A 1966 speech by Senator Robert Kennedy included a reference to an ancient Chinese saying, “May you live in interesting times.” While seemingly a blessing, the expression is often used ironically; meaning life is better in less interesting times of peace than in interesting ones, which are more likely times of trouble.
Wikipedia says “May you live in interesting times” is actually an English expression less than a century old, which only purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. No evidence of such a curse exists. Nevertheless, these are interesting times.
When we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, living under house arrest, binge-watching Netflix between the sunshine state’s finest sunsets, we realize we are virtually all in one big boat together, all over the planet. A global pandemic can create a global sense of consciousness.
We feel immense gratitude for those on the front lines of the virus wars and those who have been working to keep things feeling as normal as possible while the economies everywhere were sinking.
National Public Radio, for example, did an incredible job of maintaining contact with their listeners, mostly from home. This month, May 2020, will be the month recovery begins at least in some places. People will slowly return to work and to the beaches, with appropriate social distancing, and we begin to sort out what tomorrow is going to look like.
This issue is not your typical Paradise News. There are no live events to tell you about, so we are substituting virtual events. There is no way to predict when Safer at Home Orders will be lifted completely. The virus will likely return with a vengeance, if we are not vigilant, so a slow phased reopening is the best approach.
We do not expect to return to the “Old Normal” for quite some time, if ever, but we feel a “New Normal” can be looked forward to.
We thank all of you for the kind comments you have shared with us about our April edition. We thank our advertisers, especially a couple of new ones, like Sally Wilkinson, with Luxury and Beach Realty in St. Petersburg, a couple of former advertisers returning, like All Western Mortgage, who say a temporary layoff or furlough should not keep you from refinancing at historically low rates.
Our loyal advertisers who have helped us to keep sending you Paradise NEWS every issue, and our readers, who have been responding to their ads, are our heroes. Please do your part. Shop locally all you can. Our neighbor businesses need our support again, especially this year.
If you like Paradise NEWS and you have a good connection to the internet, spend some time online at www.paradisenewsfl.com.
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