The stores have all but run out of hand sanitizer as fears of the coronavirus increase. A friend we spoke with said someone he knew, noticing that even Amazon was out, was able to order a vat from an industrial supply house for herself.
We took a look. Too late, it was gone there, too. Online searches having to do with homemade versions have spiked, as well. One recipe we especially liked involved a half-liter of vodka and noted that even the cheap stuff would do. We cannot speak to the effectiveness of that option.
Soap, however, remains plentiful. Adam Green, the M.C. of Guild Hall’s Manhattan gala this week, joked that he had never before heard so many guys singing “Happy Birthday” to one another as he did on Tuesday night at the Rainbow Room. For those who don’t get the reference, the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” is just about the time it takes to get decent hand washing accomplished.
Social customs begin to fall away when a pandemic looms. Handshakes were definitely out of fashion at the Guild Hall event, fist bumps, too. And forget about air kisses — “We’re not supposed to do that!” Anne Chaisson of Hamptons Film declared. Instead, for saying hello to the actor Alec Baldwin, a Romanesque forearm smash was in vogue. And if that cannot be accomplished by reason of distance or the crowd, 10 wiggling fingers from across the room would do. Jazz hands, anyone?