Note from the ACDIS Associate Editor: Coping with chaos together

by Carolyn Riel

There’s something big happening in the world right now. Everyone knows about it, and it seems as though everyone is affected by it. Everywhere you turn you see new updates and never a scarcity of differing opinions. But what no one can argue is that it will change culture and the world as we know it.

Think I’m talking about the COVID-19 pandemic? Oh no, I’d like to turn to lighter subjects today.

Yes, I’m talking about Tiger King.

Most of us on the ACDIS team have seen and discussed it at length. If you haven’t watched yet, I suspect you’ve at least heard of it. Every time you think the story can’t get any crazier, it does. For example, moments like (spoiler warning!):

• Feeding the tigers expired hot dogs from Walmart
• Joe campaigning for president in the 2016 election
• Joe’s country music career and his interesting music videos 
• The revelation that most of the “big cat community” members are polyamorous
• Carole Baskin’s husband mysteriously going missing, never to be found
• Lots of shirtless interviews

Everything is knocked off normal balance because of COVID-19, so it makes sense that Netflix released this nutty docuseries while we’re all social distancing at home. For me, the chaos of the story provided a much-needed escape. I mean, if Joe Exotic can have nearly 180 tigers in his backyard, two husbands, an abundance of flashy purple button-down shirts for his tiger themed music videos, and be convicted of murder for hire, my new “normal” doesn’t seem all that odd.

It can be hard to stay sane and keep busy with so much of the world shut down right now. Of course, we know that staying home is the least we can do during this time. Those on the frontlines of healthcare meeting the crisis head-on deserve a resounding round of applause. Nonetheless, those of us at home must develop ways to cope of our own.

Maybe your way of coping is going for daily walks and taking a break from following the news. Maybe you practice yoga, or you like to sit with a good book, cozy blanket, and glass of wine. You could drive around with no real destination, blasting Iron Maiden as loud as the volume will go.

Or maybe you cope by watching nutty shows to make everything else feel just a bit less crazy. Whatever your mechanism is, all of us at ACDIS want you to know that we are there with you, and we will all get through this.

Oh, also if you should need it, use code W55.89 for patients mauled by a tiger or other mammal.

Stay safe, all you cool cats and kittens.

Editor’s note: Riel is the associate editor for ACDIS. Contact her at criel@acdis.org.