Famished for friends
You shouldn't let yourself go crazy - just a little bit, to the extent that the precautionary measures are adhered to. I'm a pragmatic person. I believe you can minimise risks, but you can't eliminate them completely. That's why I still allow my children to meet their friends. And I myself took heart after three weeks of lockdown and got on a train to Zurich. I wanted to see my partner and a few friends, because people die alone. So one Saturday afternoon I got on a train to Zurich. It was a highly surreal experience.
I wanted to see my partner and a few friends, because people die alone.
You shouldn't let yourself go crazy, but it is a bit crazy. At first, it took quite a lot of effort to leave my two teenagers at home and do something for myself. Is this even legal, I asked myself, is it justifiable as I walked through the deserted streets. I felt like I was in a disaster film: trams empty, train station empty and luckily the train empty too. My nervous tension soon subsided, until a woman suddenly approached me on the tram in Zurich. I thought she was going to ask me for directions, but instead she wanted money. I gave her a few coins - only to panic shortly afterwards. She had come closer than half a metre to me. She had approached me. Hadn't her pronunciation been a bit wet? What if she had blown her coronavirus in my face? I reproached myself: if she had infected me, my partner, my children and their friends and families would soon be infected too. Fortunately, my worries turned out to be unfounded. I am still as healthy as ever.
Is this even legal, I asked myself, is it justifiable, as I walked through the deserted streets.
And the trip was worth it. Friends came to a coronavirus dinner, there were five of us and we were all so hungry for human company that we ate and drank and ended up dancing around the tables like crazy people. It's all a bit crazy. I've hardly ever experienced such an exuberant atmosphere in such a small group. I felt like a historical figure from the 1920s, the Roaring Twenties, when the dawn of a new era seemed within reach and with it the willingness to celebrate exuberantly.
Yes, dear people, it's the twenties, it's our twenties and we're going to make the best of it - with or without the coronavirus. And we're all going to go a bit crazy, but it's worth it. Just stay healthy.
This is the second of Michèle Binswanger's new lockdown mum blogs, in which she reports on her experiences working from home. From now on, the mum of two will be blogging twice a week - on Sundays and Thursdays. Her blog appears on www.tagesanzeiger.ch and www.fritzundfraenzi.ch.
Michéle Binswanger is a graduate philosopher, journalist, author and long-standing columnist for Fritz+Fränzi. She writes on social issues, is the mother of two children and lives in Basel.
Editor's note
Dear readers,
We would like to respond to the readers' reactions to this article. We can also understand them. We, and Michèle Binswanger, are in no way concerned with circumventing the general directives. This is also clearly expressed in Michèle Binswanger's text. Gatherings of up to five people are fine and public transport journeys are also permitted if they are essential for the person concerned. We know Michèle Binswanger as a very level-headed, considerate person who neither rants against marginalised people nor rebels against current FOPH directives.
Please also read Mrs Binswanger's statement at the end of our press release.
Best regards
Your Swiss parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi (Zurich, 9 April 2020)
Statement by Michéle Binswanger:
Dear readers, perhaps the word party was misleading. The five of us had a very stimulating evening with music. We ate together and danced at the end, both at an appropriate distance. There was sanitiser everywhere. Nobody was put at risk.
Michèle Binswanger
Michèle Binswanger's diary at a glance:
- Zeiten-Paradox im Lockdown
- Ausgehungert nach Freunden
- Lockdown-Bilanz und eine Prise Optimismus
- Frühling und die Kunst, traurig zu sein