When the orders came down in March 2020 to shelter-in-place due to Covid-19, most people had a place to shelter in. Due to an improbable sequence of events (illnesses, retirement, medical advice) I had three options. This was not necessarily a good problem to have, but one that would work itself.
In the process my peer group turned completely over from mainly elderly people to mainly children. Suddenly I was many decades older than most of those around me.
The effect was stunning. Instead of isolating myself, monitoring my vital signs for indications of further decline, and finalizing my will, I suddenly was helping a 6-year-old learn to read, a 9-year-old puzzle over math, and a 12-year-old determined to develop his survival skills.
They had a lot of questions and expected me to have at least a few answers.
Looking into the future almost immediately replaced looking at the past. I stopped working on my memoir and reverted to my professional role of a newshound. Gathering, presenting and interpreting the daily news became my obsession.
In the process, I had many conversations with my grandchildren about what we were going through together. They had a far different view of Covid than my older friends -- they found it somewhat exciting, confusing and frustrating at the same time.
They didn't mind staying home from school, wearing masks, or mastering new technologies like Zoom calls. In fact they were already better using computers and mobile devices than their teachers.
But they couldn't have playdates, sleepovers or birthday parties with friends and this was an unwelcome change, to put it mildly.
One solution explored by many families was getting them pets. We did that here with baby quail. Another was to celebrate special occasions by converging on the house of a child whose birthday it was to create a shrine outside -- colorful sidewalk chalk greetings, flowers, and surprises in bags left at the front door.
Back at home, the family dinner hour became newly significant and a time when parents could exchange new information about the pandemic with their children.
There was no known treatment or vaccine, they explained, against a virus that was silent and invisible. You couldn't smell it, feel it or taste it. It came in on the wind and attached itself to you so you had to wash your hands constantly and avoid touching each other except when absolutely necessary. You could never touch a stranger.
Most of all, we all had to remain separate in our family groups.
As if this all wasn't strange and scary enough, the kids got a first-hand dose of what that thing they kept hearing about -- climate change -- was all about when the worst wildfire season in history started up here in Northern California. The fires seemed to be everywhere around us and the smoke and haze moved into our region for days at a time. Had we not already been confined to the house, this would have chased us in because you couldn't breathe outside.
The sky turned orange.
As I navigated these experiences with my grandchildren, my worries about my own health faded into the background.
For over a year I had been walking with a cane and living life in what is best called a passive manner -- relying on others to do the cooking and cleaning and laundry. I lived in a constant state of thinking I needed to be taken care of.
Now that felt selfish and unnecessary. I was around young people who *really* needed caretakers to guide them through an unprecedented crisis.
As I started contributing around the household by cooking, cleaning and supervising the kids, I starting to get noticeably better physically.
With the physical changes, came more mental clarity and less of the confusion I'd felt in the aftermath of the stroke. The weird dreams subsided a bit and I started having more confidence in my ability to express myself.
My writing evolved day by day and I developed relationships here on Facebook that helped me to keep going.
One thing was crystal clear -- the pandemic was a life-changing experience not just for me but for millions of people. Most everyone was reevaluating their place in the world every bit as much as I was.
Then our world changed profoundly right before our eyes. Massive demonstrations unlike anything since the 60s filled up the streets; progressive social change once again was in the air. It was all triggered by the George Floyd murder, but the implications went way beyond the awful problems of structural racism and police violence -- they reached into every corner of our social consciousness.
It was one of the most inspiring things I'd seen in decades. Out of the ashes of the pandemic a new world suddenly seemed possible -- based on justice, equality, freedom.
Of course there was a dark side to this as well, and no one epitomized that better than the man occupying the White House.
(To be continued.)
***
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that three researchers at the Wuhan lab studying a bat virus that is the closest known relative to SARS-CoV-2 became sick enough in November 2019 that they had to go to the hospital.
This is the latest indication that an accident at the lab may have been responsible for the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, and will no doubt lead to greater pressure on the Chinese authorities to release information sought by public health officials but so far withheld.
The news:
* Bob Dylan, the greatest songwriter of his era, turns eighty on Monday. A dominant presence for over sixty years, Dylan has made an indelible mark on the history of rock and roll, in part by not treating age and longevity like most here-and-gone performers. The New Yorker has covered him from the start. This week, as a birthday celebration, we’re highlighting a selection of pieces celebrating the musician and his virtuosity. (New Yorker)
* Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate On Covid-19 Origin -- Report says researchers went to hospital in November 2019, shortly before confirmed outbreak; adds to calls for probe of whether virus escaped lab (WSJ)
* Long Slide Looms for World Population, With Sweeping Ramifications -- Fewer babies’ cries. More abandoned homes. Toward the middle of this century, as deaths start to exceed births, changes will come that are hard to fathom. (NYT)
* How Black Lives Matter changed the U.S. debate on the Mideast -- The group has shifted the Democrats’ lens on a range of issues, from the environment to the economy. Now it’s doing the same on global matters — pressing the Democratic Party to adopt a dramatically different approach to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (WP)
* Redistricting delays add to Democrats' worries about keeping U.S. House (Reuters)
* The mob made me do it: Rioters claim Jan. 6 crowd at fault (AP)
* In the Russian Arctic, the First Stirrings of a Very Cold War -- Though the Russian military has little in common with liberal Western politicians or environmental groups like Greenpeace, it is taking ice melt in the Far North seriously. (NYT)
* It’s a golden age for Chinese archaeology — and the West is ignoring it (WP)
* Iran says inspectors may no longer get nuclear sites images (AP)
* Australia Exhumes the Somerton Man, and His 70-Year Mystery -- This week the police disinterred a body, found on a beach in 1948, that has puzzled investigators for decades. “There’s lots of twists and turns in this case, and every turn is pretty weird,” one said. (NYT)
* Pandemic has fueled eating disorder surge in teens, adults (AP)
* Discord in San Francisco schools, on race and reopening, looms large (WP)
* Risk of Nuclear War Over Taiwan in 1958 Said to Be Greater Than Publicly Known -- The famed source of the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has made another unauthorized disclosure — and wants to be prosecuted for it. (NYT)
* The Biden administration is facing new pressure to resolve a mystery that has vexed its predecessors: Is an adversary using a microwave or radio wave weapon to attack the brains of U.S. diplomats, spies and military personnel? (AP)
* Ryanair flight carrying wanted Belarusian journalist forced to land in Minsk (WP)
* Once Nearly Extinct, The Florida Panther Is Making A Comeback (NPR)
* Giant Marilyn Monroe Statue Sparks Outcry in Palm Springs (WSJ)
* CNN parts ways with Rick Santorum, former senator who made much-criticized comments about Native Americans (WP)
* The Army Is Expanding Allowed Hairstyles For Women (NPR)
* Daily readings at tomb honor Dante 700 years after his death (AP)
* A massive heat dome is about to make the Southeast sweat (CNN)
* Children's Science Website Clearly Struggling To Come Up With 10 Facts About Slugs (The Onion)
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