Life in the Time of Corona

Bad Moon Rising: photo by Cliff Hutson

Times are strange

Times are strange, and, I am locked in tight and I'm out of range.  When this "shelter-in-place", "safer-at-home", or "self-quarantine" thing started so many weeks (months?) ago I did not think that it would be much of a problem.  I am very used to living alone and am very much the introvert.  However, not being able to come and go as I please has proved to more than a bit taxing.

Some people seemed to have put this time to good use.  But, I like many others trapped indoors as a deadly pandemic rages, turned to watching films that confront the practicalities and horrors involved with some sort of now all-too-familiar apocalypse. Not just those that suddenly seem timely, like the viral thriller turned convincing docudrama Contagion, but also those that cover similar global panic and ultimately togetherness in the face of natural disasters, alien invasion and other earth-shaking events.

Then it came to mind that I might enjoy something about being alone and decided to watch Cast Away, the Tom Hanks film from 2000, for the second time, in nearly twenty years. I really enjoyed it.  

One of the things that I found most intriguing was that in the film Wilson, a volleyball, serves as Chuck Noland's friend and only companion during the four years that Noland spends alone on the deserted island.     This led me to ask two questions: 1) What became of Wilson? 2) What if I had a "Wilson" of my own?  

Wilson

Wilson the Volleyball: photo by Cliff Hutson

Some say that Wilson was irretrievably lost at sea, never to be seen again. Others say that, much like Chuck Noland, he was eventually picked up by a passing ship. But, the reality is that he was an actor playing a role.

One of the original volleyball props was sold at auction for $18,500 to the ex-CEO of FedEx Office, Ken May. However, it turned out that I could have one of my own, for a whole lot less, by buying it directly from Wilson Sporting Goods. I was very disappointed that he arrived via UPS instead of FedEx.

We will have to see how our friendship develops.