What would you give to be able to go back in time? You’d probably give anything, if you had it. And how would you take such a gift if it were given to you? Me? I’d take it with utter humility and somberness.
Time travel in the conventional understanding is impossible. No one has invented yet a time machine. If governments were told it could be built if only there was enough money in the world, they’d find a way, even if it meant enemies uniting with enemies. There is something that is so enticingly intriguing with time travel that in the real world, there are scientists who really are trying to achieve it. They’ve been at it ever since Einstein came up with his theory of relativity. So far, though, no success.
Now, we don’t need those scientists to be successful. We have all recently been eyewitnesses to a kind of time travel, if only through a glimpse at a period once–a lazier time when everything was gentler and more welcoming, quieter.
In that sense, it has truly been a gift, for how else can we see the past?
The sad thing about this gift is that it’s been given to us only in the wake of this pestilence we’ve come to know as CoViD-19. Dumaguete’s streets now look pretty much like they did maybe 25 or 30 years ago. The eeriness of driving around its now-half-empty streets is broken only when you see something that belongs to the present–a late-model car, for instance. Or, I could take a black and white picture of a tartanilla alone on the boulevard now, and I’d be able to sell it as a vintage photograph from 40 years ago.
Yes, to an extent, the people of Dumaguete have gotten a little afraid of CoViD-19. They have listened, somehow, to the incessant recommendation to stay home, and to observe social distancing, when they absolutely must be out in public. As a result, the City has been relieved of the relentless waves of people, and of the many polluting machines that glutted its streets.
I drove around Thursday taking pictures around the City, mostly from my seat in the truck, through the windshield. For some angles, I left the truck, but not for long. I drove past City Hall, through the boulevard, the business district, and even to the Capitol. While there, I decided to go to the Governor’s office, hoping to get a copy of his Executive Order on the curfew for seniors and students. I wanted to know the details regarding that, not that it covers me already, but just so I would understand how they’d handle seniors who live alone, with necessities that are not necessarily all emergencies.
I ended up being referred to the office of the Provincial Information Officer who just happened to be outside the building as I approached. When I asked for information on that, he assured me it would be out at 3:00 pm, and would be posted on the provincial government’s Facebook page. It was only 1:35 pm. I didn’t check until way after 9:00 pm Thursday evening. It was there, and I didn’t waste time sharing it because I know many of my senior (as defined in the EO) friends and relatives have been looking to get their questions answered.
Little did I know that it would later be withdrawn by the Governor for a rewrite. Apparently, its verbiage was confusing.
There are many people who are frustrated at what is happening. To an extent, I am, but only because our children and grandchildren are on the other side of the globe, and we have no way to visit them. Our daughter calls us almost daily on Facetime, and we get to see them only then. Knowing the situation they are in–never mind us who are older–there’s this urge to just hug them, all of them.
On these calls, they are so close and yet so far. That’s what frustrates me. Our son, who is in Los Angeles, told us that almost all establishments, except those that sell essentials, are closed.
In the States, I would say that empty streets would not be a look back in time, like in Dumaguete, but a look at a time in the future, closer to post-apocalyptic times.
Still, here and there now share something in common–CoVID-19, and however each decided to handle the pandemic, both still ended up with less people out on the streets. All have ended up with wounded economies, people in distress, loss of lives, and an uncertain future. All are in truly dire straits.
As I drove around, stopping here and there, I was reminded of the time before I left Dumaguete 40 years ago. It was awkward not having to dodge cars, people, huge cargo trucks, and the proverbially-irritating pedicab. More awkward still was being able to put my truck in fourth gear while driving on the boulevard. It was such a refreshing feeling that at last, Dumaguete’s traffic has been “fixed.”
Then my heart suddenly sank when my mind woke up in a flash–reality check, it was only like that because of CoViD-19. It was still a treat to be able to see that, regardless of what made it so. It is also strangely reassuring that because of the uncertainty of the future, we would be afforded this treat for some time to come still.
We are not the only City that now enjoy less congestion. The whole country has been decongested, allowing houses to now accommodate people to full capacity, surely, a backward trend for now.
However, in other cities that have been able to manage their traffic through the years, it does not make a shockingly different picture. But in Dumaguete, a respite from the usual, is always most welcome. This is one of those times. It is a sad time, yes, but what it has done to Dumaguete, we may never see again, all things considered.
To those who have seen the “old” Dumaguete, see it again now with your older eyes, and you will live that glorious past, even if it were just for a spell. But while you ply its memorable streets, be careful, heed the advice of the medical experts, and the government because we still have CoViD-19 to watch out for. Our vigilance or carelessness could mean the difference between winning or losing our battle against it. The threat that it brings is real, and we cannot afford to play Russian roulette with it.
If we do everything right, we could not only win the battle, we could win the war that CoViD-19 has waged against humanity, against us.
So as you enjoy your travel back to the past, never lose your sight of the future. That is where we must go, regardless of the nostalgic desires of our hearts. The way it is now is temporary, remember that.
______________________________
Author’s email: [email protected]