Dispatch from Plaguelandia

Melinda Palacio

When I started blogging about the pandemic in March, no one could have imagined we would be back in lockdown with no where safe from Covid-19 in December. As it is, we are talking about, at least, two more seasons, maybe three, of the the Corona Virus Song and Dance, relax regulations a little and then shut down an entire city, state for weeks. I am grateful I’ve been able to survive this pandemic both physically and creatively. However, it has been a challenge. Isolation gets to me even though having all this time to write should be a blessing. I admire people who have managed to finish books, publish their work, and create art instead of grumbling about the world ending. 

With so many months to end this roller coaster year, I sometimes feel I should have published two or three books, at least finished the one I’ve been working on forever. The year in lockdown should have served as my own personal writing retreat, but the part of me that enjoys worrying decided to let all the worry and anxiety take over. However, I am ready to move on and embrace the upcoming new year. Next month, the world will be a different place. Given all that I know about quarantine life, I don’t think I would do anything different.

One of the best quarantine decisions I’ve made is adopting a puppy. The days may blur, causing me to surprise myself each time a new week rolls by, but my puppy forces me to keep a schedule. She doesn’t care what day of the week it is, doesn’t let me skip meals or walks. What I didn’t expect was how much joy she brings to strangers. Everyone loves a puppy. Strangers who wouldn’t go out of their way for me, cross the street just to engage with my dog. They sometimes have long conversations with her. They take her approval, licks, and wagging tail as consent for their intrusion. 

On the one hand, my paranoid self shudders at the thought of random people petting my puppy. What if they are infected with Covid-19 and pass the virus to me by touching my dog? I’ll admit, I have asked people to sanitize their hands before petting my puppy. But sometimes people rush her like she’s some famous movie star. I’m often surprised by a stranger’s sheer excitement at touching my dog. I also understand that the quarantine and lockdowns have had a strong effect on people, giving them a hunger for interaction with a friendly being. The dog doesn’t wear a mask or hold out hand sanitizer like a weapon of defense. The puppy accepts all affection with no judgment and wags her propeller tail so feverishly it looks as if she could fly away. 

Without fail, people always want to know the same three questions about my dog: ‘Is she a puppy?, How old?, and What’s her name?’. Pandora, the pandemic puppy, is six months old and while she looks like a mountain lion or small horse, she is definitely a puppy.

My next post falls on Christmas. If we’ve learned anything, let the cancelled pandemic world stay cancelled. Wear your mask, wash your hands, stay healthy and avoid surper-spreading holiday gatherings. Let’s have a merry Christmas by stopping the rising death tolls and curbing Covid. 

If you are looking to participate in a random act of kindness, text FAMILIA to 44321 to Donate to Al Otro Lado and help reunite families.