The Roaring Twenties, Sparkle! and Word of the Day: Hero-Genius

When I was in high school, we never learned about the 1918 Flu. We learned about World War I, Prohibition, and the Roaring Twenties, but not about the pandemic.

Which got me thinking: what will we have to look forward to when this crisis is over? Will we have a period of paranoia and fear, or will people cut loose and live for today, just like a flapper?

I am voting for flappers. I am hoping our desire to connect and be part of something larger will override our (legitimate) fears and anxieties about this illness. While I am still in favor of an abundance of caution, I hope that when this is over we all will realize how much we have missed having fun, and how much we took for granted. The other day, I got carry-out dinner from the Old Stove Brewery at Pike Place Market, which was a post-work stomping ground with amazing views of Elliott Bay. (Did I say amazing? I meant spectacular. And I can't find a picture on my phone to prove it but trust me.) I texted my friends to say how much I missed happy hours at Old Stove.

"The things we took for granted!" my friend Anderson texted back. I am looking forward to when the Twenties will roar. By that I mean

• Going out dancing 
• Going to concerts where musicians play live music 
• Going to restaurants and hanging out and laughing with friends 
• Hiking in parks, picnicking with friends
• and my favorite -- Traveling!

I suppose I am warming up for the Roaring Twenties with my exciting choice of nail polish:

GLITTER!

The patio of my condo. Not a beach in New Zealand.

The last time I had Ruby Slipper sparkle toes was when I was in New Zealand. This weekend, I dug into Claire-Adele's old nail polish collection. I've never had the guts to wear glitter on my finger nails until social distancing became a thing. I never would have worn silver glitter -- the peer pressure to look normal would have been to great. Thanks to social distancing, I have no peers and therefore no peer pressure making me conform.

Speaking of New Zealand, the country was on the front page of the New York Times for flattening the curve into oblivion. Go Kiwis! Nevermind the country has three million people in a place the size of California. They were built for social distancing! But still, congrats New Zealand! (I missed this story -- Jacinda Ardern said that the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy were essential workers. She is awesome! I want to be her when I grow up. Except I am older than her, but whatever.)

Speaking of curve flattening, let's give a special shout out to our own local "Hero-Geniuses" here in Seattle: Dow Constantine, Dr. Francis Riedo, Dr. Jeff Duchin and Kathy Lofy. Like the New York Times, the New Yorker had an article about how Seattle is doing a fine job at social distancing and flattening the Corona curve. The article talks the healthcare professionals who were alumni of the EIS, or the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and who persuaded King County Executive Dow Constantine how to manage the COVID crisis. First, Constantine let the health officials dictate what to say. They recommended social distancing, and Constantine thought "How can I make this not seem so bad?" The approach was planned to be gradual--in other words, baby steps. Constantine asked Microsoft executives to have their work force stay home, and they did. Amazon followed. Instead of public health officials screaming "The sky is falling!" the government asked Microsoft and Amazon to do it, and it worked! (In fairness to Microsoft and Amazon, they likely did not want their massive work forces to fall ill.) After two tech giants closed, schools followed. Then the government closed restaurants and put in the stay-at-home order. By time the stay-at-home order came out, people were already staying home. The goal wasn't to declare an edict--the goal was to change behavior.

It worked.