed on almost daily, the side of a barn sports a multicolor panel with drippy markings, a composition than never fails to bring smile to my face. No, it's not a Picasso, but in this environment it's almost as good, and more importantly, it's accessible.
None of this would have merited a mention six weeks ago. Now it seems like necessary renovations for a new world. And if this sheltering at home is going to turn out to be a regular thing, a full size freezer and a quiet closet with a green wall doesn't seem like such a bad idea.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford is trying to adapt to what he's got. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
If the consensus of those in the know is that pandemics are inevitable and increasing in frequency, what do we do about it? There are debates about preparedness and open borders and wet markets, all of which are important topics. But what about you? What can you do in your own personal world? Things that didn't seem relevant just a month ago now have you looking at your home and immediate environment in a whole new light. After all, if the current situation has taught us anything, it's that we don't have enough sweatpants, zoom-worthy backgrounds, or big enough pantries. Put another way, if you're redecorating for the coming apocalypse, what is the best color?
Let's start with your kitchen. Whether your family is 2 or 5, you probably had a rhythm and flow that worked. But that was based on a schedule which had a full house only at dinner, and maybe even then just a few times a week. Now that you've had a totally different scenario come to fruition where it's filled all time, how would you change it? Bigger refrigerator? More stools and chairs? Less room for dishes and more for snacks? That coat closet filled with multiple winter coats now seems like so much wasted space when you have no place to put that case of chickpeas.
As our household shrunk over the past number of years, we streamlined our furnishings to be more accommodating of occasional guests as opposed to full time residents. But now that we've gone from empty nesters to running an Airbnb/WeWork, having more than just a pullout sofa is helpful. And so we dug out of the basement the numerous Ikea legs, trestles and tabletops we had acquired, and often thought of dumping. That enables our re-expanded family to each have their own work space vs. sitting on the bed. And we have changed our minds about giving away old furniture.
When just talking on the phone was the state-of-the-art, you could do it from anywhere: bedroom, living room, breakfast table, didn't matter. But with the world moving to Zoom and other video-based siblings like Skype and WebEx, suddenly where you call from has become a factor. Surely you've seen people sitting in front of unmade beds, distracting paintings and book shelves where the titles are more interesting than the people. So what are the new rules? Talking with family? Then at the kitchen table with the fridge in the background is fine. Chatting with some old friends? Then a nice looking background showing off your home makes sense. Business call? Something neutral and non-distracting works. And if you want one of those beautiful scenics, a blank wall is best. Green (screen) is the new black.
Even walking outside, whether with family or with an appropriately socially distant friend has implications. It's not the walk pers se, but rather the fact that you do the same route again and again and again. Admittedly doing your neighborhood at strolling speed rather than driving offers new opportunities to note landscaping, updated paint jobs and ornamental tchotchkes. But wouldn't real art be nice as well? On one of our favorite routes, one which we used to walk ever week or so but now have journeyed on almost daily, the side of a barn sports a multicolor panel with drippy markings, a composition than never fails to bring smile to my face. No, it's not a Picasso, but in this environment it's almost as good, and more importantly, it's accessible.
None of this would have merited a mention six weeks ago. Now it seems like necessary renovations for a new world. And if this sheltering at home is going to turn out to be a regular thing, a full size freezer and a quiet closet with a green wall doesn't seem like such a bad idea.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford is trying to adapt to what he's got. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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