Who do I want to be during COVID19...

[moonshadow]

I hope the mods won't mind, I wanted to plant this on a fresh thread rather than have it become buried on page 28 of an existing thread that will likely add many pages in the future...

I've had my share of ups and downs with this virus and the havoc it has wreaked... I'm grateful myself and those I care about haven't succumbed to the virus as of this writing. I'm especially grateful I haven't had to receive the news that a family member has died over this.

I'm in a bit of a funk this morning over the economy, work, the slashing of certain matters and things that made life more bearable. Indeed for this family, the hardest times may still lie ahead of us.... then I came across this and it gave me a little morale boost...

Thus, I post it here in hopes it may help others too...

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Godspeed everyone! And Good luck!

Ps, I apologize for the graininess of the image... click the image to make it a little clearer and enlarge it...

[pelmut]

It might cheer you up to hear about some of the things that have been going on over here:

In a cul-de-sac near where I live, an opera singer put notices through everyone's door to say she would be giving a recital in the street that evening; people came out and listened on their doorsteps.

A friend, whose six-year-old granddaughter is living with her, decided they couldn't let May Day pass uncelebrated, so they set up a maypole in the street and did a two-ribbon maypole dance.

My neighbours have all swapped 'phone numbers and we take it in turn to go shopping on certain days of the week.  Anyone who needs anything can ring the appropriate person and ask them to put the item on their shopping list.

My electric kettle broke down (for the fourth and final time) and I mentioned to a neighbour that I was going to have to find a hardware shop that was open.  The neighbour owns a pub which is currently closed down, so he brought back the spare kettle from the pub in case I couldn't find one.

A neighbour across the road made a batch of rock cakes and shared them out as a small celebration of the anniversary of V.E. Day.

Two different customers of mine have rung me several times in the last few weeks to make sure I am all right.


We all live a lot closer together over here, so this sort of neighbourliness is a lot easier, but the current crisis is definitely bringing out the best in people.  Friends who go to folk festivals have agreed that the feeling is very like a folk festival campsite, where you only have to ask and someone will come and help you.

[crfriend]

It might cheer you up to hear about some of the things that have been going on over here:

Thank you -- very much -- Pelmut. It's good to see things when they actually work.

We all live a lot closer together over here, so this sort of neighbourliness is a lot easier, but the current crisis is definitely bringing out the best in people.  Friends who goes to folk festivals have agrreed that the feeling is very like a folk festival campsite, where you only have to ask and someone will come and help you.

I've actually seen that in action here a few times. The Great Blackout of 1965 was one, the Blizzard of '79 was another, and the (rather localised) Ice Storm of 2008 was the last one. I was a small child for the first, a teenaged punk for the second, but for the third was a fully-functional adult who pitched into the action to clear all the fallen trees from the neighbourhood roads before the ice even really started to melt and long before the town came by to do it and a couple of days before the power came back on. The sense of camaraderie was remarkable. But, that was back when, like you, I lived in a reasonably tight-knit neighbourhood where everybody knew everybody else.

Yes, it's a fantastic then when people pull together for each other. That's what society is all about -- and it helps us survive in all aspects. It's great to see that that lives on.

[moonshadow]

We've had similar situations here in our neighborhood, granted we haven't wrapped a Maypole yet (I doubt locals here even know what one is), but our neighbor across the street baked us am awesome strawberry rhubarb pie that we enjoyed last night.

Generally speaking everyone seems to be friendly, kids are smiling and life goes on. As for the circumstances of my funk earlier, I'm afraid it is what it is. Life post COVID19 is going to be different, like it or not. Some matters, like getting to know your neighbors were a positive, other matters (economic) are a negative.

But to look at it one way, through this we lost income and job stability, but we gained some friends. I do believe that we may be better for it. So I'm just going to say this has been a net gain.

On the other hand, my relationship with my father has basically completely disintegrated. Granted, that ship was sailing anyway long before, I think COVID19 just drove the final nail in the coffin. We seem to speak about once per month now and the conversations are very short and to the point.

The sad part about it is I really don't miss him. I'm just generally disappointed at what it boiled down to. I have no role models to look up to anymore, everyone has just gone so crazy, everyone is just so angry all of the time, and I really don't understand why. In my region we are nowhere near as locked down and restricted as other parts of the nation and world, and yet all anyone does rant and complain about problems they don't have...

I also have two people, plus 4 cats and now and little dog that look upto me for answers and stability. I must remain steadfast, confident, and optimistic for their sake, all the while I know all too well the thin ice myself and those who depend on me are on...

It's quite a burden to carry. I honestly wish I had the faith of a religious man right now... I can certainly see why religion plays a part in the modern world despite science...

We'll be fine... I'll just keep towing this line and see what tomorrow brings...

[moonshadow]

This will spray a little ether (engine starter) in the ol' spirit....

https://youtu.be/j8KL63r9Zcw

[Sinned]

As I grew up ( pre and early teenage years ) I used to wonder how my father could bear the responsibility of raising a family, employment uncertainty, managing a mortgage and all the other things that went along with it. I couldn't visualise how I could manage in his place when I grew older. Of course I did grow older and have managed rather well. Maturity and all that. We tried to distill in our children to stay close and be the first point of call on each other in times of trial. We have had some success in this.