200511:2 exodus noise
may 11 monday covid day 62
exodus
there is an exodus of families from lima, peru, as thousands flee covid 19 and the desperation of living without work or food, to return to their villages and their parents' farms.
"the bus terminals were so crowded with people waiting to escape to the countryside at the end of april that families were sleeping outside, side by side. the highways of the city, peru's capital, were lined with walkers, laden with suitcases and children." [new york times international weekly, may 9-10, 2020.] rain asked a few weeks ago if we mightn't see city exoduses. there was talk of closing the montreal bridges. many years ago when elf lived in new york, i told her be sure to get off the island, westward; walk, if necessary, should an apocalyptic event happen; because the bridges will jam up, or may even be destroyed.
noise
airplanes are a novel sight and sound these days. you can cross a road and not see a car in either direction. birdsong and a single hammer knocking at a distant construction site ring loud, while the highway traffic, that normally sounds like an ocean crashing, is hushed as never before. the background noise of humanity, usually noticeably registering on seismometers (designed to detect and measure earthquakes) has actually diminished, "barely" detectable now. [n.y.t.int'l. weekly, may 9-10] all the pollution, air and noise, around the globe, has decreased. they are starting to see fish in the canals of venice. i usually go through 2 tanks of gas a month, but now after more than six weeks we have used less than one half a tank. it means a lot of money unspent, respite for the environment, but also a blow to the economy, as so much business is put on hold. you can see the teeter-totter of our conflicting needs from country to country and from political left and right, as we are having to choose between economic and humanitarian needs. we are torn, as individuals, between our fear for our own and our neighbours' health, and our forced unemployment, which threatens us with hunger and homelessness.
exodus
there is an exodus of families from lima, peru, as thousands flee covid 19 and the desperation of living without work or food, to return to their villages and their parents' farms.
"the bus terminals were so crowded with people waiting to escape to the countryside at the end of april that families were sleeping outside, side by side. the highways of the city, peru's capital, were lined with walkers, laden with suitcases and children." [new york times international weekly, may 9-10, 2020.] rain asked a few weeks ago if we mightn't see city exoduses. there was talk of closing the montreal bridges. many years ago when elf lived in new york, i told her be sure to get off the island, westward; walk, if necessary, should an apocalyptic event happen; because the bridges will jam up, or may even be destroyed.
noise
airplanes are a novel sight and sound these days. you can cross a road and not see a car in either direction. birdsong and a single hammer knocking at a distant construction site ring loud, while the highway traffic, that normally sounds like an ocean crashing, is hushed as never before. the background noise of humanity, usually noticeably registering on seismometers (designed to detect and measure earthquakes) has actually diminished, "barely" detectable now. [n.y.t.int'l. weekly, may 9-10] all the pollution, air and noise, around the globe, has decreased. they are starting to see fish in the canals of venice. i usually go through 2 tanks of gas a month, but now after more than six weeks we have used less than one half a tank. it means a lot of money unspent, respite for the environment, but also a blow to the economy, as so much business is put on hold. you can see the teeter-totter of our conflicting needs from country to country and from political left and right, as we are having to choose between economic and humanitarian needs. we are torn, as individuals, between our fear for our own and our neighbours' health, and our forced unemployment, which threatens us with hunger and homelessness.
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