‘Like Walking in Wet Sand’
It’s been another month of the same old, same old. I saw this quote somewhere on the internet and thought it was appropriate. One day just seems to roll into another. We’re all just trudging along.
It’s the Little Things in Life
Pretty flowers, a cold beer, a good book…it’s the little things that I look forward to nowadays. Yet, I can’t seem to remain happy, or satisfied. I constantly worry about everything and everyone. There’s a definite “lack of control” that for people like me is unsettling and unacceptable. I’m beginning to understand how isolationists feel…stressed, paranoid, not able or willing to think clearly.
The Great Escape
As I first posted on Facebook on April 14th, after more than two weeks at home, I broke quarantine and toured Memphis from the safety of my car. While far from a ghost town, I was taken aback by the empty feel of the city – especially in downtown and Midtown. At the same time, I was surprised by the number of construction workers, city work crews, etc. hard at work like any normal day. Most, if not all of them, had no face coverings at all.
You Gotta Have Faith
My relationship with the Almighty is a tenuous one to say the least. This situation has neither strengthened or diminished that relationship. I honestly don’t understand people of faith who turn their backs on fellow human beings all in the name of politics or a particular way of thinking. I sincerely hoped that our country would figure out some things, maybe even come together. That lasted for about two or three weeks. Now, it’s everyone for themselves and to hell with others.
Easter was particularly troubling. Frankly, I’m not sure what I believe any more. But to paraphrase the late George Michael…You gotta have faith, faith, faith.
Note: As I mentioned in Part Two, I’ll have a longer discussion about people and religion. That will be in Part Four.
Old School Becomes New School
It’s funny how because of work-at-home and safer at home measures – self-quarantining included – old things have become rediscovered, even in our digital age. Pictures of people playing board games, trivia night via Skype or Zoom…people walking, jogging, and bike riding. I’ve seen and met more neighbors in the past two months than have in the past two years.
Folks hanging out on their porches and listening to music. Even sidewalk art has become a cheap, easy time-filler. Reading, even through digital means, has become a popular pastime, once again.
A Green Thumb and Brown Knees
Gardening, too, became a more popular pastime. It’s late April, so around here that means it’s time to work outside in the garden. I finally got out of the house – with the help of my daughter, Emily – to buy plants and such at a local nursery. It was good to be around plants, once again. Zoe even went along for the ride.
Manna From Heaven
After a full day of yard work and gardening, I was exhausted and starving. Meals, like Vicki’s famous spaghetti sauce (as seen on the right) made it all worthwhile. In fact, cooking and eating have become central characters in this weird pandemic teleplay we find ourselves in.
Meals are a combination of our tried and true favorites, or new recipes found online…as long as we can have the right ingredients. In some cases, our meals are simply improvised with whatever’s on hand. Nothing wrong with that and no complaints from me.
Every time Vicki (or, Emily) goes grocery shopping it’s like Christmas when she returns. Oooh, what did we get? Oh, toilet paper! I love it! Did you get any candy? It’s amazing what being holed-up for almost two months does to your expectations.
Advocacy Work Continues
My latest article for Skincancer.net was posted on April 23rd. (Recurring Vigilance) Since that time, it’s been difficult if not impossible for me to write on a consistent (and focused) basis. That’s one reason this post is more than a month after its date.
Hopefully I’ll soon get back on-track.
For now, thanks and stay safe.
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March 24, 2020 – Here’s the second in my pictorial journey through self-imposed home quarantine. As I stated the last time (see Part One), I’ll try to keep it light and try my best – no guarantees – to keep out the politics and frustration (a hard one at this point). We all need to smile a little more, right now.
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| Aero Garden in the kitchen. We should have grown veggies instead of petunias. |
Pandemic Hits Home
Thursday, March 19th, Vicki comes in the back door and puts her things down in the dining room. She has an odd look on her face. It’s lunch time, so both Emily and I are sitting at the table in our breakfast nook. I ask her if everything’s okay…she proceeds to tell us that a coworker – who is new to her department – just got a call that her adult son was sent home from work because he has a cough and was running a fever. Suddenly, coronavirus gets even more real for our family.
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| Really? Sleep in here? |
Upstairs/Downstairs
We disinfect everything – and I mean everything. Vicki moves all of her day-to-day things into the dining room. We use clean dish towels to touch door handles and sink faucets. Emily and I continue to eat in the kitchen area while Vicki stays mostly in the dining room and the (rarely used) living room. Emily and I commandeer the den.
I sleep in the mother-in-law’s quarters downstairs. Zoe, of course, sleeps downstairs with me, but she doesn’t like it. Life is now very surreal. We have a much better appreciation of how people on the front lines of the pandemic deal with everyday life.
Weather, Weather, Weather
As I said in Part One, the weather in Memphis has been crappy – and that’s putting it nicely. Warm and rainy one day, cold and rainy the next. It makes a weird, depressing situation even more miserable. You can’t go outside, and it’s so dreary that every day looks like nightfall. Ugh.
God Paid the Utility Bill
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| Finally…sunshine! |
Finally…sunshine! Saturday (March 21st) was a glorious day. The sun was out almost the entire day. The neighbors were out, too, which was a mixed blessing. I’m not sure everyone is on board with social distancing. In particular, one set of neighbors are all crammed together in the front yard yucking it up and playing a form of tennis on the driveway. I watch from my front porch as one player hands a racquet to another neighbor (not a family member, by the way), who proceeds to get in the game. Yeah, I’m really not sure that everyone – even when one of those neighbors has cancer – understands how serious this situation has become.
One other note – We were invited (via text) to come over and hang out with these same neighbors. Vicki replied – also via text – that we may been exposed and needed to self-isolate. Did she get a response? Has she gotten any kind of response to this day? Nah. Piece of advice – If someone who’s married to a Stage IV cancer patient says that she may have been exposed to a deadly virus, and, therefore, we need to stay away from each other and everyone else, shouldn’t you do the courteous, caring thing and – at the very least – respond? People. I’ll address this, especially “religious” folk, in my next installment.
Zombie Apocalypse
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| Apple Store in Germantown. Four o’clock on a Sunday afternoon. |
After about two weeks of being at home, I decided that Sunday to get cleaned up, put on some real clothes, and drive around Germantown. Vicki and Emily had told me about the store closures and empty grocery shelves, but I wanted to see – from the safety of my car – what this pandemic looks like. It was – as I told Vicki when I got home – like a zombie apocalypse. No one’s out. Very few people driving around. Shopping center parking lots empty – on a Sunday afternoon! Wow.
Thanks, as always, for listening…and be safe and, if you can, stay home!
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March 20, 2020 – After yet another week of self-imposed quarantine at home, I decided to post about our current situation through a series of pictures. I’ll try to keep it light and try to keep out politics and frustration. We all need to smile a little more, right now.
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| Pretty hyacinths during my walk. Of course it’s wet outside. |
Corona Blues…The Early Days
After the initial shock of Bloody Thursday (March 5th), when it seemed the entire sports world shutdown simultaneously, the reality of what was happening around us began to take hold. No more handshaking, learning to socially distance, constantly washing your hands. All those things now seem quaint, or almost normal.
The New Normal
Long lines at Costco – and just about everywhere else. Toilet paper hoarding. Rumors flying faster than Air Force One. Those midday press conferences, or Coronavirus Briefings, which seemed to be held for both informational purposes and as a form of online entertainment.
Here in Memphis, it continues to rain.
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| Emily bought us cupcakes from Muddy’s. Eventually all small businesses had to close. |
Who’ll Stop the Rain
Seriously…will it ever stop raining? Everyone on TV and the internet says go outside, go for a walk, get some fresh air. I’d like to, but it never stops raining. Meanwhile, more events are postponed or cancelled. More states begin to shutdown everyday activities and non-essential services.
And I wonder, still I wonder…who’ll stop the rain!
The Beat Goes On
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| Germantown horses understand social distancing. |
After almost two weeks of a new normal, we settled into somewhat of a routine. It warmed up outside and, occasionally, stopped raining for a few hours during the day. I began walking a little farther each day, getting a chance to revisit places and sights that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Memories of those spots bring a variety of emotions. Some good, some sad. Seems everyone is having a little corona blues.
At the same time, the outside world seemed to be spinning more and more out-of-control. It’s just surreal, as we seem to repeat every days. Schools closing for two weeks and then indefinitely. Universities on hiatus with distance learning to come. More and more cases of COVID reported in the U.S.
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| The obligatory Corona beer picture. |
Final Thoughts
I continue to be on the mend from my latest skin cancer removal (see Don’t Believe the Gripe). It’s frustrating to be at home – like most everyone else – but I’m thankful to have a place to be.
As my friends continue to say, “Weird, weird times.”
Thanks for listening.
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