Little Red Riding Hood. You remember the story don’t you? Ya know the one where Mom warns Red about the Wolf, and naive little Ms.Hood ignores her mommy’s wise words as she hops and skips through the forest to visit G’ma, only to be preyed upon by the big bad Lupus?
Myths have been used in every culture to impart wisdom, though not in a Disney way as most of us were conditioned to believe. Well the Riding hood story came to my somewhat imaginative mind this morning as I was reading the news (or should I say, perusing the tales being woven by various and sundry) media outlets. Since i was just sitting here at home, metaphorically twiddling my thumbs I chose to give the various players in this global drama some mythical names and twist the Red story, in order to fashion something interesting and perhaps clarifying (should you wish it) for all you in Blogland.
The Bluebees in The Hood
Once upon a time there was a bunch of Momsies who told their offspring, the Bluebees, to take some goodies and pay a visit to their Grandmas who were stuck at home, because of the Big Bad Reddies who were causing a great awfulness on the planet. “Watch for those BBR’s, both the ones you can see and those you can’t, because they are very dangerous. Also look out for the Ignoramies, cause they don’t pay attention to their Momsies. And touch nothing, keep your mask on…and don’t dawdle… you get yourselves to your Grandmas ASAP, and when you get there, wash everything and absolutely don’t let anyone in who’s been hanging out with the BBR’s.”
Now a trip so far from one’s hood and one so full of distractions can be especially tempting, even for the most careful, well behaved of Bluebees, but ours, after a long hot afternoon trek, got sidetracked with a break along the Amazon, to watch some mind numbing vision, and to have a wee snack.
Some of the Bluebees had been complaining about the hardship of having to wear masks – some wanted to occupy themselves with something other than visiting Grandma and some just wanted to bitch moan for the sake of it. They put down their bags of goodies and began to relax. It was then that they heard a rustle in the bushes (though it could have been one of the Bluebees’ chip bags, but whatever). The Bluebees all jumped up, remembering the Momsies’ warning, quickly gathered their stuff, donned their masks and hurried on a bit farther.
They were, one can only estimate the exact distance, but in our approximation, two thirds of the way up a hill and almost at Grandmas, when they saw a bunch of red balls bouncing toward them, weaving indiscriminately about but definitely in their path. “Yikes it’s the Big Bad Reddies!” They cried. The Bluebees scattered and climbed up the nearest trees, watching in horror. “Whew! That was close!” They remarked to one another, as some began to descend their respective trees, thinking the coast was clear. “Hold on,” said one of the older Bluebees, “Remember, there might be some BBR’s we cannot see, so we should be very careful from now on.”
A few of the Bluebees, paid no heed, took off their masks as they hit the ground and were soon met by a loud, ragtag group of Ignoramies, none of whom were wearing masks, and had the gross affectation of wiping their faces with dirty hands. The Ignoramies laughed at the Bluebees and their fear of the BBR’s. The more cautious Bluebees could see their friends quickly getting swept up by the noisy crowd. Only when they had passed by and could no longer be seen, did the sensible Bluebees cautiously come down from their safe perches.
With shaking heads and mournful sighs at the loss of some of their friends, the Bluebees headed to their Grandmas’ homes where they washed everything before entering, put on fresh masks to make sure they didn’t infect their loved ones and set about to unpack the goodies.
The Grandmas were very happy to know they were cared for, fed the Bluebees delicious soup and homemade bread and made certain to not open the door to the Big Bad Reddies or any Ignoramies at least until the Momsies gave the All Clear.
The moral of my story? Don’t be an Ignoramie, Beware of the Big Bad Reddies and wait til the Momsies say it’s safe.
Tune in.
Main Characters
Momsies- mother’s/scientists/epidemiologists, i.ei. people with our best interest at heart
Bluebees – you, me and some of the mostly thinking public.
Big Bad Reddies -the nasty virus
Ignoramies- those who care nothing for anyone but themselves
Grandmas-our friends/family/neighbors
Janet Bernson 