Paradise lost?
Heightened expectations come with tension, apprehension and whatever else you might call it. But this is a first and therefore no amount of drill and checklists are going to smooth the runway from bumps, bird hits resulting in the occasional abort from takeoffs and God forbid, a morbid crash landing with consequences when hell can break loose.
The first rule is not so much to follow the rules but follow your heart when it comes to providing temporary food, lodging and safe travel, which is all there is to the hyped ‘tourism industry’, as we like to call it. So what can we expect, as different aspects of the puzzle is laid bare when the supposedly normalcy in travel returns and we begin to welcome the initial trickle of travelers, and holiday revelers flock to enjoy what’s on offer in Paradise isle?
The hardcore traveler who revisits Emerald isle comes to flavour our simple, uncomplicated way of life, our natural produce by the grace of Mother Nature, our cultural heritage which is well over 3000 years, the variety of climatic conditions and the wide variety of activities on offer with minimal time spent on travel.
If we understand these core propositions - as our ‘pull’ to rake in the visitor, then we know where and what to concentrate mostly on. For those who had a carefree entrée and exit may have a mindset that’s totally different from their earlier visits, particularly given the parlous state of the airline industry.
So for starters, as most frontline soldiers are rookies with bright sparks that comes with youthful exuberance must contain their emotional wellbeing seeing their bread and butter arrive. They must learn to hide their faces and stay away from the visitors as much as possible. By this, I mean not to dwell on the human PR aspect too much and concentrate solely on their job description and do it better than anyone else.
As long as they don’t touch anything and that includes touching the hearts of the visitors that would be better than providing an opening for an unwarranted intrusion of the novel virus – the camouflaged enemy that is hell bent ruining our livelihood to gain entry and create chaos.
The idea of wearing full PPE can be considered on the basis of the prevailing situation but we must be aware some visitors might find such visual safeguards reassuring. Especially when their temperature is monitored and other measurements are taken to forestall Covid-19 on a regular basis while all known unseen safeguards are reliably in place.
All these seen and unseen mechanisms that have evolved with the novel virus making an impact that has most economies held by the cuff of their necks, can at best: be an unpleasant experience and until such time these activities become a necessary hassle one must wade through. However, it must be remembered that day, is for the future to ascertain, and as for now, we must make such personal intrusions seen as routine and as less inconvenient as possible.
It’s a sad day when a large industry, which employed tens of thousands of people, is about to be fundamentally altered. This undeniable aspect is all the same right across the board and relevant to other countries that had easy bucks made from the spendthrift and gullible traveler.
I’m most certain things won’t be the same ever again, whereas if we prune ourselves to the paradigm shift and cut our cloth according to what’s going to be available we can survive the onslaught of Covid-19 with relatively less casualties than we can ill afford.
KayJay pens, rhymes and paints whenever the mood kicks in and keeps him in his study. He also sends writings of others whose deliberations fascinate him and tickles his curiosity. However this does not necessarily mean these viewpoints are fully endorsed. KayJay can be reached via <arekesaya@gmail.com> at your peril and there’s no guarantee of a response or feedback either.
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