Sweeter

            “Don’t you think the air is sweeter?” Large man in grey tee-shirt calls out to me from across 33^rd Street as he prepares to drag in his trash cans.

            I stop walking, nod and smile, “Sure….” gazing up at the blue blue sky, feeling the brisk breeze on my face. He’s right: the air is sweet.

            “No cars!” he proclaims.

            “Oh…..”  I murmur. He’s not talking about the spring day, but about the current lack of traffic because of the shelter in place. And, he’s right. It’s dramatic. Yet this didn’t really hit me till a couple of weeks ago when I went to pick up my partner at the El Cerrito BART. It was 6 pm. I was traveling west on I-80. And, glancing across the divide, I marveled at how there was virtually NO traffic on the eastbound side of the highway. Usually, at this time of day, the cars would be thick with the bumper to bumper rush hour.

            On this day, the highway was eerily empty. And it hit me. This pandemic is real. People really are ‘sheltering in place’ by staying off the roads and in their houses. It was surreal. The Bay Area is notorious for its hellish traffic. And now? It’s evaporated. Gone. I couldn’t shake my feeling of wonder, but also dread. What does it all mean? When will it all end? What will become of us?

            This morning, though, back with Trash Can Man, he continues his rhapsodizing of the new traffic-free air. “Usually, there’d be all these cars racing up and down the street, but not anymore.” He grins, euphoric.

            “Yes,” I agree, hollering from across the street, “It’s better for the planet!”

            His enthusiasm positively leaps off his burly self as he pumps his beefy bicep, flexing up to a fist into the brisk spring air, “YEAH!!!!” he yells. “BETTER FOR THE PLANET!”

            I wave goodbye, walking on, the mocking bird trilling, the air suddenly filled with soft classical guitar. A musician sits on his front porch, strumming in musical bliss. I give him a thumbs up. He nods at me as he continues to play.

            The air really is sweeter. At least for today.