The news keeps coming at us, every day another set of facts and numbers and realizations about Covid-19 and this stunning situation that send our minds and emotions reeling.
Even the weather today bordered on being ‘too much,’ at least temperature-wise. Temperatures reaching 78 degrees on the 20thof March definitely seem to be flirting with ‘too much.’
Not that I didn’t delight in the chance to sit on our porch in the extraordinary warmth of the sun and revel in birdsong that seemed to weave around and wrap me in a gentle, life-affirming hug.
Complexity of Clouds – Photo: L. Weikel
Moody Walk
As we walked late this afternoon, Karl and I marveled at the ever-changing artistry playing out before our eyes.
I so wish I could post my little videos – or even my ‘live’ photos that allow you to hear the audio that accompanies some of my photos. The peepers were deafening tonight.
I took so many photos on our walk. I’d love to share them all. But I will save them. Savor them. Bring them out to share on some of the days when I need to reach into my memory.
But for now, I will share these three.
Don’t Forget
I’ve not too much to say tonight except, “Wash your damn hands,” which I say with love, affection, and a glimmer of hope.
A glimmer at the end of the tunnel? – Photo: L. Weikel
Anonymous Representative of Coronavirus Birthday Celebrants Everywhere
Coronavirus Equinox Birthday
Coronavirus Equinox Birthday. Well, there’s a mouthful for you. What a day.
I gave birth to a certain someone 32 years ago today. Alas, the 19thof March was not the spring equinox that year, which definitely would’ve made the day even more sacred than it already his arrival certainly made it for me. But on the upside, there wasn’t a pandemic stampeding across the globe, with nary a facemask or bottle of hand sanitizer in sight.
Festivity Buzzkill
I have to say, this social distancing, and in some cases social isolation, is a festivity buzzkill. All in service to the preservation of mankind, though, which I totally support and appreciate.
However – and Karl will back me up on this I’m sure – we need to implement new rules with respect to pandemic birthdays. Why? Because when we’re forced to forego actually being together and celebrating as a family, somebody always ends up a LOSER.
Since we live fairly close to each other, we’ve frequently had the chance to celebrate birthdays with the “CVEB-Boy” as the years have gone by. All – every single one –has involved a sharing of cake (unless one or the other of us was out of town or otherwise indisposed).
All have involved birthday cake, most often of the Aunt Carol’s Cake variety.
This time, though, because of our adherence to the CDC and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Guidance on maintaining social distancing, we found ourselves in a particularly difficult spot.
The Police song “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” kept repeating in a never-ending loop in my head, while my tastebuds yearned to be rewarded for my efforts not only in birthing a 9 lb. 4 oz. baby 32 years ago but also in baking a chocolate cake in the midst of a pandemic.
I risked my life buying butter and powdered sugar for that icing.
Proof of Love
You’ve heard the expression, “proof of life,” in kidnap situations? Well, I feel like I delivered proof of love instead.
This is what I delivered to the doorstep of my middle son this afternoon. In the midst of a pandemic.
Coronavirus Birthday Treats – Photo: L. Weikel
So, you tell me. (And yes, that’s three flavors of Owowcow ice cream, too). Even in the midst of a pandemic, when the meme above is (sadly but hilariously) representative of all those celebrating birthdays around the world in these troubled times, I think we can all agree on one thing: this guy (my guy) scored. Big time.
Especially since he didn’t have to share any of it with us!
I hope you had a great birthday, Middle Son. Your personal anniversary, on the equinox no less, is especially precious this year. I hope we’ll be able to share the treats next year. In person.
Alas, I’m not referring to anyone or any particular country’s dramatic recovery from the current scourge of the century, the Coronavirus or Covid-19. But I am referring to Mother Earth.
Left to her own devices, free from the oppressive influence and intervention of humans, she bounces back to clarity, purity, and vibrant good health astonishingly quickly.
It seems to me that nature is showing us quite clearly that it doesn’t need us to take care of itself at all. In fact, we’re almost certainly the anchors around its neck. Here is an article with some great links to information that gives me renewed hope for the future of our planet.
I want to have hope about our ability to quickly and effectively address climate change. In truth, I think the fundamentally most important thing any of us can do is get out of nature’s way. And to that end? I have to wonder:
Is this massive, unprecedented halt of human activity around the globe the last desperate act of Mother Earth to show us just how toxic and deadly we’ve become to her?
It sure seems to me like it to me.
The question is whether, when we come out on the other side of this devastating scourge, we will simply resume our ugly old habits, or rub the sleep out of our eyes, look around, and realize – this time, on a global level – “never again.”
As I lamented in my post Banging the Drum, the announced closure of the State Parks in Bucks and Montgomery Counties was both a shock and a deep disappointment. While I certainly understood, of course, the need to mitigate the danger of spreading the Coronavirus infection to park visitors and staff, closing these State Parks at this time, especially, felt ill-advised. After all, schools are being closed and people are being essentially counseled to ‘stay home’ and not go anywhere where there are crowds of people.
What better invitation (and need) to spend some quality time in nature than that?
Obviously, the best way to accomplish the goal of promoting the safety of park staff and visitors was believed to be by shutting down all buildings and facilities, including restrooms, and postponing or canceling all programs where staff and visitors would be meeting in groups. Given that it was a ‘complete’ shutdown, all parking lots were also closed.
I was even more distressed the next day, when I read about New York’s Governor Cuomo shutting down that state, yet recognizing the therapeutic value of being in nature decided at the same time to waive the state park fees – in order to promote New Yorkers’ connection to and enjoyment of the outdoors.
Change of Heart
But I’m excited to report that a little bird told me that a change of heart occurred! Apparently, when Governor Wolf decided to close down the entire state of Pennsylvania the day after the announcement of complete closure of the parks that I mentioned in my post, the powers-that-be realized the critical need of the citizenry to have somewhere in nature they can go to get away from the four walls of their homes, soak up some Vitamin D, feel the wind in their hair, sun on their faces, and just be in the company of trees and creeks and rivers and rocks.
Take heed, though! The closure of all facilities and amenities at the parks remains in effect. That means, of course, that you need to relieve yourself of your morning or afternoon’s ingestion of beverages before arriving at the park.
And your added responsibilities don’t end there. The State Park system has been forced to send certain staff home for quarantine and because the buildings are all being closed. While Park Rangers will continue to be in the area, they may be spread a bit thinner.
So use your head. Don’t get cocky. Give yourself the gift of being in nature and enjoying it without drama.
Our lives are all entering uncharted territory at this point. We’ve made our preparations to ‘hunker down’ as best as we can, but we know, deep down, that this is not some blizzard that will only take a couple days to clear. We’re in a place of recalibration and re-centering. We have to adjust to a starkly new reality – for the long haul.
Gratitude for Public Access to Nature
I’m ever so thankful that Pennsylvania DCNR has discovered the middle way of protecting its park staff and citizens, while allowing them to enjoy and embrace the benefits of being nurtured by Mother Earth.
We are entering a time in our evolution, as humans, in which we are facing some fundamental, existential choices. And this ‘time’ that we’re entering is not some epoch or age, some grander than our mortal lives massive measurement of time. No. We are in the initiation. The existential questions are being asked now. Right now. Right in the midst of our tiny, very tangible and measurable lifetimes.
I’ve mentioned before as this pandemic started looming on the horizon (before it was even characterized as a pandemic) that I sensed some major shifts in our reality coming toward us. Shifts that make us realize that the course we’ve been following not only is unsustainable but has hit a wall. Shifts that tell us, “Nothing is going to be the same.”
Self-Inflicted 9/11
In some ways, we might look upon what’s happening as a self-inflicted 9/11. When the United States was attacked by those three hijackings that gorgeous, azure-skied September morning, and we watched the twin towers crumble before our eyes, we knew instinctively that nothing would ever be the same.
And yet…in many ways, we humans resumed our blind and tone-deaf ways. While the world stood with all of us in the U.S. in the days and weeks following 9/11, eventually we – our government, our leaders – turned those events into the perfect justification to not only continue on our selfish, unsustainable path of war and greed and abuse of power, but to double down on it.
Greed Unchecked
Indeed, our selfishness and greed roared back to life, seatbelts or restraints on behavior that could easily get out of hand were removed. Everyone in the U.S. celebrated the amazing recovery we were enjoying, not a little bit funded by the seemingly never-ended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, neither of which had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks, which supposedly justified them in the first place.
And then the 2008 financial debacle happened.
That, too, was going to change everything.
It didn’t.
Not only didn’t our over-consumptive, unsustainable, greedy ways continue. No, we flouted the existence of climate change. We pursued fracking here in the United States, a process of injecting unbelievably toxic materials into Mother Earth all in the pursuit, not only of unsustainable energy to burn but also money to burn. Climate effects be damned.
Out of Balance
All of these opportunities to make choices on how we are going to proceed in our evolution (or not), have resulted in us making choices that have caused us to grow more and more out of balance with everything else on this planet, including the planet herself.
The virus we’re facing right now is ravaging our species – all over the world, without care of nationality, skin color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation – because we have no natural immunity to it. And because we’ve lied to ourselves and willingly swallowed the lies being told to us. In order to deal with all of this, without losing massive numbers of our own, we must work together.
So far, our reaction, the reaction of the United States, has been barreling along on the trajectory we seem to have been following for many years, but most especially since entering this century.
We can still turn this around. But we need to do it now. We need to take to heart this dramatic, unprecedented challenge to what we think of as our lives and our societies and make some drastically different choices.
A Wonderful Perspective
I recommend this lovely thought-provoking piece as a completely different way of looking at what we’re experiencing right now. I, for one, would love to continue reflecting upon the questions posed here as the days, weeks, and months of this new life of ours unfolds.
High Rocks State Park (14 March 2020) – Photo: L. Weikel
Banging the Drum
If you’ve been reading this blog for any extended period of time, you’ve probably caught on to the fact that I love taking walks. I’ve written about how vitally important walking in nature is to my life, including the profound impact it’s had on my marriage. And now I’m banging the drum about walking even more as we all do our best to develop new coping strategies.
Gratitude
I’m feeling grateful for the weather this past week, as it was nice enough for us to walk every single day. This turned out to be exceedingly important to my mental health, as crises on the national and global stages, such as the spread of the Coronavirus, to personal issues looming large with clients and friends seemed to erupt every day.
The perspective and pleasure afforded by simply being in nature and physically moving forward reliably helped me sort out my thoughts and feelings about all sorts of matters – even things I didn’t realize were weighing on me.
Karl and I have remarked a number of times to each other already how lucky it is that this pandemic didn’t land on us in November. With the closing of all the schools and the admonition to engage in social distancing, it just seems like having to endure all of that while being cooped up in our homes would have been even far more difficult. (And believe me, I’m not thinking or saying any of this is going to be easy.)
What in the World?
So you can imagine my utter distress when I encountered this sign yesterday at High Rocks State Park. I’d also received notification via text message that Lake Nockamixon State Park was closing as well. You can check out exactly what this closure means here, and also see which parks are affected. You can also use it to keep an eye on whether they will extend the closures beyond the next two weeks or include other parks as the situation unfolds.
While I can understand closing the administration buildings and rest rooms at these parks, I am puzzled over why they are closing the parking lots. Reading the link above, it does sound as though the trails themselves remain accessible, so hopefully they’ll go easy on enforcing the parking.
It simply doesn’t make sense to me that we would be restricting residents’ ability to get outside in the fresh air and walk, hike, bike, explore nature, go birding, learn about plants, and maybe even brush up on some survival skills, especially when the schools across the state are all closed for at least two weeks!
It Does a Body Good
Here’s an interesting article I came across today. While it’s not technically about walking or being out in nature in a recreational capacity (which seems to me would be even more beneficial), it does discuss some fascinating research and conclusions from studying the 1918 Spanish flu.
And if you’re questioning why the entire country seems to be implementing more and more draconian measures to help stem the spread of this virus, such as closing restaurants, bars, schools, and pretty much everything except food stores and pharmacies, here’s an article that explains the reasoning.
All in all, it will be much better for all of us (but especially our hospitals, which may soon get walloped by unprecedented numbers of people showing up all at once) if we can stem the exponential growth now. Every single day we wait to implement these measures increases the risks for all of us. So I guess the best thing we can hope for is to look back on the very weird times we’re going to endure and say, “It didn’t get as bad as it could have.”
Because that will mean these drastic measures worked.
Stay calm, stay centered, find something to be grateful for every day, and if you can – get outside and listen to those peepers!
Sometimes we have to know when things have reached a point of no return.
In case you haven’t noticed? We’re there.
For forever I’ve been a proponent of maintaining our connection with Mother Earth.
So…now is the time to Walk Our Talk. BE who we profess to be. Live our truth.
This won’t be long post. It doesn’t need to be long to matter to those who read it.
Rubber Meet the Road
It’s where the rubber literally meets the road.
Over the next days, weeks, and months we’re going to be asked to reflect on what really matters to all of us. We’re going to have to make decisions that none of us ever expected to have to make.
It’s not going to be an easy time. It’s going to be painful and ugly and hard and excruciating at times. But you know what?
The people who resonate with us, who look at us and know Who We Are at the deepest level will stand with us and be there for us when no one else is.
I’m not quite sure why, but it felt, today, like the country finally hit a tipping point. All of a sudden people seem to have awakened to the fact that this pandemic is real and it’s going to start impacting all of us now. Yup. Even Americans.
It wasn’t the President finally declaring a national emergency, either. I say that because when I ventured out today, hours before the declaration was made (and “no responsibility at all” was taken), I most definitely detected a dramatic shift in attitude all around me. People were more than edgy. It wasn’t quite panic yet; but the anxiety level was dramatically more palpable today than it was at the start of the week. And the parking lots of all the grocery stores were packed.
Cleaned Out
I was especially astonished when I went into our local Giant supermarket and discovered a ‘pathway to checkout’ had been created, guiding shoppers to their designated cashier in a chute not unlike cattle going to…
Yeah, you get the picture.
But upon chatting with the cashier who was lucky enough to encounter me and my dozen bars of cheddar cheese to ring out (don’t judge; we all have our comfort foods), I discovered that the real craziness had started yesterday, when people were apparently so backed up into lines waiting to check out that other shoppers couldn’t get down aisles or even enter the produce department. Hence the rope line today.
Glad I missed that.
I have to admit, I didn’t even go down the paper goods or hand sanitizer aisles. I did, however, think I might pick up an extra bag or two of frozen spinach – but as you can see from the photo below was quickly disabused of that notion.
Frozen Vegetables Decimated at Giant – Photo: L. Weikel
What’s Really Important
I’ve come to the conclusion that this unprecedented societal experience we’re all having is causing us to run up against some pretty profound choices and realizations.
Some of these might superficially seem mundane. But I actually think they may give us more insight into ourselves than we realize. I sort of think that’s at least partially behind the run on toilet paper. I’m not judging it one way or the other; I’m just saying…it says something about us if the thing we don’t want to get caught without for several days is toilet paper. Perhaps something different if it’s cheese. The hand sanitizer is in a league of its own. We are dealing with a rampant damn virus after all.
Pandemic Panacea
Which brings me to the light bulb moment I had earlier this week.
When I started thinking about what I might want to ‘stock up on’ just in case things get really dicey out there, I made a shocking/not shocking discovery of what’s most important to me: coffee and chocolate. Two substances that have the power to either perk me up or take the edge off…just enough to help me find my center and maintain my balance.
That’s why, earlier this week, while other people were plotting their runs on bathroom tissue (poor choice of words?) and before hand sanitizer flew off the shelves in droves, I made sure I had enough of my precious panacea to tide me over for a potential long haul.
According to dictionary.com, panacea is defined as:
1. A remedy for all disease or ills; cure-all.
2. An answer or solution for all problems or difficulties.
It’s my considered opinion that we all need to find our own unique Pandemic Panacea. Given my earlier admission about cheese, I supposed you could add that to my PP list. And yeah, there might be a couple other eclectic additions as well.
What’s interesting to me is that I have a feeling this is just the first of a number of discoveries I’m going to make about myself as I bear witness to something I can barely imagine unfold before my very eyes.
Coronowl Pondering Chocolate – Photo: L. Weikel
Confession? I might have to retreat into my shell occasionally. Hint: the chocolate pictured above may not be the only kind I’ve squirreled away.
I’ll admit it; I’ve been following the unfolding drama of the Coronavirus pandemic as it has blossomed and spread across the world since late December/early January. I’ve listened to the reporters and epidemiologists explain what we’ve been seeing and tell us what we could expect when the infection inevitably reached our shores. And sadly, based on what I’ve observed, and read, and come to understand, I believe we’ve reached the point where we need to wake up, open our eyes, and trust.
No, not some outside force. Notice I said “sadly.” That’s because it would be reassuring and at least a tad bit comforting if we could let down our collective guard enough to trust our leaders, our elected officials, to tell us the best information on how to handle this crisis of infection.
That’s what most of us have believed in, I think. No matter how cynical we might be about politics, most of us have held fast to the belief, deep down, that when we – and by ‘we’ I mean Americans – need to face a crisis as a nation, we stick together, step up to the challenge, and overcome it.
That’s what we do.
That’s who we are.
Crisis of Faith
But that’s not how it’s working out at the moment. Right now, we are being forced to reckon with the fact that we have people at the helm of our government who are actively attempting to manipulate our perception of reality to such an extent that we don’t even accept or follow simple, common sense advice anymore.
Common sense advice like being extra vigilant about washing our hands, since physical contact with the virus, especially via our hands, is the strongest vector of contracting the illness, Covid-19.
Common sense advice like, even if we feel fine, staying away from large groups of people, whether at stores, or at theaters, or at major sporting events, since wherever lots of people gather, there are lots more opportunities to have the virus spread from person to person to person.
Common sense advice like staying at home if we feel sick. Knowing that we shouldn’t go to work if we feel like something that cat dragged in; recognizing that we really should go shopping if we have a fever and a cough.
We’re having a crisis of faith. It’s a crisis of faith in who we can trust.
A Huge Test
The way this crisis is unfolding in our country is a huge test. It’s a test of us as a nation and it’s a test of each of us on an individual basis. And yes, it is a crisis. My use of that word is not hyperbole. It’s reality.
If you’ve been paying attention, the calmest and smartest among us have been sounding the alarm, quietly but assertively. They knew that things would reach a tipping point that would change everything. All of a sudden, all of the reassurances of those who mocked science would come crashing down. Because this stuff grows exponentially.
And now it’s time to turn within. For each one of us to get quiet and sense within ourselves, “How do I want to react to this situation?”
“How can I best take care of myself and those I love?
My suggestion, respectfully, is to trust your heart. Trust your inner knowing.
Stop running. Breathe deeply. Go within your own self and find your calm center. Trust that most of all.
The situation we’re facing at the moment appears pretty dire. I’d say we’re facing unquestionably stark times as individuals, as families, as a country, and as global citizens.
If you don’t appreciate just how worrisome this situation is, I suggest you listen to the first 20 minutes or so of this You Tube interview. It’s chilling.
It’s chilling, yes – but it also contains essential information that we all need to hear and fully process, because hiding our heads in the sand is not going to make this situation better nor will willful ignorance help us get through it any more quickly. In fact, just the opposite.
Who’s Susceptible?
One thing I found extremely interesting (if disturbing) was that we’ve been telling ourselves that the people most at risk of succumbing to the virus are older people who have underlying respiratory issues. This is based on information gleaned from the outbreak in China.
The trouble with extrapolating from that data is the fact that so many Chinese men are smokers. Indeed, Chinese men smoke a lot more than Chinese women, which may be a significant driver as far as why older Chinese men are often those least likely to survive the virus.
What’s being discovered in the United States (with, admittedly, the limited data we have at the moment due to the dearth of test kits made available) is that smoking is not as significant a risk factor here. Rather, one of the highest risk factors in our country, besides age and respiratory underlying issues, is obesity.
Think about that! That’s a huge problem in our country. And it almost certainly makes a much larger portion of our population susceptible to less than optimal outcomes should they contract the virus.
This is huge.
It’s the Testing
There’s so much we don’t know. And man, I hate that. I hate it when I can remember when we could rely on being totally on top of our game as a nation. I love remembering how our policies were the best anyone could come up with because they were developed before a situation became a crisis.
So much of what we do not know stems from the fact that our federal government has botched our ability to test for infection. It’s been an epic fail. And sadly, we’re still not getting straight answers as far as when we can expect substantial numbers of test kits to be distributed around the country.
We need to demand accountability. We need to demand straight answers.
We need to demand THE TRUTH. And sorry, there aren’t different versions of that. The truth is the truth.
And our lives depend upon hearing it – whether we like it or not.
