Sunday, November 29th, 2020

The municipal billboard has changed again. At first, I think that it’s about being safe in traffic, but it’s not. The city wants our help in keeping its “green light” status in the face of the virus. At the front of the square, several people sit in intense conversation. Hand-drawn signs say “We’re here to listen” and “Let’s talk about the situation.” Further back, running along the center walkway, barricades bear printed posters about the Day to Eliminate Violence against Women. Against a common background, each has a black and white death notice, four times the usual size, giving the name of a woman and how she died. Heading in to work late after an appointment, I get a falafel at a nearby shop and sit down on a bench to eat it. I make a phone call and head up to the office. A couple of meters in front of me, a white-haired man falls off his bicycle into the street. The cars stop in time. I think of helping him, but I wouldn’t know what to say. Three other people rush over and rescue him and the bicycle. He seems OK. Down the street, a soccer ball flies out of a schoolyard and lands near me. Another man about my age trots over and expertly kicks the ball over the tall fence back to them. I pause closer to the office as a car parked in front of the supermarket plays chicken with an SUV who wants the space. I wait until I’m sure they’re stalemated then walk around them and in.