“Normal is just a dryer setting.” Apron Aphorism
I imagined that “flattening the curve” would be the phrase of the year, but I’m now casting my lot with “new normal”. You can’t pick up a paper or listen to a talking head without hearing this expression. The trouble is, I still don’t have any idea what it means. Normal means conforming to a standard; usual, typical, expected, run-of-the-mill, or habitual.* So maybe it’s just a different standard to which we are being asked to conform, but normal, old or new, suffers from ambiguity. Normal is the purview of the individual. It might extend to a family or a small work unit. It’s possible that it describes the behavior of a tribe or clan. But there is no such thing as normal- old or new- for a big, unwieldy cohort like the one being affected by the covid pandemic. That’s everyone.
Take something as ubiquitous and quotidian as coffee…
In Italy, you drink espresso standing up at the bar. Seats are for those ordering food. Forget “to go”. You drink it there.
In France- café au lait is drunk from a wide bowl. Order one after petit déjeuner and the locals will know you’re not.
In Turkey, you’ll be served a thimble sized brew that’s so thick that it looks like old motor oil- until you get to the last bit where the fine grounds turn the motor oil sandy. Blessedly it’s only a thimbleful.
In the US, you order a Tall (meaning the smallest one) and usually get a squirt of something that turns your coffee into dessert. Unless you’re at a Greek diner in NYC where regular means cream and two sugars.
See what I mean. Normal is a not very helpful. Even on the dryer. So it’s best to remember that all normal is local. Know yourself.
*Compliments of Whirlpool. Normal: The setting for the highest heat. That doesn’t seem normal to me.