Items
Mediator is exactly
COVID Birthdays
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2020-10-27
One Thing From The Pandemic
Over quarantine I was felt extremely bored and each passing day felt the same. I kept seeing people talking about how this was an opportunity for us to learn new skills and take advantage of all the free time. I had came up with many ideas for what I could try and do like playing the guitar or boxing, but they couldn’t hold my interest for long and I eventually gave them up. One day my friend asked me to bake something for her dad’s birthday. I had dabbled with baking in the past, but I never took it too seriously. I was watching a video about a dessert that looked really good so I thought, why not. I got up, went to the store, bought all the ingredient I needed, and proceeded to make the dessert. It took me a lot longer than expected and I ran into some issues while cooking, but in the end I was really happy with what I had accomplished. The whole house was filled with the smell of sweet caramel and I have to say it looked really good. First I let my family try it and the verdict was that it tasted incredible. My friend and her family really enjoyed it was well. After hearing all the compliments that were bestowed upon me, I longed for that feeling of accomplishment. So I continued to make desserts for my family and friends and every time I improve just a little bit. -
2020-05-20
Birthday Bubble
My son’s birthday was in May. We usually have a big party for him and invite all his friends. This year, by the time May came around, schools were closed so we did not distribute invitations to his classmates like we usually did. Geographically, we live in a bubble. We live in a rural community in a sparsely populated part of the country. So this year, the party was pared down, and took place outside. We invited only a couple friends who all lived within our little neighborhood and we had maintained close contact with since this all began. All went well, and for that I am thankful. -
2020-07-27
"Hope to see you soon"
Due to Covid-19 my uncle's birthday party was turned into a Zoom get together. The participants were asked to create a video and submit it before the event. Normally, I probably would have just said a simple hello but feeling isolated and full of stored creativity I decide to make song. Aiso, I had lost my job due to covid. The subject of the song was the wish we, I , have to interact with fellow humans at a time when we are not able to. Who even knew what Zoom was before Covid and would I have ever tried to create a song with a harmonica if i was not quarantined, probably not. I do not think I even said the word "quarantine" more than once a year, and then only for a crossword puzzle. I tried to create a song that expressed my feelings for the time and create a performance piece that was challenging for me to do. I think after the tenth take my lip muscles were cramped and I had actual lip abrasions from sliding the harmonica back and forth. The finished product was rough and maybe one of the other 30 takes would have been better but i was on a birthday dead line so it is what it is. Unfortunately, the video file proved too big or the sound too bad that when my video was played for the Zoom "party" most of the sound was lost. Hopefully, it was not edited out. This little video will always be my gateway memory of time spent during the Covid-19 lock down. Through this song I will remember everything that happened, which was and is a lot. During my time at Brooklyn college getting my MA in education there was a focus on different learning styles which I think is typified by my video. -
2020-10-01
Roadtrip
This is a picture of my husband from our trip to Chimney Rock, North Carolina. We had not left our city of Charleston for months due to Covid, but decided to take a small trip for my 30th birthday. The entire time we were playing tourist, we wore our masks and did our best to social distance. In the area we stayed, there were signs everywhere that explicitly said, "You must wear your mask" or "Masks are required". However, many people chose not to wear them or had them on incorrectly. It was a little odd being around so many people during this time, but we made the best of it. -
2020-04-03
Personal Email to Supervisor
To say I missed coming into work would be an understatement. I thought being able to work comfortably in sweatpants would somehow make up for the lack of interaction, but by April several important dates had come and gone and I had no one to be with to celebrate them. Isolation on my birthday was the most difficult. I usually spent time with my family and we would celebrate together but all I had was a videochat with them and nothing else. Days melted together and my anxiety grew. I was missing the community I had when I went to work and it took "losing" it for me to fully appreciate what it is I had. I appreciated the fact that my supervisor was having us check in weekly, it was something I looked forward to. -
2020-03-12
An unrepeatable trip across the pond
This photo was the first time the pandemic became real for me. In March of 2020, My wife and I took a well needed 2 week vacation to the United Kingdom. We very much needed a break from work & it just so happened that a friend of mine had a birthday and would be celebrating in Scotland by taking a two-week ski trip around then. What could go wrong? We figured we could take two weeks and things would be pretty much the same when we returned. We were mistaken. Only a few days after we arrived in Scotland,these & similar signs began to appear in public areas. Our ski-trip evolved into an escapade where we were hotel confined for most of our time. While we still got out and were able to explore the area a bit, for the most part we remained indoors since we were unsure as to what was “safe.” Getting back stateside was an adventure in it’s own, from the cancelled flights to the intense screening process at Heathrow. All the while, we continued to see the Coronavirus cases stockpile worldwide. We finally made it home and entered another quarantine, which it feels like we are still in seven months later. In the months since, I’ve lost extended family members, and a friend to COVID, and truly wish I could go back to the start of that trip, back when the virus was something real, but maybe not something tangible for me personally. This story/photo is important for me because I truly believe that this pandemic is a world changing event. Even though technically, the ‘19’ in COVID-19 signifies that it began in 2019, March 12th 2020 is when it truly started to show me just how real this virus was. -
2020-10-16
To Go or Not To Go
What happens when you live 3000 miles away from home, and your father asks you to meet him and your only sibling in Florida to celebrate his 90th birthday? This year, the answer is that you disappoint your father and feel guilty about not going, knowing that his time left here is limited. But, you know deep down that you are doing the right and responsible thing. I have only known my father for the last year, but that’s another story, and would really love the chance to spend some real time with him, but I know it would be risky. Not only is my father almost 90, but he is also diabetic. So, I’ll wait to see him sometime next year, because even though I am sad and feel guilty about saying “no” this time, it may give us an opportunity next time. I think that many people are going faced with making these decisions during this year of the quarantine, especially here in Los Angeles, where a good portion of the population is a transplant from somewhere else. But, there are even much tougher decisions or limitations on seeing family and loved ones. My dilemma seems minor, but it does matter to a 90 year old. -
2020-04-01
How Military Base COVID-19 Protocol affects Military Dependents- Presidio of Monterey base guidelines
My husband is active duty Air Force. Most base housing is several miles away in Seaside, Ca. However, we were given the option to move into the historical housing on post, which meant my husband could walk to work and we have a stunning view of the Monterey Bay and Pacific Ocean. This also means that we must show our identification whenever we return home and obey base regulations. So must the thousands of language students attending DLI (Defense Language Institute). It means my daughter couldn't have a birthday party this summer. Students under my husband could head to a local pub or bar to celebrate their birthdays either. My daughter couldn't play on the playground with friends, and the students here had to collect their meals from the mess hall to take back to their dorms instead of chatting with classmates. My daughter couldn't go back to school after spring break and the language students had to begin distance learning and quarantine. As difficult as it was for my daughter to be without her friends, she could still play in the yard and hug her mother. My husband's students had to go months with no physical contact. However, these protocols were instituted to keep everyone safe whether or not they live on base. How difficult must it have been for base leadership to tell us families and students that we couldn't do the things that make us happy? That the mission must continue in spite of this pandemic? I don't envy their job. -
2020-10-08
Cursed year, Covid era 2020
I would say its pretty safe to assume that the majority of us were unfazed the very first time we heard of a virus breakout in wuhan, even though having played the mobile game Plague Inc. you would know that because of the dense population distribution china & india are two of the best places for a virus to start from. I would say other than the zombie movie like “leaked” videos that surfaced on social media no one really took it seriously until about march. That’s when I want to say the real pandemic fear started to creep in, there were multiple new cases showing up everywhere around the world, this is when things really started to get crazy, to begin with there was a weird shortage of toilet paper worldwide, not only that but grocery stores were a nightmare, it was the prepare for an apocalypse. People lost all sense of rational thinking & started hoarding food in a very animalistic selfish way. For a whole month everytime you go grocery shopping the shelves were almost empty, drinking water was scarce ,finding toilet paper was almost impossible. Personally as a 20 year old fit healthy male that wasn’t surrounded by any family or elders in the area I couldn’t care less If I got it, I was naïve& selfish for thinking that way, I had just suffered the lost of close friend to a car accident so I wasn’t in the best headspace. months go by… and I received news that three of my uncles & aunts got it, it was during that time that school was turning to online classes & terrible would be an understatement for my academic performance at the time, I was very busy & too into my head that a couple days went by & I got a follow up news that my uncles actually passed away, he was one of the kindest souls to me & I cannot think of one bad memory of him, yet I felt a void , I wasn’t sad nor that I cried & that in a way did more damage , It was just the countless deaths around me this year that had me completely numb emotionally, it just all felt so unreal, more than that is the long distance & not being able to travel back to comfort my dad through his hardship was the hardest part. To God we belong and to God we shall all return إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ, On a more positive note my cousin said on her birthday “I am not counting this year in my age because I didn’t use it”. -
2020-10-08
The Time to Grow is Now
2020 was a year that started with a struggle. On December 6th, 2019, my childhood best friend, Collin, died from a drug overdose. He was the first person that was my friend in this world. 3 days before my 21st birthday, he was gone. I have never grieved a person like this in my life. The pain stuck with me like nothing I had experienced. No matter where I was or what I was doing, I could only think of Collin. In February, right before everything shut down, my friend Jeff and I went to New York City. On Collin's birthday, we went to a drag show, and I could feel the world breaking under my feet knowing he couldn't be there. During quarantine, he was always on my mind. I was stuck in a house with 4 other 21-year-olds for months on end. It was suffocating. Processing trauma and grief in a world without distractions as been one of the hardest challenges of my life. I recently moved back to my hometown where I am surrounded by memories of Collin and other past traumas. It is especially difficult to process traumas in a new place during a pandemic. A hug has never felt so cherished. Community has never felt closer but also so far apart. I am grateful for the friends I see and people I am close to in a new way. While the world can feel like its crumbling, there is always a smile to be had. I can now smile when I pass places I went with Collin as a kid. The world slowing down has made sit with these feelings in a way I never could before. I had so much time to feel everything. Collin's name makes me smile and I feel so blessed to have known him. COVID made my world slow down enough to get through this loss. -
2020-10-06
Friendship During COVID
Before I went to college, I always struggled with making friends. When I made my way to Arizona State University that all changed. I met beautiful people who had priorities beyond petty drama. They were passionate about the causes I were, cared about school and turned out to be amazingly good people. I was pleasantly surprised, and I embraced my new friends. They’ve been my rocks throughout all my ups and downs for the first 2 years of college. In March 2020, I was eating lunch in the dining hall with a friend I hadn’t seen in months. We got the notification that we were going to be doing “virtual learning” for the rest of the spring semester. I don’t think either of us knew what this would mean. We walked back to my apartment, and I left him with a box of disinfecting wipes before we said goodbye. Within the next few weeks I was living at home again, still paying rent on my apartment 2 hours away. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my friends, and I was all of a sudden trapped in my house with my mom and sister. I love them, but I didn’t think I would ever be spending that much time in that house ever again. If we fast forward to July, I ended up losing one of my friends to suicide. That was one of the most difficult thing I was supposed to go through. While it was of the saddest thing I’ve ever gone through, I ended up meeting a lot of people who knew him. My circle of friends grew by a lot, and I ended up becoming close to a lot of them. The picture I added is from my online birthday party. The pandemic meant that I wouldn’t be able to see anyone safely because a lot of people live on campus. But the party was actually great. We played games over Zoom, talked and laughed. It was the first time I felt normal in a while, and it was definitely the best birthday of my life (weirdly). -
2020-08-11
Video Chat Birthday Celebration
The pandemic disrupted the frequent trips I take to visit my friend Chrissie in California. We planned on celebrating her birthday together in person, but since we both lived in hot spots we decided it was best to postpone our festivities. I used some of the money I would have spent on traveling to buy her some very personalized gifts. When she received her presents I asked her to meet me on the Houseparty app so that I could see her reactions. They were priceless. I commissioned an artist friend to draw her beloved cat Dulce which I then printed on a poster. To add a Texas touch, I also got her a James Avery charm bracelet with an inside joke engraved on it. Even though I would have much rather hung out with Chrissie in person, this celebration was still special. Being away from made me think about how much I love and appreciate her. Quarantine allowed me the time to reflect on what makes her unique and what gifts would put a smile on her face. -
2020-09-02
Keeping in Touch With Angie
COVID-19 has affected several of my relationships and how I have stayed in contact with friends. I wanted to talk about how COVID-19 has changed my interactions with one of my friends, Angie. I have known Angie for several years but we became really close friends when we attended the same church congregation in Provo, Utah from 2015-2016. When I graduated from school in Spring 2018, I moved away from Provo for an internship and I haven’t lived in Provo since. Angie also graduated around the same time and she continued to work in the same area. Normally, Angie and I will visit one another every other month and get lunch or I would spend the weekend with her at her apartment. The last time I was with Angie before COVID-19 lockdown began was in February. I was staying with her for a weekend in Provo, Utah for a wedding. On February 7, we got Korean BBQ bowls and went to an art museum. The next morning we woke up early and got kolaches. And I was thinking we’d get together soon in another month or so. For Angie’s birthday that same month, I sent her a sun hat because we made plans with our other two friends to go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in June. But with the news of the onset of COVID-19 a few weeks later, we ended up canceling those plans. After a FaceTime call in April, we both figured out that we needed ways to stay connected while social-distancing safely. However, we didn’t have any new things to report because we were social-distancing. So we started our audiobook club to give ourselves something to chat about. So far we have listened and discussed The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, and White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. We are currently listening to Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood. Neither of us remembered who suggested our book club, but I’m glad we have stayed connected through it. Both Angie and I have enjoyed each of these books. They have made us much more knowledgeable about the world around us and I like discussing them with Angie. My favorite book we read together was White Fragility. We read it in response to the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. As white women, we realized we needed to better educate ourselves. We had a tough conversation, but I’m glad I had it with Angie who is incredibly compassionate and thoughtful. Besides our book club, we have had video chats with some other friends and we’ve texted one another. I finally saw Angie in person while she was passing through where I lived. We cautiously sat outside 6 feet apart and ate popsicles on my grass lawn. And I met her boyfriend for the first time! The pandemic has changed how I connect with my friends. I rely much more on technology and scheduled calls. I have learned to cut myself and others some slack for this situation because there is so much more social friction than before. Weirdly enough,in some ways it has helped with my social anxiety because I don’t feel FOMO (a.k.a. The “fear of missing out”). We’re all in the same crappy boat. The pandemic has also helped me think about why certain people are my friends. Now it’s less about proximity or someone’s availability but more so about someone’s loyalty, kind heart, or strong values. -
2020-04
A Year I Will Never Forget
2020 started off a great year for me, I was so excited to turn 21 and envisioned this amazing year where I would travel, meet new people, etc. However quickly that dream ended, working in a pharmacy I was always on edge about the virus especially when the cases were spiking which caused this worry inside my family and I. I worried about my two immunocompromised parents mostly, what would happen to them if they got sick? Would I be the reason they did so? Would I bring home something from the pharmacy? Fortunately my family is safe and healthy but I wasn't, what I assumed was just a cold turned out to be one of the worst experiences of my life. I couldn't believe I had COVID-19, I was taking all precautions and yet it was inevitable thought I will never forget this birthday; celebrating turning 21 with COVID and eating ice cream cake in my pajamas. I was grateful I ended up recovering but it was devastating when I would hear almost weekly someone I knew had passed away whether it be a friend, patient, a familiar face. Sometimes I can't wrap my head around all of this happening, we have been in quarantine for over six months and it seems like there will be no end to this either. I want to remain optimistic and look forward to things but it so hard to when everything seems almost draining. The small things that once brought us to ease seems to be so far away now. -
2020-03-26
The day it all went south
From the beginning of quarantine till now the simple, everyday things I used to do has now become a difficult. Such examples would be going to the bodega or going to my therapy appointments or even going to work. There’s now so many extra steps and protocols as if my job wasn’t already stressful enough. While I personally haven’t been affected by corona virus in terms of health, I can still say that it has turned everything upside down. I still can hang out with friends but I’ve missed so many events that I was looking forward to. Anime event to birthday event, all of those experiences missed. The biggest thing about COVID for me was that it showed me just how selfish and ignorant others are by not only people refusing to wear masks but some even denying it’s existence. -
2020-03-10
Full plate Spilled: Essential Healthcare in a Pandemic
I've lived in New York for 5 years, moving at 18 and worked my way up to feeling at home here. I'm a full spectrum doula ( a non-medical birth support coach), a public health student, and healthcare worker. Right before the pandemic I was very busy. I had a birth client who was also my friend who gave birth on Tuesday, March 10th. That was the day the South Brooklyn Maimonides Hospital had it's first two Covid patients. I was kicked out that evening as were all non-birth parents in the maternity ward which was heartbreaking as my client had a difficult pregnancy and a c-section earlier that day. I was the only person allowed in the operating room while the baby was born. On Friday is when everything changed as the pandemic was announced when the baby was 3 days old. My last good moments before quarantine was holding the newborn daughter of my client, reading the news on the TV while my client slept. I was worried about what would happen to them and for my own health as I have health conditions that put me at risk for worse outcomes. I work my main job as a HIV prevention and HIV treatment navigator at a major health clinic conglomerate. We had stopped all in person appointments the following week on March 16th, but it was too late, in our 14 clinics we had 2 co-workers die from Covid-19. In my clinic alone there were 11 cases within our staff. I got sick on March 21st, and had what was diagnosed as pneumonia (although my doctor believes it was covid that hid in my lungs and was not detected by tests.) I couldn't breathe most nights and while quarantined at my friend's two bedroom apartment I found my fingers and toes turning blue and had a fever of 102 for over a week. My job was in chaos, half staff people working from home, and all essential staff coming in to report in person. Just two weeks after getting ill and still recovering from pneumonia I had to return to do in person care at the peak of NYs Covid-19 first wave. Due to a loss in funding we did not and still do not receive any hazard pay to come in. In my first two weeks back, my godfather's healthy mother died of covid, my high school best friend's mother Carolyn died of covid on March 28th and on April 6th her brother Thomas died on his 30th birthday. By May 1st I was still going to work every day and had lost 8 people in my life to Covid-19, such a high number that I still haven't come to terms with. I have recovered from my pneumonia and thankfully have now tested negative for covid 5 times since March, however the fear is still there if I were to get it from my in person patients. I had to stop doing doula work, which is a passion of mine. However there have been some positives to make things a little easier. I became a godmother. My client's baby is 6 months old and thriving. I'm fortunate to be employed during a time of such financial upheaval. I am also fortunate enough to be in therapy for my mental health which has suffered during this time. I hope this pandemic ends soon and wish no one will have to endure what I've had to go through. -
2020-08-22
Jewish Melbourne: "Happy Birthday Opa"
This article appeared in The Weekend Australian Magazine, marking the 99th birthday of Max Arnott, a Dunera Boy, which happened in May, under Melbourne's lockdown. Max's granddaughter, Zoe Arnott, took a photo of three of her children outside Max's gate, celebrating his birthday. -
2020-08-29T10
Pandemic Birthday
The 3 of us became friends (more like family) when we started working together in a cultural institution/museum space. We have been in constant communication with each other, sharing resources and joy. 2 of us have a birthday a few days apart so we decided to spend it together! This is our birthday vision boards and a photo of us, -
2020-04-13
A Very Covid Birthday
This year I turned 25, a quarter of a century. I definietly did not expect to celebrate as I did, but nonetheless this birthday in 2020 was one to remember. I through myself a party and luckily my mom and brother came to town to visit. We made dinner, I made my own cake, and we took pictures to celebrate, including some covid satire. I also got news on my 25th birthday that I landed my dream job and would have to move across the country during a pandemic, without many proper goodbyes. Bittersweet, but a birthday I will always cherish. -
2020-08-27
Family time
When we started quartine it was the end of march. I didn't do a whole a lot till April 19th. April 19th was my 14th birthday. My sister was able to come over so I could have a birthday dinner. It was rough not being able to see anyone or do anything. -
2020-07-17
comfort quarantine 70th birthday
My mother had turned 70 this past July during quarantine. She wanted my brothers and I to join her for dinner. I didn't feel it was safe enough with 8 people to socially distance at a table. I instead surprised her by leaving this assortment of home homemade and store bought goodies for her 70th birthday. I wanted her to still feel loved and special. -
2020-04-11
During Pandemic, Community Adapts "Reverse" Parade to Honor 90th Birthday in Memorable Way
Local resident Genelle Richey retired in 2012, dedicating 62 years of her life to teaching the youth of Blanchard, Oklahoma. Since then, Mrs. Richey's status of being a local educator and mentor as only grown in appreciation. On April 11, 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 shutdowns, the community of Blanchard expressed its gratitude to Mrs. Richey by organizing hundreds of participants to drive past her in a "reverse" parade celebrating her 90th birthday. She and her family gathered on North Main Street to greet the cheerful crowd as they passed. The event was organized by her family and mostly through Facebook to preserve the surprise to Mrs. Richey herself. The event took place between 3:00 and 4:00 PM on that Saturday, April 11. The parade featured vehicles displaying signs and decorated "float" style trailers. The line of vehicles were led by Blanchard Police and Fire Departments. Parade vehicles dropped off birthday gifts and took photographs to preserve the special event. During an otherwise quiet and uneventful month of pandemic closures, the community of Blanchard resiliently came together to adapt a memorable day for a very special woman. Submitted for the #ruralvoices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580. -
2020-03-29
Social distancing celebration birthday
I saw some videos on YouTube. A heartwarming new way of celebrating birthdays that self-isolation wasn’t going to stop the kids from feeling the love. Their neighbor and friends decorate their cars with balloons and banners, and drive by the birthday boy or girl’s home, honking and celebrating from a safe distance. -
April 10, 2020
Emma Ouellet’s 103rd Birthday in Quarantine
Family members of Emma Ouellet gather outside her window to celebrate her 103rd birthday. The post description read “We just came back from wishing my 103 year old belle mere a bonne fête pandemic style in Montreal. It was heart-breaking to not be able to kiss her in person but we blew a huge bouquet of them her way.” -
2020-05-07
JBL
One day I was sitting in Central Park. I was saying goodbye to my friends who were leaving for college. We were also there to celebrate my friends birthday. I remember the bittersweet vibe like it was yesterday. My friend gave me her phone and told me to queue song I thought fit the situation. There were so many to choose from. With the power of music, it was able to lift people up and remember the times we all had together. -
07/25/2020
Anonymous Child Oral History, 2020/07/25
Shanna Gagnon interviews an anonymous 8 year old girl about the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains her initial reaction to learning about COVID-19. Anonymous describes how the pandemic has impacted her daily life. She discusses how her family and friends are responding to COVID-19. She talks of the things that are important to and worrying people right now. Anonymous details the most difficult parts of the pandemic for her. She shares how COVID-19 is impacting local businesses and schools. She also discusses how she thinks life will be different moving forward and includes her thoughts on vacations and milestone celebrations, such as Halloween and birthdays. -
April 29, 2020
Plague Journal, Day 48: Zoom party, Zoom shiva
I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. In the latest entry, The Girlfriend and I describe two events we attend by videoconference: a birthday party and a shiva. -
2020-07-04
This Work is Spiritual: Finding Willoughby McWhite
COVID gave Janice Gilyard the opportunity to dig deeper into genealogy, one of her hobbies. On July 4, 2020, she uncovered details about the remarkable life of her 5x great grandmother, Willoughby McWhite, who was enslaved. Janice tells about her uncovering of her 5x great grandmother in this way: So here we go. Yesterday, I called my Grandmother to wish her a Happy 97th Birthday (She was born on the 4th of July and she is the ONLY reason I look forward to the 4th of July). I was already disappointed as I could not visit her in South Carolina because of the current covid crisis. Then I was really upset because I could not find the darn photo of my son holding a fish he had caught to include in a photo collage I was preparing to post on Facebook for her. You see, my grandmother was the first person to take my son fishing and everyone refers to her as the fishing lady. I finally got around to posting the collage and called my Aunt and asked her to kiss my grandmother on the forehead and tell her it was from me. That is our thing if I can’t visit. Of course we started talking about family and then she started giving me names she hadn’t mentioned before. I’m the family historian for my maternal and paternal lines. I' m like what the heck!!!! I've been talking to you for 25 years and today you give me NEW names? So we kept talking and I decided to bring up my Ancestry account to enter them. All of a sudden, I saw a note that someone had written for ONE OF MY ANCESTORS. I was already excited that I was adding two additional generations and then BAM!!!!! I S L O W L Y read a note that someone had shared, looked up the reference and what do I see? One of my favorite shows was listed!!!! The History Detectives (aired on PBS). What was the focus of the segment? A woman’s grandfather had purchased a lot of Civil War memorabilia (They live I in Wichita, Kansas). WHAT was the last item included in the material he purchased? A SLAVE BILL OF SALE! WHERE did they start filming? CHARLESTON, SC! WHO was it for????? WAIT FOR IT…. My 5th GREATGRANDMOTHER!!!!!!!!! Who was one of the featured researchers asked to assist in the research? JOSEPH MCGILL from the SLAVE DWELLING Project! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? IN 2012! WHERE was JOSEPH MCGILL when they filmed his segment, Slave Cabins in Florence, SC which I visited over 25 years ago WHEN I FIRST started doing my research!!! WHO else was featured? An Archivist in the same blasted town that my family is from and I’ve met him and talked with him several times about DIFFERENT lines of my family and he helped me so much!!!! Where did my enslaved ancestor live, not far from where we purchased a home in SC several years ago!!!!! Don’t tell me that we are NOT on a SPIRITUAL QUEST when we do our research. I did not plan to do ANY of this yesterday into the next morning (It is now 3:45 AM AND I feel like I have a rubber band around my head because I should be sleeping but I can’t go to sleep until I finish getting this on paper) !!!!! I am stunned and in shock. I encourage you to following the pulling and tugging at your spirit and to listen to the still small voice that guides you to do certain things. I personally believe it is God and our Ancestors directing us to find them and tell their stories! One more thing! Please help other people with their research. I do this all the time and I’m convinced that I’m being helped along the way because I help other people as much as I can. Following is the link to the show that aired. It is at the very beginning. Thank you for reading. From a proud descendant of a STRONG woman who endured, overcame, and refused to die during the struggle!!! Her name was Willoughby and I honor and celebrate her today with my entire being! (Other items in the archive include an interview recorded on July 21, 2020). -
April 16, 2020
Newburgh IN Birthday Wishes
These photographs were taken to document some of what people in Evansville and its Tri-State region saw and experienced as the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic came to the area in the spring of 2020. Many of these images represent literal signs of the time, while others figuratively depict signs of the pandemic. -
2020-04-17
Life In Isolation: The Coronavirus... Erin Lewis
A virtual exhibition by the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science -
2020-07-10
Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Trip with Friends
On July 10, 2020 my best friend, Lauren Ash and her boyfriend, drove up from Marietta, Ohio to Columbus to go to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium with my boyfriend and I. We purchased the tickets right before the Zoo re-opened in early June. The Columbus Zoo is very popular, usually having thousands of visitors a day. However, because of COVID19, they were forced to limit the number of visitors each day and at specific times. So, in order to go, you must buy a ticket in advance for a specific date and time range. From there, they can limit the number of people inside the zoo at a time. We hadn't seen each other since January and missed both of our birthdays during mass shutdowns, so we decided the Zoo would be an easy and safer way to meet up and see each other briefly. Because of some sanitation concerns and social distancing, the zoo was different. Many drink and food stations were closed. All glass had signs on them to "Keep 6 feet apart" (as seen in some photographs) as well as ropes preventing visitors from getting close enough to touch any glass (also seen in some photographs). Paw prints or circles were painted/laid on the ground in front of viewing areas to help people keep 6 feet distance. Some activities were shut down entirely, like some animal identification games in the Africa exhibit (seen in a photograph). The boat ride that winds through the park was closed with tarps over their seats while the boats kept eerily floating through their paths (as seen in the video). Walkways that in the past were usually packed with people going any direction were empty, with signs and painted lines to move traffic in ways that would keep visitors from passing each other too closely. On top of that, there were sanitizer and hand-washing stations scattered around the zoo that had not been there before COVID19. While face masks were only required to wear indoors at the zoo, many people did not wear them at all. My group decided to wear them the entire time, and we took a couple of selfies along the way. Overall, it was a fun and relatively safe trip. I'm glad I got to leave the house for a bit and spend some time with my best friend! -
05/11/2020
Nate Hayner Oral History, 2020/05/11
The interviewee, Nate Hayner, describes his experience moving from his apartment in New York City to his parent’s house in Wisconsin. Initially, Nate believed covid was going to be like SARS and other virus outbreaks and only affect countries overseas, then he saw firsthand how bad it got New York City and moved out. He tells of how him and his parents took it seriously as he quarantined for two weeks in their basement. Next, Nate says that his biggest concern is that the pandemic appears to be driving a wedge in society. He elaborates on this by telling how he got tired of watching the news as it was so absurd and frustrating the inaccurate things they would report. Additionally, he expressed his concern on how people were believing in conspiracy theories and not following safety recommendations from local governments and spreading inaccurate information on social media. Then Nate describes how Covid made it hard to stay in contact with casual friends but easier to contact good friends via technology. He also explained how isolation being hard for extroverts and people who are not able to work and do not have a emergency fund to fall back on. Nate ends the interview by stating how the government should have taken planning for events like this more seriously and that in the future we need to be more prepared, the government should stockpile PPE and medicine and people should have a food stockpile and emergency fund as he feels we will probably see another pandemic in our lifetime. -
2020-04-22
Coronavirus Cake
We consider our nanny to be part of our family and she was part of our quaran-team. Her April 22 birthday posed a particular challenge for a cake. We would normally visit Ambrosia Bakery, but with more time, we decided to bake it instead. With extra raspberries on hand and some Valentine’s candy about to go out the window, we threw together the SARS-CoV-2 cake to celebrate the unusual times of celebrating in quarantine. -
2020-06-24
North Texas family shaken after 18 relatives test positive for COVID-19 following family gathering
At about five months into the pandemic in the U.S. almost all states have lifted their stay at home order and many people are going back to business as usual. One north Texas family held a surprise 30th birthday party. The host, who thought his cough was due to working construction, unknowingly infected 7 people at the party of 25 attendees. Those seven people went on to infect others in the family and now 18 within the family are positive for covid. Within the family are also a couple, one an EMT and the other a doctor, who both refused to go to the party. -
2020-05-21
Coronland: Happy 60th Uncle Bill
Outside Prytania Theater, Happy 60th Uncle Bill How sweet and cute and thoughtful, I thought, and probably never would've been done had we not all been quarantined causing reduced traffic on Prytania -
2020-03-16
COVID-19 Extracts from Personal Journal
Mid-March. Thinking about all the things that have previously worried me this year that now seem mild and hilarious: moving alone to Tasmania; starting my PhD at a new university and finally meeting my supervisors; turning 28 (haha, actually). Now: Global pandemic; getting really sick; my loved ones getting really sick; state borders closing and being unable to return home even if I want to; my loved ones getting sick and not being able to travel to see them; the economy is destroyed, again. Late-March. It is what it is. What a rollercoaster this year has been, and we're not yet three months in. I've been staying home in self-quarantine for a few weeks now. The days are distinct for twenty-four hours; in the mornings I can recall the previous mornings; the afternoons, the afternoons. Every day I wake around 10am, at some point I paint, make food, drink coffee, stand on the balcony and gaze at the view. At the dining table J plays Catan ("it's your turn"; maniacal laughter; the sound of sawing) while I read. B set up the gym in the spare room and is continually showing me exercises effortlessly, while I struggle on a single push up. We stack wood in the woodshed, B and I come up with names for movies replacing words with toilet paper in one of a million Facebook challenges to bubble up during a time when all we have is time, and after weeks of watching the PM’s announcements as a house, we have all gradually stopped paying attention to the news. What is happening in Tasmania? That's all we care about anymore. I call home and [my parents] are cheery, full of house-plans and routine amidst the uncertainty. Recently J and I were discussing how we have different word associations - prior to all this I saw virus as being inherently technological, a computer term; he saw it as a verb, something penetrating and spreading. He said he felt concerned that we all use the same term but we might all be meaning different things, so how can anyone authentically communicate? I feel that inherently at the moment. I have a wonderful Zoom call with D and D and they are jovial, laughing, but also patient and understanding with my PhD fog. (Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am doing one at all, and it zips back into consciousness with surprise: wait, you're doing it? Now? All you do is sit in your house.) University is at least some kind of consistency. I write to M and A, I paint zealous red gouache flowers on the envelopes, I run to the post box and hold my hand out in the air after touching the handle as though drenched with invisible miasma. J and I collect pine cones at the Domain. When strangers approach from a distance every part of me screams stay away! They seem to walk directly towards us, magnetised, a collision course, and it is always our job to duck and weave to avoid crashing. Crashing means ‘breathing near’. Mid-April. I ask J how many weeks it has been not leaving the house. "I don't know", he says."Four? Five?" We count backwards. I was free on my birthday; the last time I went out for anything was a week after that, Me Wah. J remembers. "At least you got to sit in a restaurant", he says. He remembers mine and B's conversation to the word. I sense his mind is doing backflips in the emptiness, while mine is hazy and soft, a kaleidoscope of dreaming and staring into the flickering flames of our fire, looking at the soft Ghibli rain over the city, staring into never-ending mugs of steaming tea. There’s no need to ever be fully awake. We watch movies B picks out on Netflix (Psychokinesis; A Quiet Place), sip homemade cherry liqueur. We share treats. Occasionally we leave the house in an anxious flurry. People either look nervously as we pass them in the aisle, or not at all; oblivious, they bang into other people, walk aggressively, lean too close. J is frustrated and rattled. "I'm really grumpy", he says, roaring his car into the street. B and I silently look for teddy bears in the windows of people's houses. In our neighbour’s window is a brightly painted sign, ‘Thank you health care workers!’ One particularly cagey afternoon (of golden sun licking the garden in early April, flecked summer shadows, all a warm 20 degrees) I walk. I walk around the Domain and lip sync to repetitive pop songs and take photos of the trees and a fat rainbow parrot, and I move into the dirt to avoid people, always watching, mapping trajectories and walking speed in space. I get home sunburnt and make a fluffy coffee, drink it in the sun on the deck while J pulls up our kale and spinach and gives it to me to munch, pops the heads of tiny caterpillars with his thumbnail. He leaves one for me to do and when I squish it green blood splashes like a poorly made film crime scene pool, obnoxiously overflowing. There are many places I could be during all this that would be worse than here. Mid-May. This is new. The pressure has completely released. I don’t feel on-edge for a millisecond, instead deeply slow and content and watchful. Given-up and exhausted. When I was deeply drunk I looked around my room tearfully (a clear theme these days) and touched my hand to the wall and thanked the spirits of this old house, whether they were listening or not, the echoes and shadows and fingerprints and DNA of those who came before, for having me, and for their care during this time. After the months I have spent within this house I can’t not anthropomorphize the walls. It was a wider gratitude - for the dappled sunlight on the plants on the ledge in the kitchen, for the depths of the crackling fire, watching it lick and munch at the dry logs, for the deep sea breeze coming up our street, for the view of the houses and the stone church and the pines and the mountain drifting beyond the clouds, for the thick fat roses persevering deep into the late autumn, for the brass-golden sun burning my skin lightly in the late afternoon, for everything delicate and rare and wonderful I have been contained with on this property. While coronavirus is rapidly disappearing in Tasmania (knock on wood, we say, tapping our knuckles on the table, and then on our own heads) the rest of the world is gripped in it. Domestic travel is looking possible by July, at the earliest - international not until 2023, so likely after my PhD is concluded. For now, the directive is clear: stay put and stay healthy and don’t spread. Inspired by the frontliners M is considering doing a two-year intensive nursing degree, so by the time we’re both finished perhaps the world will be opened and we can move around and see it. Who knows what the future will bring - and this year, more than any other, the year the word ‘unprecedented’ was thrown around frantically, this holds true. Late-May. Today was nice. I walked aimlessly around the city, bought a coffee from Two Folks and waited eagerly in the alley for it to be ready since only one person could stand in front of the register on the X-marked tape at any given time (the childish thrill of in-person commerce); bought soap from Lush and laughed with the girl with sky-blue ombre hair behind the plexiglass - “Thank you for keeping me in a job!”, she said. People on the street seemed ready to smile at the slightest glance. There is a relieved, selfish joy in the air. At night I drank a bottle of wine and watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and as I always have laughed at every dark moment, and things felt preciously safe in this tiny pocket of the world. -
2020-06-10
Molly's Quarantine Performance
Centerville, Utah (June, 2020)- My daughter is a creative soul; she loves to sing, dance and act out her vivid imagination. She loves the theatre and going to summer camp. COVID-19 stopped her from doing that this year. But Molly is resourceful and resilient, and even found opportunity to perform in her Anna costume for all her family at her own birthday party. The arts have a way of making us whole, filling us up with joy and hope; even in the midst of a pandemic. For the little ones, they always find a way back to their imagination and the safety it provides. -
2020-06-12
A Vegas-ish 40th Quarantine Style Birthday
At the start of 2020, my group of college friends planned a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate a dear friend's 40th birthday. As we all live in different areas of the country, it was clear by the start of April that the trip would not be happening due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 20 years of friendship, we couldn't let a milestone like this pass us by. We decided to throw her an over the top Zoom birthday party. I put together party packs, complete with colorful wigs, dessert plates, confetti and cocktail stirrers, and sent to each party guest. The birthday girl's package had strict instructions directing her to wait to open right before the start of the party. Together, the guests made a photo slideshow that included the top 40 things that we love about our friend and read it to the guest of honor during the party. We also decided to make a cocktail together and brought our own desserts and candles so that we could sing to her. The group coordinated with her husband to make sure that she had the cocktail supplies and a dessert to join in the fun. It certainly wasn't what she had imagined for her 40th birthday. But it was unique, thoughtful, a lot of fun, and definitely a memory to last a life time. -
2020-04-07
Viva Las Vegas! CANCELLED
Contra Costa County COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were announced on March 13, 2020. As is typical for me, my calendar was full of various activities in the summer months. I love summer! And, as a teacher, I have more freedom during the summer months to travel and to spend times with loved ones. One of the upcoming events I was most looking forward to was a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate one of my best friend from college's 40th birthday. Somewhere between college and now, life began to move at warp speed and we don't get as much time together as we would like. So, for many reasons, this was a major trip for us all. In early April, it was clear that the trip would no longer happen. We all received a text from the birthday girl letting us know the trip was officially cancelled. While I am sad, it is definitely the right decision. I am hopeful that 2021 will give us the opportunity to reschedule! It is hard to imagine that it could possibly be an entire year before we can all comfortably travel and be together once again. -
2020-03-21
Socially Distanced Birthday
My birthday fell just before the height of the pandemic. While staying at home was not yet mandatory, social distancing was starting to be brought in. Luckily, some of my amazing friends dropped off this birthday present and left it outside my door. -
2020-05-12
A Quarantine Birthday
First birthdays are an important part of a child's life. However, due to the precautionary measure Illinois has taken, my niece was forced to celebrate hers in an unlikely fashion. My entire family logged on a video conferencing app at the same time to wish her a Happy Birthday. On the same day, we threw her a birthday parade by honking our cars and playing cheery music down her street. Under different circumstances, we would be meeting altogether in a grand hall with gifts and food. This birthday will surely be memorable. -
2020-05-31
How COVID-19 affected me
This meme is relatable to me because of the fact that my Birthday had passed during this Pandemic. I found it funny because it was a small gathering of my five family members with a small cake. This is important to me because I enjoyed it and I thought it was thoughtful that my family still gave me a cake during a time when money is scarce. Anyways, I enjoyed my cake a lot since it had been so long since I had eaten something other rice and chicken and it was so much more enjoyable because of the thought. -
2020-05-15
Virtual Hangout
Due to quarantine, we can no longer hangout with our friends to see each other without the risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. The only way we can all hangout and see each other is through a screen. Instead of looking forward to seeing our friends on the weekend, we have to resort a zoom call to see each other. This picture shows all my friends all together in one zoom call to celebrate my friend's birthday. -
2020-05-26
Coronavirus Piñata
For my son’s drive-by birthday, we wanted something fun for people to do as they drove by, but without exiting their cars. We decided it would be fun to have people try to “beat the virus,” so I made a Coronavirus piñata. After the birthday parade, the birthday boy and his big sister finished it off. To keep any guests from thinking it was a traditional piñata, with candies and prizes inside, I made sure everyone knew that the piñata was where I put some of his birthday presents (in this case, legos). -
2020-05-26
COVID-19 Birthday
No one loves birthdays more than my son. When it became clear that he wouldn’t be having a birthday party, or taking his traditional birthday trip to Disneyland, we planned a surprise birthday parade for him, and invited guests to try to break a Coronavirus piñata (from their car window). We were overwhelmed by the amount of people who came - we do not live close to our friends/family, and we had people drive over an hour (in Southern CA!) for a five minute parade where they had to stay in their car. We were most touched that even his Kindergarten teacher (who lives 30 minutes away) came by. The birthday boy wore a special homemade Mickey Mouse with a mask shirt that said “turning 6 in quarantine, still celebrating with Mickey.” -
2020-05-09
A Birthday To Remember: Celebrating With A 50 Participant Surprise Zoom Party!
We were invited to partake in a surprise Zoom call for a dear friend's 39th birthday. Our friend's partner asked all attendees to arrive to the virtual party 10 minutes before the official start time of 7 p.m. with a favorite celebratory drink in hand. Over 50 participants arrived on time for the call and stayed as long as 2.5 hours. Friends connected via the messaging chat function of Zoom, as well as through live video. Since we are unable to show our love for someone in person during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place, it is heartwarming that people still choose to show up the best they can for those they love. -
2020-05-15
Living through Covid-19: 05/15/2020
This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. *anonymous *This was intentionally a journal/diary entry therefore it was done through a word doc. -
2020-05-22
Untitled
Living through COVID-19 has been a challenge for me a lot of things have changed and gotten way harder for me. I was getting comfortable with staying home. I have found myself and kept giving myself breaks and trying to get my body back to the old me. On Monday it was my birthday it didn't feel like it because everything is closed and we are on lockdown. My family still tried to make that day special for me. On Tuesday I and my family laid a close friend of my brother to rest. It has been a very hard time for my family at this time everyone has been together spending time with each other. Lately I have been thinking about my future about how it's going to be after COVID-19 because right now COVID-19 has me unsure. After one semester online courses got me so stressed, and confused. It has been a journey this whole time during COVID-19. Things are going good for me then it goes bad right now my granny is in the hospital she has not been feeling well. I want to be with my granny but I can't because of the COVID-19 rules. I have been talking to my granny through the phone. I have been feeling down lately because of my life outside of school. I have been feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated like never before. -
05/17/2020
No More Different, Please
I really want more than really anything right now to go back to my usual routine and especially go back to swim practice. I am really fed up with doing different cross training to try to make my swimming not suck. It feels like even though I have been swimming competitively for seven years like I am not a swimmer. I haven’t even been in the water or gone to a practice in almost two months. I really don’t like how even if I go outside and go to a store that is open everything is so different and I can’t help wondering if these changes are going to last. Today I woke up I think the latest I have ever woken up. The difference is that when I saw how late it was, I jumped out of bed and got straight to work. I finished my workout so early that I got to make doughnuts. If COVID-19 had not happened I would have not learned all of the recipes I got to learn. However, I might have had my championship swim meet and been a better swimmer. *Original text in Creator: Nicole Dumitrascu #LSMS #NSD -
2020-05-18
Go Back to Normal!!!
I have learned in this quarantine that is you want to do something and not be lazy, then you must attack it head on and just go for it. The hardest part of accomplishing something is definitely starting. If you can start the thing you want, then you are more motivated to finish it because you have already spent time and effort trying to accomplish the thing you want. Even when I get out of this quarantine, I am going to try to apply this to my daily life. I really wonder when things are going to get back to normal, or if things will go back to normal. This might be the new normal which is a scary thought. I hope this is not the new normal because I had a plan for my future. Well kind of, but this is definitely not what I had planned. I am trying to remember that it is not about what I want for my future or what I think is supposed to happen in my life. It is about God’s plan and what he wants to happen in my life. *Original text in Creator: Nicole Dumitrascu #LSMS #NSD