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07/11/2020
Clinton Roberts Oral History, 2020/07/11
Clinton Roberts grew up in the small town of Blanchard, Oklahoma. He has lived there the balance of his life and continues to work the family-owned Insurance business his grandmother started. In addition to working as an insurance agent, Clinton is also a graduate student of History at Arizona State University. In the interview, Clinton discusses what it means to live and run a business in Blanchard during the COVID-19 crisis. He discusses the challenges he has faced and the changes he has personally made. He further discusses the changes he has witnessed in his local community, within his family, and his relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Kelly McDaniel. He also reveals the toll these changes have taken on his mental health, relationships and livelihood; the fear of “not knowing” his diagnosis after falling ill in recent weeks, and the stresses of taking care of his grandmother during this illness. -
2020-06-05
A Daily Routine: Masks Go in the Washing Machine Before Entering the House
The photograph depicts what the washing machine always looks like at my house in Oklahoma, multiple cloth masks inside. It has become our daily routine of placing our masks in the washing machine as soon as we get home from public places. Before we only used masks to go to the post office and grocery stores, the only two public places we went with other people there. Now that the June 1st Phase 3 of reopening Oklahoma has begun, we have noticed more and more people everywhere we go. As people are becoming more active and very few wears masks, we've begun having to take multiple masks with us everywhere to remain vigilant and have backups. Our daily routine now includes placing our masks in the washing machine as soon as we enter from the garage, before going further into the rest of the house. If we go somewhere that includes carrying lots of things that touch our clothes, then we will also throw our daily clothes in the washing machine immediately. On one occasion we came face-to-face with a person without a mask that was actively coughing without covering their mouth in the produce section. We skipped purchasing any produce that day and went straight home. On days like that, we would immediately wash whatever clothes we were wearing, to prevent spreading anything in to the house. Photographs like this are a constant reminder of how our daily routines were completely changed because of COVID-19.