themselves out of fear of the unknown infection. We’re like animals, shrinking back in fear of a threat that a week ago was just a short piece in the newspaper.
My sister called me this morning. So far, life in Barcelona is going on as usual, but you can also sense fear on the streets. After rumors that hot air might be the ideal medium for spreading the disease, people quit using the subway. They eye everyone who looks Middle Eastern.
I took Lucullus to the vet. I got all his shots up to date, just in case. I also went by the dive shop to pick up a new regulator and a speargun and half a dozen spears, in case I decide to go fishing this weekend.
I need to get the car’s oil checked. My Astra’s not even a year old. I don’t want it to suffer the same fate as my previous car. But that’s really a long story...
ENTRY 13: BIRDS FALL FROM THE SKY
January 12, 1:19 p.m.
----
People are definitely starting to get nervous. This morning, the rain was falling in sheets. I left Lucullus licking his whiskers, nice and cozy next to a radiator. Fortunately I’d parked my car right in front of the house, or I would’ve gotten soaked. As I drove across town to work, I noticed a lot more people wearing masks. Maybe I should get one. Do they have masks for cats?
The news on the radio couldn’t be more confusing. For eighteen hours, there’s been no news of Dagestan. None. Not one word. What’s more disturbing: bad news or the complete lack of it?
Fires like the ones in Georgia are burning in several cities in southern Russia, and no one’s fighting them. The official story out of Russia is that the fires are mass cremations of bodies infected by the epidemic, but no one believes that. They’re too large. Visible from space! They’ve destroyed entire city blocks, fuel depots, and ports. There aren’t many, about a dozen, but they all started at about the same time.
The images of Germany are shocking. Highways are jammed with thousands of cars trying to leave the cities for the countryside, away from concentrations of people. However, only a small percentage has anywhere to go. Most people have stayed behind in the cities. They don’t seem to be panicking, but you can tell they’re worried. Martial law is in effect. Anyone out on the streets after 8:00 p.m. or outside rest areas on the highways will be shot dead, according to the German prime minister. They’re not joking around.
I’ve saved the biggest news for last. Official information is flowing out in dribs and drabs. In Brussels at nine this morning, the presidents of all the EU countries held an emergency meeting, together with the ministers of defense, health, and interior.They met until noon. When the meeting was over, they gave a joint press conference. That’s when they dropped the bomb. From now on, all official information will be channeled through a single crisis management team throughout the entire EU. This team will issue an official report hourly to all EU countries. Individual governments will make clarifications they deem necessary only on domestic policy, health, and safety. The armed forces of all EU countries have been put on alert. They emphasized that that was to avoid widespread panic. Contradictory and confusing reports have created unwarranted alarm, the consequence of which is a mass exodus. They’re referring to Germany, I guess.
That news gives me chills. Sounds dangerously close to censorship, right? The worst part was the faces of the prime ministers and presidents. They looked like they’d just come from a funeral. On TV, a political analyst said things must be pretty serious because as soon as the meeting was over, all the big shots headed straight for the airport and back to their countries. There’s a constant buzz that Spain’ll declare a state of emergency, like other European countries. For now, we’ve suspended all sports events this weekend “as a health precaution.”
The United States has called up the National
My sister called me this morning. So far, life in Barcelona is going on as usual, but you can also sense fear on the streets. After rumors that hot air might be the ideal medium for spreading the disease, people quit using the subway. They eye everyone who looks Middle Eastern.
I took Lucullus to the vet. I got all his shots up to date, just in case. I also went by the dive shop to pick up a new regulator and a speargun and half a dozen spears, in case I decide to go fishing this weekend.
I need to get the car’s oil checked. My Astra’s not even a year old. I don’t want it to suffer the same fate as my previous car. But that’s really a long story...
ENTRY 13: BIRDS FALL FROM THE SKY
January 12, 1:19 p.m.
----
People are definitely starting to get nervous. This morning, the rain was falling in sheets. I left Lucullus licking his whiskers, nice and cozy next to a radiator. Fortunately I’d parked my car right in front of the house, or I would’ve gotten soaked. As I drove across town to work, I noticed a lot more people wearing masks. Maybe I should get one. Do they have masks for cats?
The news on the radio couldn’t be more confusing. For eighteen hours, there’s been no news of Dagestan. None. Not one word. What’s more disturbing: bad news or the complete lack of it?
Fires like the ones in Georgia are burning in several cities in southern Russia, and no one’s fighting them. The official story out of Russia is that the fires are mass cremations of bodies infected by the epidemic, but no one believes that. They’re too large. Visible from space! They’ve destroyed entire city blocks, fuel depots, and ports. There aren’t many, about a dozen, but they all started at about the same time.
The images of Germany are shocking. Highways are jammed with thousands of cars trying to leave the cities for the countryside, away from concentrations of people. However, only a small percentage has anywhere to go. Most people have stayed behind in the cities. They don’t seem to be panicking, but you can tell they’re worried. Martial law is in effect. Anyone out on the streets after 8:00 p.m. or outside rest areas on the highways will be shot dead, according to the German prime minister. They’re not joking around.
I’ve saved the biggest news for last. Official information is flowing out in dribs and drabs. In Brussels at nine this morning, the presidents of all the EU countries held an emergency meeting, together with the ministers of defense, health, and interior.They met until noon. When the meeting was over, they gave a joint press conference. That’s when they dropped the bomb. From now on, all official information will be channeled through a single crisis management team throughout the entire EU. This team will issue an official report hourly to all EU countries. Individual governments will make clarifications they deem necessary only on domestic policy, health, and safety. The armed forces of all EU countries have been put on alert. They emphasized that that was to avoid widespread panic. Contradictory and confusing reports have created unwarranted alarm, the consequence of which is a mass exodus. They’re referring to Germany, I guess.
That news gives me chills. Sounds dangerously close to censorship, right? The worst part was the faces of the prime ministers and presidents. They looked like they’d just come from a funeral. On TV, a political analyst said things must be pretty serious because as soon as the meeting was over, all the big shots headed straight for the airport and back to their countries. There’s a constant buzz that Spain’ll declare a state of emergency, like other European countries. For now, we’ve suspended all sports events this weekend “as a health precaution.”
The United States has called up the National
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