Purgatorio aka Social Distance

Purgatorio Canto II (Gustive Dore)

During the middle of the pandemic, everything went on hold. Zoom meetings prevailed everywhere—as they still do to some extent. It was truly a no man’s land and the perfect purgatory for the person who enjoys traveling more than getting there. Conversations with old friends and relatives were less fraught with the pressure of actual instantiation, less framed by being a means to an end. Though you thought you should have missed someone, you may have discovered you could do without the obligatory and often logistically difficult meetings involving long car trips and even plane flights (say to see retirees in Florida). Now with the “endemic,” you’re forced to choose between Dante’s Paradiso or Inferno. If you felt deprived then being reunited is a time of celebration, but it can also be hell, when you realize how little anyone has changed. The return to normalcy will not be all bells and whistles. Social distancing certainly performs a function when you’re trying to avoid infection, but it has other benefits. You may have wanted to socially distance from certain people long before you ever heard of Covid-19. Now you’ve lost the excuse. It may seem awkward to tell someone that you prefer talking to them over a social conferencing medium like Zoom than actually having to spend time together. However that may be the disconcerting truth.

read "Ultimate Rejection!" by Francis Levy, The East Hampton Star

and watch the animation of Erotomania on You Tube