Corona and the new look

                      Corona and the new look

          One of the many consequences of the assault of the Corona Virus, on our society, is a new look in hairstyles. In that all of the hair salons and barber shops have been closed for several weeks, as part of the social distancing process, the population is assuming a new look.

          Men’s hair is getting longer on the sides and bushier. With those men, genetically programmed by male-pattern baldness, there is no rapid growth on top, just longer and longer sideburns. On the younger set, the top and sides are getting bushier, resembling photos from the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Virtually everyone had longer hair then. Rock stars set the pace and shaggier hair was in. So was the musical “Hair.”

        With women, it is decidedly longer hair making its entrance. So many women have so many differing hair styles, that the effect is harder to notice. One rather startling effect is the decidedly less abundance of blonde-haired women. “Gray is back in, said one stylist,” at least for the foreseeable future, when hair stylists will once again be able to color hair with abandon.

         The new looks are in keeping with another Corona phenomenon, “Corona weight.” Millions of Americans have been temporarily separated from their jobs. They are unused to be at home for long periods of time. There are only so many old “I love Lucy” reruns and small repair projects that you can attend to before you become restless and look for something else to do. With shops, malls and most retail establishments also closed, there aren’t a lot of options. Even voracious readers can dedicate only so many hours with their favorite novels, before looking for something else to do.

        The logical choice for all of them is to raid the refrigerator for something tasty, that will occupy them for small periods of time. In that most of these raids occur in between, before and after normal meals the added calories start to pile on. “Corona Chins,” “Corona bellies,” ”Corona butts,” and over all, the “Corona sag” are becoming regularly noticeable characteristics of the adult population. Children of course for the most part are exempt from this condition. Most of the little monsters move incessantly, like species of the shark population. They move continuously and feed voraciously several times during the day as a matter of normal course. The “Corona Effect” is lost in the general mass absorbing of daily calories that is their normal habit.

       The rest of us however are packing on the pounds and trying differing solutions. One clever cartoonist posted a picture of a large open refrigerator. Inside, the refrigerator was a large placard that read “YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY!” Humor always helps. 

       In that gyms and health clubs are also temporarily closed, that avenue of working off the pounds isn’t open to us. Walking, biking and home stretching are left as our defenses. So, with longer and shaggier hair, bigger chins, butts and bellies, we wait out the end of Corona. Like everything else, when this is all over, it is going t take us all a long time to get back to normal.

                                        -30-

                                    (534 words)

                              Joseph Xavier Martin