One of the things that most struck me in the heart of the lockdown was how quiet the roads were. I could walk across the 5-lane road on the route to my office without even slowing down. Even those few cars that were out seemed to be moving more carefully, often deferring to me even when it was obvious a pedestrian should wait.
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed more traffic on my walk to my little office. Not only that, but it looks like people are starting to hurry again. Now, I have to watch people’s faces through their windshields to be sure they see me, that they won’t run me over.
It’s gotten me thinking: are we getting back to normal? Do we want to? What parts of the old normal do we want to bring back? What parts should we leave behind?
