This is proudly my 1300th post since origination 40 months ago, averaging just over one per day as I planned. This morning, I could not get my mind off the awkwardness of my running form, and once again find myself in front of the keyboard without a writing plan. There’s so little going on in my life right now worth documenting. Watching television is getting stale and the weather is not cooperating. The gray Portland skies match my mood. Plus, there’s absolutely nothing on my calendar for the next four days. It should be Fri-Yay, and for those still working maybe it is?

Superstitious? It’s Friday the 1300th! Back in the year 1300, at least 25 million people died in Europe’s Black Death (bubonic plague). It’s 720 years later, but this time the Coronavirus is bringing the world to its knees. It’s also striking closer to home, as a Whole Foods’ employee at a location where we occasionally shop died this past week. Up to this point, it’s only been celebrities to serve as a reminder that it could happen to anyone. Fortunately, I still don’t know anyone personally affected, with the exception of financially. I just know that it’s silently creeping around the neighborhood and all my neighbors are wearing masks. My wife’s hands are starting to crack from all the scrubbing. Something must be done!

I talk to my friends who all seem to be doing constructive projects, but apartment living leaves little to do. I did take the time to disassemble my bathroom sink drain and remove some hair-balls. I suppose I could have just called maintenance, but what if he’s a carrier? These are things we need to think about as paranoia begins to mount. If we open the windows, will the virus suddenly attack? It’s already trying to get in through mail deliveries and packages left on the door step. It lurks in the elevator of our building and sticks to the handrails in the exit routes. In fact, an uninvited audience of invisible bugs are looking over my shoulder right now as I type!

I remember the 1960 movie 13 Ghosts and the special glasses that you had to wear to see them, sitting calmly next to you in the theater. You don’t even need glasses to see them riding with you in Disney’s Haunted Mansion. However, special glasses would be a good first step in COVID-19 prevention. At least, we’d be able to see these mini-monsters as they cling to our hands or float in the air. We’d know if they had infiltrated our space. After all, the plague had rats to provide a subtle warning. With these viral suckers, we’re all left helpless. You can’t even “fire when you see the whites of their eyes.”

That gives me another idea. I’m going to look in my box of childhood memories and see if I saved those glasses. If you could see ghosts, maybe they’ll work on other invisible enemies? Once we can see it, we can fight it! This could save the world, and makes for a much more constructive project than cleaning the drains. Now, where did I put those glasses?