Emily in France 🇫🇷 Shared Memories
A year in...
I will not bore you by rehashing that well-trod path: "Where were you when the truth broke out?" It's been done better than I ever could. But I will, if I may, broach what I think is the underlying goal of this question, as it was the similar questions that came before it: where were you on 9/11? Where were you when Kennedy was shot? These questions arise because we want to share something – a memory, a distinct one, that altered, somehow, what came next.
In discussing where we were when we realized that the pandemic wasn't a far-away virus affecting people we didn't know, aren't we attempting to repackage something that feels like a singular, life-changing experience and exclaim, in our way, that it wasn't unique only to me, to you; it's something we share. It's like realizing that a friend you made as an adult frequented the same mall or beach or playground as you did, when you were young. It's like the delighted discovery that someone else has seen a movie you feel like everyone forgot (Summer Magic, anyone?)
I'm not saying we delight in our shared Covid memories. It's that the isolation we feel, now, feels less lonely when we remember we're not alone in it.
So many of us have felt a visceral lack of connectedness this past year. So many of our actions – from joining Zoom trivia (guilty) to attending Zoom lectures and weddings and even funerals – has been in an attempt to recreate some of that connectedness. To feel that we are sharing something more than solitude. As we pass the one-year mark, looking back at the moment we realized this was a big deal has something of a "hindsight's 20/20" appeal, sure. But in sharing our stories, we're also reminded that we took that journey together, and there's something kind of nice about that.
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Things I'm Writing
1. As we continue to cook at home instead of frequenting our favorite restaurants, I've tapped Michelin-starred plant-based chef Matthew Kenney for his kelp noodle cacio e pepe recipe. For the Inside Hook.
 2. Speaking of vegans, people are constantly worrying themselves over whether those who eschew meat are getting enough protein. (Spoiler: most of them are.) The real worry? Whether people, particularly omnivores, are getting enough fiber. For AllRecipes.
3. GMO salmon has slipped into the American distribution chain, but it's unlikely you'll find the Frankenfish on your plate. Here's why, for Organic Authority.
Things I'm Reading
1. Just before winter officially comes to a close, I'm sharing my thoughts on my first Russian, Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, on the blog.
2. I have a bit of an accent obsession, so reading about how this writer's Southern accent crept back into his voice while locked down was super interesting, in the Washington Post.
3. Sometimes advances in medicine make us forget about the wisdom of the past. An interesting look at hospital architecture and the importance of windows in the Atlantic.
A bientôt !