Items

• 2021-06-13

  Infectious Intimacy

  When the pandemic started, I was living in a studio apartment in North Austin. I was single, my friends were quarantining, and I was going stir crazy. I got on Grindr to look for someone to spend some time with. I just wanted some human contact. I ended up talking to a cute boy and we decided to meet up, because we were both social distancing and had been recently tested. Funny enough, he worked at a morgue. He offered to pick me up, and when he arrived, I was SHOCKED to see that he had driven his hearse to get me. It was a great reminder about how close death was for all of us in the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2021-12-25

  Immunocompromised at Christmas

  The impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism over the past three years has been significant, and in my experiences, travel for me in post-COVID era has been wildly different - as my mind swirls around a large concern that I could possibly do harm to my immunocompromised husband. He’d experienced major spinal and heart surgeries in the summer of 2020, and the following year a round of COVID left his nervous and immune systems permanently weakened. My parents had planned a large family trip in May 2021, and my thoughts continued to swirl around the potential for another round of COVID afflicting my husband. I had us cancel. Months later, my family finally convinced us to get on a plane for Christmas to Austin, Texas to see my sister’s new home. It would be our son’s first flight, too, which only added to my anxiety. It was December 2021, and most restrictions were still in place at airports at this time. I was grateful for the number of passengers on the flights, in the airports, and in public transportation hubs utilizing masks and maintaining distance from one another. I recalled seeing one family, completely maskless, at the airport. They seemed so out of place - and to be honest they looked very uncomfortable - too. Luckily, like us, my extended family was hesitant to explore the hustle of downtown Austin, so much of the trip was spent with everyone at my sister’s new home, cooking, reading, completing puzzles, and most importantly: getting her lawn familiarized with several dozen rounds of Bocce ball. It was the first time we were all able to come together after the start of the pandemic, and I felt grateful for the opportunity to be with my family in the same safe space. We got way too competitive, but the laughter during Bocce proved the most memorable part of the trip. I loved how happy my family looked in this moment, especially my sister (front in orange) and my husband (over her right shoulder). I am not sure what the future looks like for COVID and travel, but for me, I know that it already looks different - I will continue to mask, I will distance, and I will choose options that will do the least amount of harm to those I love and the people I may meet along the way.
• 
  2020-04-15

  An Unacceptable Wall of Sound

  I live in Austin, Texas, in a neighborhood that is both in the approach flight pattern for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and contains a hospital with a Level 1 Trauma Center and a helipad. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the soundscape of neighborhood abruptly changed. The first thing I noticed, in the early days of a city-wide “stay-at-home” order was that I could hear more birds in the trees outside my second story apartment. It took a few days for me to realize that it was because the birdsong was not being drowned out by the sound of airplanes landing at the nearby runway. At the time I remember thinking that, perhaps, the sound of the birds was something I could look forward to every morning as I navigated suddenly having to find a new job due to the pandemic. Soon, the sound of landing airplanes was replaced with a sound that much harder to ignore. Ambulance sirens. It became noticeable after the first week, with ambulances arriving at the hospital several times an hour. By week three, it was a near constant drone broken up only by helicopters bringing even more critical patients into the city for care. By week eight, I stopped even noticing the sound of ambulances at all. The sound of the pandemic became so commonplace that my brain learned to filter out the wall of sirens as background noise. I often wonder how many ambulances carried patients who never left the hospital and how much suffering, fear, and sadness became “background noise” for us all. Given that we are entering into year three of the pandemic, and the United States has registered nearly one million COVID-19 deaths, it pains me to realize to know that number is far higher than any of us should have accepted.
• 
  2021-08-07

  Diane Ramirez Oral History, 2021/08/07

  How one Hispanic female dealt with the cooking challenges that took place in the early months of the pandemic. In particular, one meal she prepared on September 26, 2020.
• 
  2021-02-26

  Black Coalition Against COVID 19's Love Letter to Black America

  This twitter post was featured on the Black Coalition Against COVID 19's twitter page. The video is a "Love Letter" to the United States black community and offers an affirming and reassuring statement of the African American medical and research community's commitment to the health, protection, and quote "survival" of their ethnicity. The video affirms that black medical staff will continue to fight for equality in healthcare while encouraging the black community to continue wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding holiday gatherings, and to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials. The video is an uplifting example of the Black community's efforts to show their people that they will be heard, valued, protected and will overcome the virus.
• 
  2020-12-13

  Pick Up Only Orders At Local Restaurant

  While some restaurants have opened their dining rooms there are still some places that are only to-go or pick up only. This past weekend I traveled from San Antonio to Houstonand visited a few restaurants. Most of them allowed customers inside but Taco Flores was only doing pick up only. The small restaurant is in tune with the coronavirus and has raised their standard of cleanliness to protect their customers and employees. These changes included changing their orders served in disposable plates, individual containers for their sauces, one time use of plastic utensils are available for every order among others changes. With these smaller family owned restaurants we see a higher level of safety when running their day to day operations. They also expanded the way their customers can still enjoy the dishes they love without leaving the safety of their homes. They have expanded to the food app Grub Hub. This is a great way for the community to stay connected to the restaurant.
• 
  2020-10-21

  Taking a break from the fridge

  A restaurant in Texas changed their sign to reflect what many Americans are thinking eight months into social distancing.
• 
  2020-07-15

  Teachers hold sit-in protest at Texas Capitol to demand changes on reopening schools

  On Wednesday, July 16th, 2020 Austin, Texas area teachers held a sit in/protest around the state capital building to express their fear of being forced to go back to in person school this fall. School begins in one month. Having personally watched this protest be planned I know that the reason they chose this location was because they could not get onto the capital grounds. Entrance to the grounds are barricaded and National Guard troops are present. I also know that TEA, Texas Education Agency, has announced they will work from home until January 2021. How can they look out for themselves but send precious students and teachers back to work?
• 
  2020-05-02

  Coronavirus Wedding in a Drive In

  When the virus hit, all great plans were canceled: vacations, concerts, sporting events, and weddings. This couple found a way to get married safely--at a drive in theater. The guests watched from their decorated cars, dressed in PJs. Those that couldn't attend were able to watch the festivities on social media. The bridal party practiced proper social distancing--they were 6 feet apart.