Quarantine???

2:30 am the clock read as a loud noise awakened me. It wasn't thunder. It wasn't rain. It wasn´t my next-door neighbor arriving home at wee hours. It wasn't the neighbor downstairs screaming. It wasn't the neighbor upstairs throwing a party. It wasn't my cats digging in the sandbox. Certainly, it was too early for a bird to be chirping at my window. It wasn't anything that would usually disrupt my sleep.

It came from outside and it was loud. It took me a while to figure out what it was. Guess it was because I wasn´t fully awake. As I carefully listened, I realized that it wasn't just one sound but many different sounds. The ones that I was able to recognize were a jackhammer, a concrete mixer in addition to the loud voices of men at work, not on the streets but at the construction site next door.

Aren´t we supposed to be in quarantine to flatten the curve; not allow the virus to spread; protect ourselves and others; etc.? I am aware that there are people who cannot stay home and have to be out there risking their lives for us, to whom I am grateful. However, I'm starting to wonder that if making the men at the construction site next to my building work around the clock 24 is worth it.

My first guess would be that perhaps for the construction company it is because the sooner the buildings go up, the sooner they will be able to collect their money. Another guess would be that for the workers it is worthwhile because they are able to take home their pay so that their families will not starve during these dark times, besides keeping their jobs while so many have lost theirs. And I guess that for the people who are waiting to live there, the faster the building goes up the better.

Now, for people like me who are at home 24/7 and need their daily rest, I do not think it is worth it. Resting is an essential part of staying healthy. Couldn't they wait? I'm sure the construction company has enough money to keep paying their workers even though they're staying at home. I'm sure that the people who are paying for these apartments will continue paying because in the end, they have purchased them, unless they also lose their jobs, so, it´s not like they will be moving in anytime soon.

There are two sides to everything. Perhaps I'm being selfish in choosing one of them. Waking up in the middle of the night for me is no big deal because I know that after a few minutes, I just roll over and fall back asleep. But, unfortunately, that is not true with everyone. There are people who are worried about the outcome of this pandemic and are sleep deprived. There are those who take medication to sleep, if you have done this at one point or another, you know that if you wake up it is very hard to fall back asleep and it is not like you can just pop another pill. It's already bad enough to have all these noises playing during the day. It's pretty much a symphony that is there constantly without a break, but it seems like it's far, far away somewhere hidden in the city, which in the end you get used to. At night, however, the sounds are stronger. A jackhammer together with a cement mixer and a bunch of men yelling is not a beautiful tune to listen to and certainly does not rock you back to sleep. I am not even going to start on the strong lights that are used at the construction site.

I feel for the elders in my neighborhood, especially in my building. I, also, feel for the patients in the hospital nearby. Mind you, I realize that the number of workers at night are lower, but still… I am just grateful that they all get Sunday off.  

Written: June 3, 2020

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