REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

I’m lucky.  Blessed, really.  I have this wonderful house with a view (thanks to my partner), space to meditate and do yoga, a good computer, music, books…but sometimes I just need to “space out”, fall apart.   There is so much sadness in the world right now.  Yes, I see the blessings – like neighbor helping neighbor, employers helping employees, etc. – but sometimes none of that seems like enough to get us through.  Part of my strategy is to contact friends who are out there, in “the field”, experiencing the joy and pain of March, 2020.  I thank them for sharing and allowing me to pass their words along.

WA-Elizabeth

Hey there Chris. It’s so good to hear from you. We are doing OK. Being in Western Washington, we have been a little Ahead of the curve. Schools have been out for two weeks here already, through the end of April, but no one thinks schools will resume for the rest of the academic year. We are waiting for the announcement on that. We’ve been doing social distancing for several weeks and it seems like people are following the directions as far as I can tell to help flatten the curve. Washington’s governor has been a strong leader, mainly due to the severity of the outbreak in Seattle and that being the first place things really hit in the United States. We have one local hospital. The hospital administration says they have plenty of everything that is needed to handle a surge; One emergency room physician in particular and a lot of more anonymous healthcare workers have said the hospital is woefully unprepared under supplied and not handling testing in a way to limit the spread of disease. Who would you believe? In the past couple of days we’ve had one nursing home overrun with infections and several others reporting their first few cases. So things are getting a little rough here. Jack and I are spending our days working on his school homework and taking long walks and keeping up communication with close family and friends. Thanks for reaching out.

NJ/MD-Kay (Retired/Grandmother extraordinaire)

Life here in NJ is at a standstill.  Cases are multiplying by the day!  People are counted and limited to 30 allowed in the grocery store at a time.  I wish I could say everyone is practicing isolation but they aren’t. I think this is going to be a long and deadly period in America’s history.  We sanitize, wash our hands, make our own hand sanitizer (there is not a bottle of it to be purchased in the tristate area), wash our clothes immediately after being out, and basically try not to leave the house for anything but food.  My daughter works for US Foods.  She is working from home.  She was lucky.  She is in management and was not furloughed.  Her particular group of employees had their hours cut.  Food orders have decreased but hospitals and take out restaurants and grocery stores still need deliveries.  Her company has been great in trying to do all that they can to help employees.  They are giving them food that they have overstocks of. They are pretty large handouts and so my daughter has been sharing with neighbors. One neighbor has a family member connected with the produce industry.  She has been sharing on a daily basis the excess that comes from there. People are helping each other.

Stay safe and keep the faith that we will all get through this.

 

Roanoke, VA – Erin (French teacher/musician)

Restaurants closed except for carry out. Grocery stores, co op, etc have shortened hours. Schools closed of course (and have gone to online instruction). Recently Roanoke city schools announced that students won’t go back at all this school year. People are still allowed to go out, drive, exercise, etc but not in groups over 10 and advised to keep 6 feet of distance.

 

Mountains of NC – Shelton (Hospice nurse/Master gardener)

Nature is doing her usual Spring thing, bestowing flowers, bird songs, fresh breezes, and rain, while all else is changed due to the virus.  There is the staying home part, which I enjoy.  Perfect excuse to stay home and dig, while enjoying all of the Earth’s blessings. Most of Boone is shut down anyway.  No restaurants, except take- out, no school for K-12, no App State, 75% of businesses closed, no tourists, no usual shopping, except a run to the grocery store, with hand sanitizer always, and social distancing of course.  And my work schedule is decreased, because how much can a Hospice nurse do remotely?  And then there is Zoom- the new to me way to connect with my church and work communities.  Oh, and don’t forget the fear!  Am I going to get sick?  What do the next few months hold?  Will there be enough food?- forget toilet paper, it’s been gone.  What do you do but live one day at a time right now, holding each day in gratitude for its preciousness.

 

Pátzcuaro, MX – Victoria (Innkeeper/artist)

Here is a message I just sent someone.  It is longwinded but here goes.  The person was talking about social distancing.  I don’t mean to pontificate, but I think most Gringos do not realize exactly what it means to live from morning to night financially.  Not paycheck to paycheck which is bad enough.  This virus is exposing a class difference.  We Gringos are all watching the news and wondering about ventilators and such while there are many many Mexicans who do not actually have the luxury of staying home at all.  I have to pay my staff and I am happy to.  Mexican federal labor law requires it for ALL employers to continue to pay, though I am aware that most Gringos are not requiring that the employee come to work for the protection of both parties.  I’m not positive but I believe that might be why AMLO has made the horrible mistake of lying to the people. When it hits here people are going to die.  There is no infrastructure to deal with this kind of event.  I’m in self quarantine as is Tom bc of our recent trip.  I am also prepared to die if that is my destiny.  I always knew that medical care in Mexico was not 1st World and have been ok with that.  Since I have almost no SS I am hoping tourism will return in less than a year or I am screwed.  Meanwhile, it is important to live in the moment and maintain as positive attitude as possible.  Such amazing times.  We are being given a gift..though what it is is yet to be revealed.  I for one am really appreciating each moment as it comes.  Plan for the worst and then let it go”.  Abrazos (hugs)

 

I’ll reference two other friends before I go.  One is Tracy Councill, founder of “Tracy’s Kids”, an art therapy program for children with cancer at GUH Children’s Medical Center near DC.   Therapy is on hold for now, for the safety of all concerned.  But for an uplifting story check out the attached video about a 9 year old boy who decided to do a fundraising project for Tracy’s Kids since art supplies can no longer be shared due to COVID-19.  Amazing.  He’s 10 today.  Happy birthday Jonah!

And my friend Norma Schafer of Oaxaca Cultural Navigator who is “stuck” in CA with her son.  She spends a lot of her time communicating with her indigenous friends in Oaxaca (see the link below about her village Teotitlán del Valle) and other areas of Mexico, asking how people are dealing with the limitations of this virus.

I remember “The Days of Wine & Roses”, The Beach Boys, and drive-in movies.  Every generation has their sweet memories.  And their painful ones.  COVID-19 is the pandemic from hell.  Touching each other with kindness, reaching out, makes it all a little more bearable.  Stay well!