Silver Linings

There’s nothing wrong with “grasping at straws.”

Go ahead. You have all the time in the world. Source: Flickr.Com

COVID-19. The coronavirus. The pandemic. Stories abound on this platform about the unthinkable, almost-apocalyptic “event” that has taken over our lives, and the world at large.

This, after all, passes for “life,” now, so it’s not unexpected that we writers would focus on what we know: An “abnormal, new normal.”

Some of the virus-forward stories have been doom and gloom-related. Others have attempted to make Gimlets from lemons.

For this piece, I’m going to take the latter tact, as much for myself as for everyone else here.

I tend to veer to the darker side. But even I need to lighten up from time-to-time.

So here I am — lightening up!

Last night, over cocktails, yes, my husband and I talked about the positive aspects of being confined to our homes. Indeed, the “silver linings.” Those wisps of light that flicker on and off like a bulb that needs tightening.

Surprisingly, there are more of them than you might imagine.

Naturally, “silver linings” will vary for everyone, but I thought I’d share the following “flickers.” I hope you find them ILLUMINATING.

You can blow off the clock. If you work at a job where you must punch a time clock, you’re not punching one now. Think of it: No more busting your ass so as to not be docked in pay. That’s huge, no? Give that foreman the finger! Virtually, of course.

You can stay up as late as you want and pass out on the couch. Neither your boss or their spy toady will know if you “report” to work a few minutes late. No doubt, they’re doing the same.

You don’t have to deal with the a-hole in the cubicle next to yours. No more listening to the dude with the phlegmy cough or the boomer who plays REO Speedwagon on a loop or the chick whose lunch always smells like a dumpster in July. None of that! You’re free!

You can binge-watch movies, old and new. In between Marvel Comic derivatives, I heartily suggest you give “All About Eve” a look if you haven’t already. A masterpiece with one of the finest screenplays ever written. Smart. Witty. A film that never gets old.