Pretty sure March came in like a lamb. And then everything went to hell as the coronavirus swept across the country. Just finished my second week working from home and dodging food shoppers at the market. Luckily for me, I can do my news editing job from the dining room table. Keeping in touch with my staff has been okay, and everyone is working well. But – how long will this continue? We have one more week mandated by the company. Then what, is the big question.
Other big questions loom, but I’d as soon leave them unspoken. Potential answers are unnerving. So many people laid off; the government bailout bill is now law and will increase unemployment benefits for a while. Bare sustenance checks are going to be sent. SBA and big business loans are being set up. Life, apparently, will go on, though it’s going to be shitty for a lot of people. A lot of credit card limits could be reached.
So – being ever positive I have to look up and forward. And a weird part of living today is that we all have accepted the situation pretty well. Like we know how to play certain roles. So many people are busying themselves helping others – bless those who gather food for the hungry or make masks for our hospitals. My small part, so far, anyway, was to start a Facebook group called Old Colony Community Kindness – a play on words combining our lead newspaper’s name with a name of the original Plymouth Colony, and stating what it’s all about: kindness and positivity in tough times. All happy posts, inspiring, joyful. I’m glad it’s being well received.
And so I write on; Book III is coming along. It hasn’t felt as important as it did, given what’s going on, and it’s not. I didn’t even write a post last weekend. But it’s comforting. And so I still get up at 4 to write, and after a couple of weird weeks, I do so with returning enthusiasm. Coffee Table Jazz on Spotify soothes in the background. My characters swirl and buzz and dance. And we busy ourselves as we wait to see what tomorrow brings.
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