As our situation with the coronavirus gets increasingly stark and as the days pile up that all of the children in my apartment building, and the one across th street, have been confined to their bedrooms with little to do, accumulating energy to burn, I’ve found that it’s noiser and noisier each late afternoon, going into the evening, when i go out onto my balcony to do some reading.

And it’s not just the children shrieking int heir games of tag that go up and down and across teh street and through the parking lot and up the stairs and across our doors. It’s the parents too! Tossing bouncing balls from the third floor to that hit the parking lot ground and spring up to second-floor heights, the children leaping after it and re-positioning for a catch.

The bicyclists with their facemasks and plastic gloves ring their bells and wave while riding by. The cars doubletap their horns while passing and children give aimless playful chase on skateboards and foot.

It’s lovely.