Life in the Times of Coronavirus: Lockdown Day 37

For me, rain is an invitation for reflection, contemplation, to travel into the past. This is perhaps more common in the days of the coronavirus pandemic. The water has been falling continuously since early this morning, collecting in puddles in the empty streets and hammering the asphalt in slanted sheets. A cool wind sometimes picks up, slithering its way under doors and lashing the rain against the glass. The storm woke me up before dawn this morning, pelting away at the concrete as it filtered its way through the lightwell. I listened to it fall against the background of Franky’s even breaths. The entire world seemed to be asleep, except for me.

Et CeteraCarlos CabreraApril 19, 2020coronavirus, covid-19, pere lachaise, oscar wilde, cemeteries, tombstones, rain, rainy days, family, mothers, paris, france, dorian grayComment

Life in the Times of Coronavirus: Lockdown Day 14

You will understand why, against the backdrop of the bleak situation in Spain (as of today, we have 64,000 confirmed cases, with nearly 13,000 in Catalonia), Franky and I felt a stab of fear when, on March 17, María, aged 71, said that she had a slight fever. Only 1 or 2 degrees. At first, she chalked it up to a slight flu, said it was nothing major, and remained in her characteristic high spirits. At that point, María said that her only complaint was the fact that she could not drink her noontime beer due to the fact that she was ill.

Et CeteraCarlos CabreraMarch 27, 2020coronavirus, catsalut, covi, familyComment

Life in the Times of Coronavirus: Lockdown Day 8

This morning, I thought about my mother. How she’d pour out a few dozen frijoles onto the kitchen table and, with her glasses perched on the edge of her nose, carefully inspect the beans for any rocks or specks of dirt that may have snuck in. Before the pandemic, I would also pick out any imperfect ones that I’d see. Not today, though: I tossed in the ones that looked unappealing too, because I knew that I was lucky to have beans in the first place. I peeled and cut the garlic and added the salt (not too much, but not too little). The stove’s blue flame flickered on.