Items

• 2020-03

  Rural Connecticut: Covid Doubters

  I lived in a rural part of Connecticut during the 2020 Covid lockdowns. Despite the widely publicized nature of the pandemic, at least half of the citizens in my town didn't believe the disease was real. There was a real divide over wearing masks and closing down schools/work because many people felt the disease was over-blown, not deadly, or simply wouldn't strike a rural place as hard as a city. While my town didn't suffer as much as places like New York City did, we still had Covid cases and deaths across the county. It was frustrating to live in a rural place during the outbreak, because even though we were "safer," than city-dwellers, nobody took measures to preserve that safety. This mindset continued when vaccines became available, and the latest rage in rural areas is using Ivermectin (horse medicine) instead.
• 
  2021-02-07

  Lost 16th Birthday Gift

  This document recalls my sister's cancelled 16th birthday present and her perspective on the closure of events in 2020-2021. It is important because it captures a unquiet perspective from a teens point of view.
• 2020-12-10

  Life Before "Quarantine"

  In the months before most of the world shut down due to COVID-19, my life was social, fun, and happy. During January of 2020, I had recently gotten to lease a horse for Christmas. I was getting used to riding my horse and going to the barn daily while developing friendships through horseback riding. In February of 2020, I had made friends and bonded with my horse at the barn where I did not have to wear a mask or even be aware of cleanliness and sanitation. When March of 2020 came around, it became a task to be careful of who you’re around and where you go due to the cases developing in the United States. School went online around the middle of March, but my barn was still wide open and did not require masks, temperature-taking, or sanitation before entering. This made life feel normal despite not seeing school friends daily anymore. My barn closed to outsiders from April-May, but for only one month. I was able to see my friends, still without rules such as wearing masks, but only for a two-hour limit due to capacity limitations. From May-November, life was great. I saw my friends often, did well in online school, and maintained the barn as a big part of my life. Now, December of 2020, my barn requires masks, but they are not strict about it. I am still getting outside, staying active and healthy both physically and mentally, and keeping a social life. Although I am doing well in “quarantine,” I would much rather be at school in-person and be doing activities without safety precautions and limitations. Life is different, but I’ve developed entirely new perspectives and these new situations have helped me grow as a person.
• 
  2020-11-06

  Vacation Visits

  I had the most gracious and welcoming hosts on my trip to Alaska. I barely knew them aside from our communications over a horse I’d sold them and they invited me to visit, stay, and spend some time exploring the great outdoors of Alaska on horseback with them. After we finished one of our rides, we came across a group of people from the inlands of Alaska. None of this group had ever been on a horse, let alone seen one up close. The horse I sold proudly stood there while each kid took a turn sitting in the saddle and getting a taste of what being horseback was all about. It was one of my most proud moments of this great big mustang gelding that I tamed, broke, started, trained, and put out into the world to make it a better place.
• 
  2020-04-25

  Letter to people buying horse medicine for human consumption.

  This letter is telling anyone buying this medicine at hardware and feed stores that horse ivermectin is not the same as human ivermectin and does not cure or help keep you from getting Covid-19.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Sede in Domo Tua

  It's a drawing of a horse with words (Sede in domo tua, lava manus) which I take to be "stay home, wash your hands" in Latin. There's a simple caduceus, the words "COVID 19," and a few other symbols.
• 
  2020-03-19

  Penni Martorell

  Bailey Twing does her first-grade school work from home with her Grandma.