Tag Archives: Pandemic

Apr 29 2020
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Back to Life

“It’s back to normal, but it’s a different normal. It’s not the same as it was before, but people are getting back to work. Life goes on. ― Eric Young

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ― Maya Angelou

On May 1st it’s back to life, a return to some degree of normal, however, it will certainly be different, a new normal. I return to work and begin a new job as an LGBTQ+ AODA Advocate. I’m grateful. Continue reading →

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Apr 22 2020
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Stirred Crazy

For this next installment of Dispatch from the Hideout, I originally planned on writing about how I became stir crazy as I sheltered-in-place and stayed-at-home alone. Instead, following Trump’s LIBERATE Tweets which fueled demonstrations by his supporters in a number of states, I’ve changed the focus to an opinion piece, Stirred Crazy.

Stir Crazy

One benefit from the pandemic experience is I’ve learned that I’m able to thrive on my own, while still desiring social, physical, emotional, and spiritual connection with others, including loved ones and a larger community. Continue reading →

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Apr 12 2020
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Home Alone Easter Holiday

Like most holidays I celebrated as a child, Easter was a hybrid of religious traditions, the social culture from the generation in which I grew up, and our own ethnic and family rituals, which we repeated in some fashion every year.  

Easter Holidays Past

Note: Includes excerpts from Poop Eggs & Lamb Cakes

Today is the Easter Holiday and Passover. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, my family had many traditions which we repeated every year, some with glee, and others with complaints. On Easter Saturday, we’d color eggs, which the Easter Bunny would hide that night. Mom boiled two or three dozen as our family grew. She’d cover the kitchen table with newspaper and the kids would crowd around it with our crayons, the white wax marker to write our names, a spoon in hand ready to dip the eggs in the assembly line of Easter egg dye in her Corelle coffee cups. Continue reading →

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Apr 06 2020
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Home Alone Edition

“There’s a difference between solitude and loneliness.” — Maggie Smith

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self.” ― May Sarton 

This past week I hit the wall to use a metaphor. The difference between solitude and loneliness became viscerally clear. I consider myself someone who enjoys my own company and solitude, who goes to great lengths to protect it, and over the years has learned to be both independent and resilient, two skills critical to survive the pandemic. Continue reading →

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Mar 21 2020
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Pandemic Edition

“If you lived here, you’d be home by now.” — Firesign Theater

Yes, I’m home, homebound, socially distancing, not quite in a lockdown, not totally self-quarantining. I’m staying in, doing my civic duty to protect our community and to keep myself healthy. Do I get a Girl Scout Badge for that?

I’ve been socially distancing to some degree since February 28th when I was laid-off from my job which was eliminated due to a company reorganization. In the interim, I’ve conducted a job search, applied and received Unemployment Compensation, registered at the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Job Center, and gratefully, interviewed for a couple of positions before the community spread of COVID-19 changed everything. I also had a few dates with friends for coffee and/or brunch. I delivered birthday cards to my niece Gemma and nephew Quinn. With their mother, my sister, Tami, we visited outside, 6-feet apart, and I elbow-bumped my brother-in-law, Ron. All that has now ended too. Continue reading →

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Mar 01 2020
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Social Distancing

Definition of Social Distancing (Medical) – “Protecting the public health by separating communities so that people who are stricken with a contagious illness cannot pass it on to others who are not. It includes, e.g., having children stay out of school when they are ill; closing workplaces, postponing meetings, and avoiding large social or religious gatherings or sporting events. It is designed to stop the spread of epidemics or pandemics but is not as strict a limitation on social interaction as quarantine.” — Source: The Medical Dictionary – thefreedictionary.com 

Definition of Social Distancing (Psychological) – “…describes the distance between different groups in society, such as social class, race/ethnicity, gender or sexuality. Different groups mix less than members of the same group. It is the measure of nearness or intimacy that an individual or group feels towards another individual or group in a social network or the level of trust one group has for another and the extent of perceived likeness of beliefs.” — Source: Wikipedia

This is the fifth in a series of Dispatches from the Hideout which I began writing three years ago. This is the first installment of my COVID-19 dispatches written during the pandemic. Continue reading →

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