Good morning humans of confinement!  I feel less inclined to send further updates on life in Italy because the mode of living is no longer viewed as extraordinary. The wiser countries have copped on to the measures need to slow the spread of disease, and like us they are shutting down nearly all activity. To wit, it’s just a matter of time before I see a video of French residents singing ‘La Marseillaise’ or perhaps Mahk leading the residents of Yawkey Way in an off-key version of ‘Sweet Caroline’. One can hope.

Living in Italy right now is also like occupying space in some future time dimension that allows communication to people in the past. I am now starting to receive the humorous memes or videos documenting what isolation feels like. They are the types of social media entertainment that I received days before—because Italy is now more than one week into this event. It’s weird to watch other parts of the world go through this thing at an earlier stage. Of action and denial.

During this period of confinement, I have been trying to immerse myself in plenty of Italian language media and entertainment. Sure my speaking skills remain terrible, but I can understand a fair amount of Italian if people are speaking clearly. This morning on Radio Deejay, there were two personalities speaking other about the quarantine. It went something like this:

“So what did you do yesterday?”

“Ah, yesterday at home we constructed the second floor of a LEGO store. We’re building a LEGO village- but for now the shops are closed.”

This kind of dialogue, to me, encapsulates the mentality and delivery of Italian culture. The people are clever and quick-witted, and jokes like are passed and opening before you really get a chance to appreciate how good they were.  But while people laugh in the face of something difficult, they are also up front about things. After discussing the two DJs discussed their mini-adventures del giorno, they went on to speak about how this situation was not the worst thing in the world. Everyone has a stocked fridge, and folks are (more or less) comfortable. It could be far worse. And this applies to the vast majority of the population who is currently neither at work nor at school. As for the rest of the Italians—well, I feel for their inability to be closed up at home surrounded only by those they love most.

We have received conflicting reports, but the last guidance I read was that going outside for some sport was permitted. For most of us, this is the best news ever. And as I am almost two weeks out from my knee kissing the pavement, I figured it was a perfect time to go out and see how my knee felt after giving it a good rest. My run felt good. The sun was shining, and there were a few folks out either walking their dogs, or similarly running or speed walking. The bonus for me was that I also got a chance to scan the surrounding neighborhoods.

While Rome is still incredibly quiet—handfuls of pedestrians outnumber moving cars—you still see signs of what everyone is collectively going through. The near ubiquitous face mask (to include runners with fashionable scarves wrapped around their faces…) now all seem normal. There are regular sightings of latex gloves left in the street. And now there is something new in Rome: you are starting to see tricolors on edifices other than governmental buildings.

I don’t know if it was because yesterday was the anniversary of Italy’s unification—but as I ran through the streets, I glimpsed several of these silent statements of unity. In contrast to the 6PM balcony concerts (called flash mobs here), they are hung as a visual reminder that we’re all trying to do something together. Sure, there is the odd person who is not respecting the social distance rules, but on the whole, Italians are taking this seriously. You only need to tune in at 6PM to hear the latest numbers and you know that the country needs everyone to stay in line.   

If you have ever queued for anything that involves Italian people—then you know that what is taking place right now is truly extraordinary.

Yesterday was Saint Patrick’s Day and last night, the Taoiseach addresses his country. He spoke about how it had been a Saint Patrick’s Day unlike any other. Measures are not yet as stringent as they are here—but he implored his country to put their phones down from time to time during this crisis. Stop scrolling. I will admit that I have been guilty of staying glued to my phone over the past week. Who’s got it now? But today and in the days ahead, I am going to try and cut that down a bit. 

I don’t know if I will be successful, but I do know that there is plenty of non-screen entertainment surrounding me. I also know that there are plenty of other folks in my shoes. Many of us can start to feel sad while wishing that we could do something simple that we normally take for granted—like spending time with all of the people we love. Give them a hug or a kiss. Sit in a café or bar and enjoy the best things about society.

But for now, here we all are. Hanging out on balconies or looking out the windows. I don’t own an Italian tricolor, but I do have in my possession the state flag of Massachusetts.  I don’t even remember why. I think that if and when I do finally receive that clip of an off-key Boston singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ then I just might hang it from my Roman balcony.

Stay inside guys.