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Have people in your community supported one another during the pandemic? Talk about why or why not, and maybe give some examples.
I took this photo in Berkeley, California in late April of 2020. There was so much thoughtfulness and loving humor that went into the notice and the message it conveyed. This is one of many signs that people tacked up on telephone poles and bulletin boards during the pandemic, offering help to others who might be at a higher risk of infection. My spirits have been lifted every time I’ve seen these signs of people willing to take some risk to help their neighbors.
June 17, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of WHO declaring Covid as a pandemic, so lots of memories swirling around thinking back to one year ago. I was on a Rotary service project in Guatemala. Learning about and working with Wakami. I don’t remember actually hearing about the pandemic being declared per se. There had been no reported cases in Guatemala, so we felt like we were in a safety bubble. We did go to one nice restaurant and temperatures were taken. Coming off the plane, temperatures were taken. In the States (we left from LAX), all we noticed different were hand sanitizers everywhere. News was not something we were paying too much attention to. On Monday, our second day in country, the stock market tanked. Two days later, one or my fellow travelers got word that the local schools were shutting down. It was surreal. As we approached FRIDAY, the day before we were leaving, we learned that flights in and out of Guatemala were being halted by Monday. We basically just made it out. Flying into LAX, still no precautions at all like we had seen in Guatemala. When I was going through security to catch my connecting flight from LAX to sacramento, my small jar of hand sanitizer was confiscated and tossed. I was so pissed. How much sense does that make when it was a product you could find anywhere. And this was before airlines were doing all the cleaning they were doing. Absolutely ridiculous! I haven’t thought of that last experience for some time. Still pisses me off. Clearly an example of things to come where we as a country did not fully have our act together. Imagine if we had indicated everyone should be wearing masks from day 1, but didn’t because we didn’t want to take PPE away from health providers. Does feel like we are coming to the final phase of this experience that will be studied for generations to come. I only hope we learn our lessons and don’t find this to be the prelude of worse pandemics to come.
March 13, 2021