In early March, a choir director, concerned with preparing his singers for an upcoming concert, sent a friendly email encouraging every one to turn up for the weekly practice. “I’m planning on being there this Tuesday, March 10, and hoping many of you will be, too,” Adam Burdick said.
Their performance was set for the end of April, peak tourist season in Mount Vernon, Washington. In response to the email, sixty (60) of the 121 member Skagit Valley Chorale members showed up.
Trust me, not them
Burdick took a big risk. As the leader of the group, he encouraged people to sit in a practice hall with 121 singers. Contrary to cautions repeated on a daily basis.
Three lines of defense were prescribed as a way to avoid coronavirus infection. (1) Don’t touch your face! (2) Avoid crowds! (3) Social distance! Six feet away, please.
Based on Burdick’s email, he urged the membership to show up. Missing from news reports was any sentence saying, “…but if you don’t feel safe or if you feel ill, please don’t come.”
Ultimatum:
A request, the rejection of which will result in retaliation or a breakdown in relations.
Perfect Catch-22
Catch-22 stands for a no win situation. No one wants to miss practice. No one wants to feel like a loser or weak for not showing up.
I can imagine people wondering: Do I let the group down by missing practice or do I keep myself safe by avoiding large crowds? But then, if no one gets sick, I’ll look like I over-reacted by not going.
In this case, #winning looks like staying home was the best answer. Unfortunately, people getting sick and two people passing away was too high a price to pay to prove yourself right.
“Come to practice!” Burdick set the trap and 60 people fell into it.
A week later, COVID-19 lockdowns and stay-at-home orders were issued across the USA.
Tick Tock! Tick Tock!
When you miss choir practice, rest assured, someone is clocking you.
Here’s the next installment (4 page comic) of the Clock Maker taking action, speeding up Doomsday clocks and giving people time to consider the consequences of their decisions.
Thank you to Courtney Marmo for providing the selfie images that I used to create this “Friendly Ultimatum” comic.
Source:
- A choir decided to go ahead with rehearsal. Now dozens of members have COVID-19 and two are dead, LATimes.com
- Choir practice leaves two dead, dozens more with COVID-19 symptoms, msn.com
Photo of Choir Members (not the Skagit Valley Chorale) by Manuel Nägeli on Unsplash
Photo of woman in blue coat singing by Anton Malanin on Unsplash
The game I call Demon Spotting developed over time as I worked through emotional entanglements and confusing break-ups. My misery became code words. Code words became mat drills. Mat drills became winning combinations. And my confusion lifted. Consider this your invitation to play. Clarity is freedom.