Farinata with scallion and rosemary.
The surreal. The lack of affect. The ennui. The desire to compensate. The desire to lick, squeeze and pinch everything in sight, precisely because i know i am not supposed to. A restlessness. A claustrophobia. My mind turns to sailboats, and whether i could sail one to Europe, and the closest port to Paris, and whether i'd even want to hang out in the Marais if there were no Parisians in the streets, in the cafés, the galleries, the museums, the opera, or on the banks of the Seine. And then this girl, who was always on the search for a secluded beach, now reflects that seclusion is only a prize against a backdrop of crowds on every corner. Without people, the world isn't nearly as interesting, even if all i want to do is get lost in a sea of strangers. Without people, a secluded beach feels passé.
And of course, we need to continue this social distancing. It’s working and we need to sit tight, possibly for a lot longer.
Lately, in the press, the phrase ‘physical distancing’ seems to be inching out ‘social distancing’. I suspect it’s being proffered because in this time of self-isolation, we are nevertheless connecting socially. And while that’s true, I think we need to make a distinction between telesocial connection, which we do when we use teleconferencing platforms, texting, phoning, and emailing, on the one hand, and our default call it “proximate” social connection on the other. Telesocial connection’s relationship to social connection is like that of a recipe book to a well cooked meal—it’s something alright but it has none of the affect of a meal, no aroma, no touch, no taste, no sound, and where there are visuals, they are at best simulacrum. And while a recipe is not intended to replace a meal, these ways of teleconnecting do seem to be considered adequate replacements for social contact, albeit temporary. In this time of Corona, we are keeping social distance and there is no need to call it anything but “social distance”.
Rosemary and scallion farinata and basil pesto
We are in the habit of calling twitter and facebook ‘social media’; however, as many have observed, food is the original social media. The telesocial connection we enjoy now is patently not the same sort of social connection we enjoyed pre-virus, when we dined together, or walked arm in arm, or whispered in another’s ear, or hugged hello.
I am grateful to live here in Canada, where many of the politicians are sane, and genuinely trying to figure out solutions. Our use of the term “social distancing” needs no fixing––it works quite well. And social distancing, the policy, is working too. The better we get at, the sooner we can embrace again.
Drink: Pastis. Eat: Farinata (aka Socca) and Basil Pesto (aka Pistou). Music: Ellis Marsalis Quartet. RIP Ellis Marsalis. Until the day when we can sup together again… (Thanks Eric and Tom.)