Covid-19 | History

How Things Have Changed

Our memories are short and we tend to normalize new circumstances very quickly. I use writing as a way to capture events as they happen. Later I use them to refresh my memory.

Here’s what was happening in my neck of the woods in May 2020.

A- Alone we are together. Together we are Alone. Airports are empty, airlines are struggling to survive. Antibody tests may determine if you’ve been infected with Covid.

B- Bathrooms for truckers became a problem as restaurants closed. Bike riding is a dream because traffic is low and the streets are safer. Borders are closed.

C- Care homes are a seriously risky place to be. Also cruise ships. C is also for cancellations of live music events and any other large group gathering. Cashless is now an achievable goal.

D- Drive in meetings with God. Church services in the parking lot are one way to gather in communion while remaining distant. Drive in movies are making a comeback. Delivery services skyrocketed as people shop from their home. Some people are Dicks about following the rules.

E- Essential workers include the lowest paid people — the grocery clerk, cleaners, students working at the take out, truckers

F- We are trapped in a fucking terrible first time — we are all in a vulnerable experience together. Farmers faced with broken distribution chains are struggling to find new customers. Families are separated by quarantines.

G- Grocery stores are suddenly dangerous places where mask, gloves, social distancing, marks on the floors and plexiglass protections are all in place. Farmers are struggling to get their food to new markets because so many businesses have closed. Growing your own food has become essential.

H- Some of the most vulnerable people are homeless in the danger zone.— hand sanitizer is in high demand, Hugs are one of the things I miss the most.

I- Ignoring the mail for 24 hours after you pick it up. The same with deliveries from amazon etc.

J- just another f*cking day, on repeat

K- Kids can get a Covid related syndrome — as if Covid itself wasn’t enough.

L- Learning to accept what is, rather than hoping for what things used to be. Landscape gardening is a new pastime of the privileged.

M- Masks are becoming more common, especially in certain environments. We are learning to smile with our eyes. Migrant workers are walking hundreds of miles to get home to their families.

N- Needs — or what we didn’t need. I hope we remember what we realized we didn’t need. We didn’t need to drive when we could walk or bike. We didn’t need to go to the store every day. We didn’t need to fill every moment of our time trying to achieve. I hope we remember it’s ok to sit and breathe. It’s ok to stop sleepwalking through life.

O- Old people — especially seniors in homes are vulnerable.

P- People are more important than things.

Q- Questions, questions, questions. How long, how serious, how quickly will we respond.

R- Restaurants don’t have enough of a profit margin to survive on a 50% opening. Selected cities placed a moratorium on evictions, causing some tenants to take advantage of landlords by not paying their rent.

S- Social distancing is one of the pillars of the strategy to keep new cases from overwhelming our health care system. Some societies are providing subsidies to support citizens. Shopping local is on the rise.

T- Truck drivers have nowhere to eat, nowhere to shower or pee, yet they are essential to the distribution chain. Of all things, there were Toilet paper shortages.

U- Many unsung heroes were revealed by the lockdown. I didn’t expect to discover that essential workers included grocery store clerks and cleaners, truck drivers and the high school student that works at the local take-out window. They’re in one of the lowest pay grades yet their work is important to keep our society functioning at a basic level.

V- Ventilators are in high demand as we treat people for this virus.

W- The Wuhan shake is a foot tap greeting instead of a handshake. Wild animals are moving into the spaces vacated by humans.

X- The X factor is prolonged exposure to Covid. Infection is related to how long you stay in an environment that may contain the virus.

Y- Yeast shortages are common because people are baking bread more than before.

Z- Zoom is the new black. Animals in the Zoo miss people. And we miss them.

I’d love it if you add your experiences in the comments and I’ll update this list.
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