I went cycling yesterday (as I happily have been doing for years) and quickly realized that I was joining lots of people who decided to take a break from the shelter-in-place order and enjoy the good Mt. Tam. Of course, social distancing during the week stops making sense when you arrive at a crowded parking lot on the weekend. I decided not to fill my water bottle at the fountain in the ranger station and, instead, I headed back home.

Later, at home, we talked about the idea of building a plot for a science fiction story around that. A society that decides to move away from agglomerations of cities because of frequent pandemic diseases. Those who can afford it, work from their remote places and enjoy the outdoors (now restricted to the privileged ones). The idea isn’t too radical and there are probably already many similar stories, but it was entertaining to think that we were seeing the future right now.

I’m not sure how long it will take for most things to return to their normal state. I’d say it will be in a handful of months, but that’s mainly because I’m optimistic and not well informed. However, I do think that the parks might be closed next weekend.