Amusing ourselves in COVID times

In normal times, my friend Linda and I would never have made a date to exchange a bag of quarters and a mason jar of bleach, nor would John have made a video of the proceeding. But these are coronavirus times, when closed bank branches have made quarters scarce for Linda’s co-op laundry machines, and my local store shelves are stripped of bleach. Since we each had plenty of what the other needed, the solution was obvious. For John, who is running out of subjects for the video techniques he’s perfecting during his home confinement, we were convenient moving objects.

And so, in a parking area at Linda’s False Creek co-op, we converged. The choreography was fine: Linda emerged from a co-op door with what looked like the biggest urine sample ever and placed it on a ledge. At the proper coronavirus distance, I placed my offering on the same ledge. She picked up her quarters and backed away; then I picked up my jar, and John videoed away like mad.

It was silly and it wasn’t the weekly walk-and-talk that Linda and I usually share, but I think it was also important. Beyond the bleach, the coins and the video, it was a reminder that we are all there for each other in abnormal times.

Here we all are: I'm on the right, reflected in the glass, Linda is in the middle, and there's John photographing away on the left. Photo and video by John Denniston.