Black robes or bathrobes? Virus alters high court traditions

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My buddy Alner was wearing a face mask with a &ldquo;Creature from the Black Lagoon&rdquo; motif.
				&ldquo;Neat, huh?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Made it myself. Might as well lighten things up a bit.&rdquo;
				Genuinely impressed by his creativity in this sad time, I fist pumped in support.
				&ldquo;See ya,&rdquo; he crowed, heading for his front door.
				But my grin must have tipped him off, because he suddenly shouted &ldquo;oh, no, no,&rdquo; sprinted the last couple of porch steps and fumbled desperately with his key.
				Within seconds, thanks to my powers of metaphysical travel, we were heading down a Wyoming Valley street of times past.
				&ldquo;OK,&rdquo; said Alner. &ldquo;You win again. Where are we and what&rsquo;s my lesson for today?&rdquo;
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in the mid-1930s &#8211; the Great Depression. I know we all feel frustrated in our time, wondering when the many sacrifices of the pandemic will end.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Won&rsquo;t we look out of place with our masks?&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Alner, do I have to keep reminding you that no one can see us?&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve read about the 1930s depression,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The streets look deserted. Wait, down the block I see a long line.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s for a free kitchen,&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;If you could get a cup of coffee and a sandwich, that really was something to stand in line for because it kept you going for the day.&rdquo;
				I continued. &ldquo;They all had jobs a few years ago. They were saving up to buy homes and had high hopes for the future. But they&rsquo;re tough, and they&rsquo;ll survive.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Hey, what&rsquo;s that siren I hear?&rdquo; said Alner, looking around. &ldquo;And how come it&rsquo;s suddenly night and there are no lights in the houses?&rdquo;
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in the time of the Second World War,&rdquo; I said. &ldquo;On an evening like this, there could be an air aid drill. Families would close the curtains, put out all the lights and sit quietly, waiting for the &lsquo;all clear&rsquo; to sound.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;d go nuts,&rdquo; said Alner.
				&ldquo;No, you wouldn&rsquo;t. You&rsquo;d adapt, just like our parents and grandparents and others of this time did. They shopped with their ration books, gave up driving and changed jobs when they had to.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Bet I know where we&rsquo;re going next,&rdquo; he said.
				He must have read my mind, because we were now in 1918, the peak year of the Spanish flu pandemic.
				&ldquo;I know you&rsquo;ve read all about this lately, so we&rsquo;re not going to spend much time here. I wanted you to see the masks on the people. If we eavesdrop on some conversations, we&rsquo;ll probably hear them talk about the kids because the schools are closed &#8211; along with the movies and sports and a whole lot of other things. And they didn&rsquo;t even have a vaccine to look forward to.
				&ldquo;Scary,&rdquo; said Alner, with a shake of the head.
				I began moving us back to our own time, but with one quick stop on the way.
				&ldquo;I know where we are now,&rdquo; he said, as a somber look crossed his face. &ldquo;Those piles of ruined furniture on the curbs look familiar.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Yes, it&rsquo;s post-Agnes flood in 1972. Homes and livelihoods were swept away, and it seemed to take forever just to restore electric and phone service. But we got through it.&rdquo;
				We were back in 2020.
				&ldquo;Well, I get the point,&rdquo; said Alner.
				&ldquo;Actually, I think you got the point &#8211; survival while keeping your chin up &#8211; when you made that neat &lsquo;creature&rsquo; mask.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Hey, want one for yourself?&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Sure, can you do a werewolf?&rdquo;

Remember When: Area saw some tough times in the past