Member-only story
The Sick Twenties
One hundred years ago, our great-(great?)-grandparents lived through the Roaring Twenties. In the meantime, the population of lions has decreased by close to 90%[1], and the remaining ones are coughing.
Our forebears listened to jazz and danced with Josephine Baker. And in the end, they were doomed by the bell. Wall Street rang and brought it all to an end in October 1929, with incredible sales on the stocks over three days: Black Thursday (10/24/1929), Black Monday (10/28/1929), and Black Tuesday (10/29/1929)[2]. In our Twenties, we have black Fridays lasting at least a week, and more often than not, a month. Not to mention April dragging on to November.
Our Twenties will be the sick ones.
Three groups will coexist; the Masked, the Circlers, and the Expanders.
The Masked
They take their motto from Jean-Paul Sartre:
“If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.”
Wearing a mask is less and less of an issue for them, as they stay more and more at home. Without a mask or a screen between them and the outside world, they don’t feel comfortable anymore. Even going to the bakery downstairs takes a toll on them.
Their social circle contracts. They quickly restrict it to the family members (still)…