Back from France. United Airlines flight 935 touched down at LAX last night right around rush hour. Callie and I spent ten great days overseas, starting with three in Paris, three more on the Breton coast tracking the movements of General George Patton in August 1944, and then three final days in London, where we enjoyed long runs in Hyde Park, leisurely afternoons reading on the grass in those Green Park folding canvas chairs, and dinner at Delfino's followed by a pint and crisps at The Running Horse. Our motto on trips like this is to sleep until we wake up, ensuring a long journey without the half-awake hustle bustle of trying to beat jet lag in a day.
Just a dream.
UA935 may indeed have landed at LAX last night — or been completely cancelled — but we weren't on it. Cancelled that trip three weeks ago. Right about the time that flight may or may not have touched down Callie and I were waiting for our to-go slice and wings at Ballpark Pizza. Appropriately, we sat six feet apart, as did other patrons awaiting their order. But that didn't stop some eccentric woman in pants two sizes too small and black bathroom slippers from walking around the room pointing at people and literally saying "shame, shame, shame."
That's the new normal (a term I'm really trying hard not to overuse, by the way) — social shaming as a societal leveler. Just as crosswalks and freeway driving give power to one and all, now it's perfectly alright to wander into a restaurant and pass judgement on whether or not people are sitting too close, or perhaps being in the establishment at all. I could have responded with something witty and cutting about this woman's liberal use of hair color or those really, really tight pants, but I did not. Yet I felt misunderstood enough (after all, we were only waiting for our food) that I'm still thinking about it now. I'm guessing she's the kind of person who calls the HOA because a neighbor's dog barks too much or attends a small pious fringe church that speaks in tongues to serpents. Whatever. These are strange times.
And it's only just beginning. Guns sales are up nationwide and alcohol sales are up 55% in California. That's a lethal combination. And high school sports are cancelled indefinitely, which means I have no one to coach and nowhere to be at 2:50 every afternoon. I literally drive aimlessly around RSM after my 1 p.m. workout on the trails, stopping at Board & Brew for a soda because they're not selling beer anymore — and let's face it, if we're going to be picking up new habits in this quiet interlude, day drinking should not be one of them.
Even for a dedicated introvert like myself, the need for social interaction is real. And jarring as it might have been, that public shaming last night was the most exciting thing that's happened around town for awhile. I might have to go back to Ballpark and wait for my pizza again tonight.