My morning commute takes me to the eastern outskirts of Lancaster and Palmdale. The hay fields and sprawling desert of Joshua trees make the drive pretty pleasant, however short it may be, so I've enjoyed the temporary wide open spaces before clocking in for the day. On my route there's a four-way stop, and most days there are people posted up on the corners selling bags of oranges and cloth face masks out of their trucks. It is the most emblematic scene of 2020 to me.
Seeing these folks on my new morning commute got me thinking, and I came to the conclusion that there are three kinds of people in 2020: lemurs, raccoons, and show poodles.
Lemurs are only found in Madagascar, so they've always been isolationists. Similarly, there are people who have always distanced themselves from others, whether it's due to geography, disdain for other people, or health reasons. I have family whose lives have been little affected by stay-at-home orders because they weren't going anywhere anyway (my dad and stepmom, for example, have no neighbors to the east of their house for over 100 miles, which is good social distancing in my opinion). Aside from a few adjustments and precautions, life goes on as usual, only now it's considered being responsible.
Raccoons are ever-adaptable and scrappy (and are probably eating a lot of garbage), like a lot of us are right now. I have a morning commute now because I left my hotel job of 10 years for a job in fulfillment to be with my wife and to help a lot more people. Teachers are conducting classes via Zoom. Restaurants, breweries, and many other businesses are delivering and offering curbside pickup. Folks with office jobs are working remotely. People sell face masks along with their oranges. People are being being creative and adaptable, and along with that there are those scrappy people that face everything happening head-on; doctors, firefighters, field workers, and so many others who take risks every day as part of their livelihoods take on even more nowadays, and if that's not scrappy as fuck then I don't know what is.
Then there are show poodles: originally from tougher breeds, they're used to being pampered, are showy by design, and probably aren't great at surviving outside of their privileged lives, yet are somehow considered more valuable than other dogs. Those people, who stand outside statehouses armed to the teeth to show that if they aren't allowed to kill with a cough they can with a gun, that want to speak to the virus's manager so they can get their roots dyed, and that want life to go back to the normal when normal was them not having to sacrifice their precious conveniences and luxuries, might bark the loudest, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're right.
To lemurs: keep doing what you're doing.
To raccoons: keep fighting the good fight.
To show poodles: you look ridiculous.
To everyone: stay safe, be patient, wear your masks, wash your hands, and don't be an asshole.
