ISOLATION

It feels like the whole world is gone. Granted, there is the TV and it is concerned with the pandemic that causes our isolation, and there are some avenues of escape if only temporarily, such as runs for food and medications and an occasional visit to the doctor’s office or the day’s mail.

As we hide behind our curtains, crouch down behind our front doors, and reach for the TV and newspapers for news, when something happens, we want to reach out to talk to someone with a common interest.

Monday an old friend of mine called me and related information about a former board member’s husband passing away. Having read it in the morning edition of NEWSDAY, we describe the member and what her history was and her involvement in things Board of Directors. Later that evening I got an email from another great guy and Board member about the death of the former board member’s husband.

Email and phone conversations are now the new norms, extracting conversation in the form of words from the keyboard and telephone.

One of the social manners was shaking hands. We used to shake hands when we met someone either as a stranger or friend, it meant that when I shook your hand, I was not armed, a sign of peace. Now that we practice social distancing by not shaking hands and wearing gloves, there should be a way to salute someone when meeting in both public and privately. In this world today there is a society that practiced a non-shake greeting for centuries: the bow! The Japanese have it down to perfection, bowing at the hips and facing your acquaintance as you bow and wait for the return bow.

As it stands now, when someone greets another, you might just get the finger. It is a form of acknowledgment.