I was 18 when the film “On the Beach” was released, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner. It takes place after a fictional World War III in Australia, the only remaining haven for humankind and is part romance (of course it is, it was 1959 after all) and part a cold war scenario of what could happen if nuclear weapons were used in the final days of the world.
I’ve never forgotten that movie nor the song, “Waltzing Matilda.” It doesn’t end well, as the submarine captain finally leaves Australia to follow a signal of possible life coming from California, leaving behind the woman he loves, knowing that the remaining people on the beach in Australia will all die of radiation poisoning. The final scene of the movie shows a deserted San Francisco with the sign, “There Is Still Time Brother” as the last image.
Walking the beach in Nice today, I kept remembering that movie, as my generation is the one that was taught to ‘duck and cover’ under our desks in case of a nuclear holocaust.
Today, the streets of Nice are empty, warning notices flap in the breeze, telling us the Promenade des Anglais is off limits under punishment of fines and/or arrest. A few people are walking dogs inside the narrow streets of Old Nice, a man was playing soccer with his small son, a family was watching their daughter ride a scooter, two men were hanging out at the local Tabac buying lottery tickets.
Instead of a nuclear catastrophe, the world seems to be fighting a ‘virus Armageddon,’ one that is met with universal disbelief and myriad conspiracy theories. Some people seem to think this virus was meant to only target the enemies of the West and not actually ‘get’ to the West. Others believe it was made in a lab somewhere. But none of this matters. People are sick and dying, healthcare workers are heroes, the rest of us need to take a breath and do what we can.
The world is in lockdown, from Malaysia to Morocco, from Italy to Ireland, from Uzbekistan to the United States. By now, many of us know someone who has the virus. I know three people who are sick, one who won’t recover. The attempts to stop it seem more draconian than the virus, unless you are sick or know someone who is.
I came back to listen to “Waltzing Matilda” and write this piece. It’s not close to the end of the world, as human ingenuity will find a solution. But we all need to remember...the major virus attacking our planet is us, humans. May we finally learn a lesson as the air cleans, the water in the canals in Venice clear and pollution diminishes from China to California.