Making Friends During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Walking in Italy during the Coronavirus is a solo sport.  That part doesn't bother me because I've never needed company to "keep me going".  A little company to "get me going" is always helpful.  Heading out on a winter morning with my flashlight is a lot easier if I know someone is expecting me.

In Chicago one of my favorite parts of running was meeting new people. I haven't had the same luck in Italy because  Chicago's busy lakefront path has become a two-rut lane in a field.  And when the Corona Running Rules arrived, my two-rut lane became a strip of grass along a canal between cornfields 200 meters from home. My new track and field is just a hop, skip and jump over my neighbor's fence. The Proprieta' Privata signs were just what I needed to feel safe from close (corona) encounters.

There's an uninhabited house on the property, but the garage is still used to store machines and equipment for the family business. Though I thought the grounds were all mine, I still left home with my red bandana round my neck ready to cover my mouth in case of contact. Until yesterday my only friends were a duck and a crane, so I was startled to come upon human life.
 
Having climbed the fence, photographed the Private Property signs and made friends with the duck and crane, I thought the least I could do was introduce myself to the intruder. I approached and he approached.  I stopped and he didn't. I took a few steps back and said that Mauro had given me permission to be there.  He responded and I understood nothing, which isn't unusual for me.

For example, last year after having passed the same couple on the two-rut lane for more than a month they finally smiled and said, "Vai a cagare." (vah-ee ah cah-GAH-ray) It's an Italian phrase I'd rather not translate which is never said with a smile. Five miles later I figured out they'd asked, "Fai anche gare?" (fah-ee ahn-kay GAH-ray) which means, "Do you run races, too?"

So, the fact that I didn't understand what my new friend was saying was no surprise.  The puzzling thing was that he didn't understand me either.  There we stood, six times the necessary safety distance, unwilling to get close enough to clear things up. After a few shoulder shrugs and smiles we waved goodbye.

I decided to call my neighbor in case my new friend had decided to report me. That's when I found out he was deaf. And the reason we couldn't communicate is because he reads lips and we couldn't get close enough to understand each other. Imagine what it would be like to be deaf during this pandemic. You can't heed a danger warning because you can't hear the warning.  If someone wants to get your attention, they can't get close enough to tap you on the shoulder. Lip reading, your method of communication, is suddenly hidden behind a mask.  Missing a phrase or two in the neighborhood dialect doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

Fortunately I saw my new friend again today.  We both showed up at the same time in the same place and the morning started with a long distance wave.  I thought about trying to reintroduce myself with the sign language alphabet I'd learned in fifth grade, but I realized he probably didn't have time for that, so I kept walking.  The twelfth time I passed the garage I had a good idea. I still had a few laps to learn a word or two from the internet, not with the alphabet, but with whole words. I decided on 'finish' and 'have a nice day'. They were both quite easy and over-sized, so I thought he could read them from the other side of the canal.  I vowed to keep passing until he looked up, with hopes that I wouldn't have to do 10 more miles. 

I kept practicing my moves. I felt nervous every time I neared the garage thinking I'd be on stage any minute and forget my signs. I took off my gloves and scarf so my words would be clear on my black jacket.  When he looked up I placed my open hands in front of my chest palm sides down and then turned my wrists to make my palms face him.  I don't know how to conjugate verbs in sign language, so I hoped he'd understood that I was trying to say that I had finished.  Then I moved on to 'have a nice day.' That one's a little more complicated, but I like the moves.  He smiled and waved and I proudly put my gloves on and headed home.

My neighbor called later to tell me that his brother doesn't speak sign language, so my performance was just that....a performance.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get close enough so he can read my lips. In Italy they say one meter is a safe distance to avoid spreading the Coronavirus, but I think that's pushing it. I'll knock off two from my six which leaves me a comfortable four (13 feet). The only problem is lipreading.org says that lip reading is a lot easier when it's done in the lip reader's first language. His first language is Italian dialect, so that's out.  I'm afraid tomorrow we'll have to go back to the friendly smile. Fortunately it's universal.  In the end, it's the kind gestures that count.