Guelph walk

2. The bakery. No line ups today. The plexiglass barrier created between staff and customers stop viruses, not speech. It stops the transfer of cash, not wireless tap of credit cards. What would sci fi writers from 100 years ago think?

3. Passing people on the street is much changed from pre-Covid times. We all give each other a lot of space. While doing so some are open and friendly and I feel happy to have the connection with them. Others look away and avoid meeting my gaze.

4. The local elementary school. My kids go here. Not right now …

5. A playground where we come regularly. A few years ago the playground was fenced off for renovations. Now there is only flimsy yellow tape around it. The effect is the same: no children play here now.

6. Just saw someone I recognized- barista from a coffee shop I really like. He seemed to be picking up street trash. All restaurants and coffee shops are still closed unless it’s take out.

7. The local public library. Often I see people without homes here, reading, connecting, or just falling asleep in the comfy chairs. Where are they now? Today is a beautiful day, but 2 days ago it was snowing

8. All the shops are still closed, the streets quite empty. People in Guelph are very proud of their locally owned bookshop that has been around for decades. How are they managing with no customers for so long now? Will they reopen?

9. There’s always people hanging out at the fountain, even now. But perhaps not so many

10. I see so much of nature changed and remade for human purposes. But the virus pushes back and our own engineering and planning is co-opted by it, and takes on new meanings and shapes

11. I’m walking through microbes, all the time. I am mostly microbes, and so are those around me. Everyday we are connected in part by the microbes we share by touching each other, touching the same objects at different points in time, and by breathing the same air. Our lives have always been connected in this way. But now one virus at this particular point in human history divides us across plexiglass screens, masks, and distancing measures. And it unites us strangely across the globe

12. Another playground that is Verboten. I remember walking by here many weeks ago with my children. My 4 year old pointed out that not all parts of the playground equipment are technically inside the yellow tape …

13. Conversation across the fence: Distancing