Sign me up for perpetual “social distancing”
by Charles Davenport Jr.
- March 28, 2020

Most writers are introverts, so, when it comes to “social distancing,” we are seasoned, accomplished experts. In fact, we are amused by those who are troubled by “stay- at-home” decrees, as if isolation were some kind of punishment.

If one is in possession of books, magazines, and writing materials, self-isolation is bliss. Maybe we’ll be fortunate, and our betters will order us to quarantine ourselves perpetually.

It’s not that we’re necessarily “anti-social,” although some of us are; rather, we simply prefer not to be disturbed. In a sense, scribblers are like normal people: we have associations that we treasure--a few people we consider near and dear.

But we are not promiscuous with our affections. My “little platoon” is probably smaller than the norm, but to those select few, my devotion is fierce. Meanwhile, my attitude toward people, as a mass, is unapologetically misanthropic. (Have you actually mingled with the public lately?)   

Speaking of promiscuous affection, my Golden Retriever is welcome to loiter and nap in my study, and so are my two felines (who are decidedly not overtly affectionate). People, on the other hand, tend to talk a lot, and the most verbose among them rarely say anything worth hearing.

For some of us, the social-distancing mandate is redundant; we’ve been voluntarily, quite contentedly isolating ourselves for decades. I confess: I’m looking forward to stiff-arming the masses for several more years, with or without a government mandate.  

Copyright 2020, Charles Davenport, Jr.
Kernersville, NC