Hey, what’s up with you using the same picture on each of your posts lately? Why, that’s a great question. I’m going to keep all of my quarantine posts with the same main picture for ease of reference. Yeah, you could always check the tags, but using the same picture gives an idea of how long this will take, and how many posts I’ve done!

Anyway, I saw this hilarious meme earlier today, and it was basically asking where the zombies are in the apocalypse, that the individual asked several times for zombies. I wish I had saved it, because it was hilarious. I got to thinking though, with all of the films and tv series out there about the end of the world, no one ever recognizes a zombie when they see one. We do have plenty of zombies out there today, and they are not recognized. What zombies, you ask? Why, next time you are out (oops, forgot you can’t do that!), or just think back to a few weeks ago, before the world went to hell in a handbasket. Think of all the people you saw. How many of them had their heads turned down to their phones? How many people did you see driving and holding their phones, either on a call or texting? These are the zombies we currently have all around us.

When I worked in Chicago, I saved many an individual from walking out in front of a bus or taxi because they were too concerned with what was on their phone instead of what was going on in the world around them.

I always found it refreshing to just walk through the city. Yes, I would play “What if?” as I walked, imagining what I would do if someone started shooting in the middle of the train station, or there was a big car accident in front of me and it spilled onto the sidewalk, or if there was a fight, etc. I came up with plans on what to do, where to go, etc., depending on the situation. I would watch the people around me, and just shake my head in disbelief at the sheer number of people who spent their days just completely tuned out from the rest of the world.

What I have noticed these past few weeks, is that people are slowly starting to “un-zombi-fy.” They are going for walks or playing with their children in the yards. Their noses are not stuck into their phones 24/7. I just think that it is sad that it took a pandemic like COVID-19 to make people realize they need to get out of the madness of their phones.

A lot of people I know have even stopped watching the news, just tuning in to one newscast either at dinnertime or before bed, to see what the latest updates are and to check the weather. I’m not one for watching national news; if it is important enough, my local news station will let me know what I need to know. You know what’s even better than that, though? Just turning off the television and spending time with your family. Read a story, play a game, go for a walk, learn a new hobby! There is so much to do instead of watching the television.

Yes, I prefer to go to multiple sources, domestic and international, for my news, and I still do that. But I’ve always only done it in the morning, to get a quick view of what is happening. Why multiple sources? Because I am not a sheep, and I like to make up my own mind. I do not abide by one set narrative, I like to question, and be questioned. So, I go to BBC, Al-Jazeera, RTE, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and I parse from their stories on similar subjects what the actual story is. I do not like news that is spun in one direction or another, and this allows me to find the truth amongst all of the spin. It is so amazing to me that more people do not do this, but it takes some time, which is why I do it first thing in the morning, before Little Man wakes up.

Stop being a zombie. Go out for a walk, play in the backyard, cook dinner or breakfast (I made biscuits and gravy this morning!), bake something, just stop being a zombie!