Items

• 
  2020-04-30

  Gardening

  My mom has been gardening as a hobby for as long as I could remember. Since we've been in quarantine together, I've been spending more time with her helping her with her gardening. It's been a good way to keep busy and not feel like we're trapped inside all day. The image attached is a sunflower that recently bloomed. #REL101
• 
  April 30, 2020

  LCS SmartBus

  Leon County Schools in Tallahassee FL has found a way to get students internet access who are without in our city. It is bringing wifi to the kids and their families!
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  2020-04-25

  Finding Beauty in a Pandemic

  #REL101, My family enjoys going on hikes on the weekend to escape the house and free our minds after working long hours on our computers during the weekdays. This hike took place in the Kern Canyon and social distancing from others was practiced.
• 
  2020-04-28

  Ross County, Ohio Food Bank During CoVid19

  Screenshot from Facebook of Ross County, Ohio Community Action's Good Samaritan Food Bank's advertisement for free home delivery during the CoVid19 crisis to senior citizens, persons with disabilities or medically compromised, and other at-risk residents.
• 
  2020-04-28

  A Personal Reflection on the Pandemic

  In early March of 2020, it was business as usual. I had a full schedule that included a 50 hour a week job, classes at Arizona State University, friends to socialize with, and of course, my family. As the next fifty-five days (and counting) marched on, everything changed. First, my workstation, a nice area with two large monitors, printer, and scanner was reduced to my kitchen table. There I had the luxury of no commute, but I was relegated to a small ten-inch laptop and none of the other accoutrements of my office. I realized that my breaks, often taken outside, had been taken for granted all these years. More importantly, I missed the social engagement of my colleagues and supervisor. School work was the least impacted by the pandemic. I was already working on my curriculum online so there was little impact. I did miss having the option to study in a public forum, as all public areas become vacant. I think the biggest change and challenge from the current two-month quarantine revolves around my family and friends. My husband and I use weekends and vacations to go to the lake, ride motorcycles, and meet friends for dinner. Birthdays and Easter rolled by without the usual gatherings and celebrations. Churches gathered online for services; a major shift from thousands of years establishing a place for worship. Social media played a larger part in my life, but there really is not a substitute for human interaction. There is an emotional gap that is lost when the interaction is two dimensional on the phone or computer via FaceTime and Zoom Meetings. I believe that much will change once things return to “normal”. It will be commonplace to see people wearing medical masks. Social distancing (staying six feet apart) will be marked in supermarkets and malls going forward. People, homes, cars, and offices will be cleaner on a daily basis. The most positive change, hopefully, will be the inclusion and follow up on our elderly friends, family, and neighbors. Many will have similar difficulties getting out, even after the quarantine is lifted. Our newfound awareness should impact all mankind, as we work harder to take care of one another.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Arizona GOP chairwoman tells anti-lockdown protesters to impersonate health care workers

  The politically motivated fight to frame America's free press as "fake news" continues for Arizona GOP leaders urging stay-at-home-order protesters to don scrubs and medical masks to trick the media.
• 
  2020-04-20

  The Struggles of the Dining Room Table

  A college student's experience with taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Brief on quarantine (Author: Gennady Khodov)

  Here comes the second month of quarantine in our country. There are people who observe quarantine, and there are people who do not care about the situation and they continue to live as they lived before. Students, schoolchildren are studying remotely. I envy them, of course. Studying at home is so great. But there are disadvantages of such an education, schoolchildren are stupid. After all, some parents do their own homework, and children are not explained anything. Beauty salons, trading houses, markets are closed. Only grocery stores are open. In certain shops we only let in 5 people, and at this time on the street 20 people are waiting for their turn to enter the shop and people do not even keep a distance from us being on the street. There are practically no cars on the street. In our city, it is completely banned to travel by private transport, allowed only to certain people. It became so free at once. Public transport has been restricted, it only goes in the morning or evening, but these buses go in small quantities. It's quicker to walk to work. Some people are panicking. They don't know what happens next...
• 
  2020-04-24

  Personal Story of Lockdown

  As I write this I have no idea as to how long we have been socially isolating. I have not been keeping count of the days. I have been writing a diary of sorts but mainly just ordinary daily events not a 'pandemic' diary. My last physical contact and close encounter with friends was a Saturday afternoon and we made plans to see each other soon. Just two days later it was apparent that we would not see each other for a very long time. Quite suddenly the world was closed. How did I feel when the implications of the lockdown became apparent? At first it was just social isolation and I was sad as I wouldn't be able to see my family and hug them. Then very quickly the closure of libraries was announced – that really hurt as reading books is one of my main pleasures. An actual book that is not an e book on the laptop. Frustratingly I could see a book I had ordered – one that was in the middle of a detective series I was enjoying – through the window on the shelf inside the library tantlisingly close. And it was not available as an e book! But I felt I could just carry on as sort of normal. I would adapt and possibly go through my own library of books on my own shelves. Then they closed the beaches and told us we couldn't drive to a trail to walk. A state of emergency was declared and the borders were closed. The full implications of what we were facing were becoming alarmingly apparent. I worried about my friends and family and their health situations. I worried about my own health as I have a lung disease. I felt almost overwhelming concern for everyone that was facing economic hardship and how people were going to cope. On my own home front my husband and I were facing our own difficult scenario. He was about to start six weeks of daily cancer radiation treatment. At the end of January he had undergone a fourteen hour surgical operation to remove a tumour located in his sinus – and replaced with facial reconstruction. He had his upper jaw bone removed and replaced with a bone taken from his leg and a skin graft taken from his thigh. He was discharged after nine days a remarkable recovery that says much about his determination and courage. Now we had the radiation to face. A daily journey round trip of 130 kilometres. Then they decided to double some of the treatments six hours apart so we had to come home and go back as there was nowhere to wait out the time in town – 260 kilometres round trip in a day. But somehow in all this apparent chaos in the world for us there was a silver lining. Because of the lockdown the roads were relatively empty – car parking at the hospital was easy and free. Gas prices had fallen so the financial burden of all the travelling was eased. My husband did most of these trips for treatment on his own. He enjoyed the freedom of the open road, had the music turned up loud and the heating full on. And I wasn't yacking in his ear! And for me on a very personal level I realised that when the full implications of the lockdown became apparent and I was not going anywhere or doing very much I felt a strange euphoria. I realised that for a very long time I had suffered a sort of anxiety a feeling of stress to always be doing more. I happen to not look my age so when I complained about tiredness my family often instructed me to 'use it or lose it' Grandma! “You are only as old as you feel” has some scientific validation and I never really felt as old as my advancing years but it was often a bit of a struggle. I am a photographer not professional it is a hobby but I sold some of my work at the local farmers market. So I always had personal goals and work to do. The real pleasure was in going out into the countryside and walking the beaches and photographing the landscape and wildlife. Without me giving it a conscious thought when the lockdown became strict my anxiety fell away. It just wasn't there anymore. I didn't need to step up to the mark all I needed to do was stay on my property. I am fortunate that I live on the edge of a tidal inlet so I look over water and the wildlife comes to me! Facing west I enjoy stunning sunsets. I have found myself relishing being able to relax and do stuff as I felt like it. Spacing out the things I wanted to do and taking the time to enjoy even the mundane stuff. My concentration levels changed my sleep times changed. I always resisted an afternoon nap it seemed such an 'elderly' thing to do. Now I was having a lovely nap after lunch and still unbelievably enjoying a long nights sleep. My energy levels changed – they got better! Books and movies I thought I would enjoy I didn't, but I would spend longer just sitting outside watching the waves or the clouds, listening to the birds and watching the squirrels. Catching the moment when an otter swam by or a bald eagle flew past with its catch. Because there wasn't anything else to do with my time I was 'using it not losing it' a completely different concept to the original cosh it was intended to be. If I could step away from the feeling of guilt for what others are suffering I can only say that I am relishing the ease of enjoying my days. This has also been enhanced by the support of dear friends and family who have provided meals and treats when cooking and shopping have been too much of a task. I have never eaten so well. My son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren have collectively and individually been the source of much comfort to us both. Now we have had the news of the tragic shooting that took place in Nova Scotia last weekend. Everything staggers into jagged shards of grief and dismay. I can find no words to describe the anguish we are feeling for the victims and families of this random rampage of violence. As always in these situations we try to understand why it happened and as always it is locked inside the perpetrators head. In one way or another all Nova Scotians 'know' each other and we are all affected . We will continue to be a kind and compassionate community supporting each other through these incredibly difficult times. I feel I am living in parallel universes. The anxiety of the news of the pandemic and how it is affecting individuals and families in Canada and the world. The trauma of a mass tragedy in Nova Scotia that has a profound affect on so many individuals and families and collectively on all of us. The incredible feeling of love and warmth for my community as I see so many people stepping up to the mark and helping and supporting one another. Watching my beloved husband go through gruelling treatment with so much courage and determination so we can have a future together. And here I am thankful beyond words that I am here in this place at this time. I will not live in fear. I will cherish this time as it is so precious. We mostly live taking the future for granted and now we know we can't. It is fragile and cannot be pinned down only lived fully moment to moment in love and hope. This is what I have found.
• 
  2020-04-24

  Corona Sector instructions

  The Corona Sector is a neat device for woodworkers or artists, for making geometric layouts. It is to keep people occupied while cooped up.
• 
  2020-05-24

  Corona Sector

  This is a useful tool for geometric layouts, to keep you occupied while self-isolating.
• 
  2020-04-23

  Coronavirus: A Book for Children

  Free, downloadable eBook from Candlewick Press. This informative and accessible guide for young readers defines the coronavirus, explains why everyday routines have been disrupted, and lays out how everyone can do their part to help. With child-appropriate answers and explanations, the book addresses several key questions.
• 
  2020-04-06

  United Nations Statement on COVID-19 Guidance for Indigenous Peoples

  Recommends that "states should take into account Indigenous peoples’ distinctive concepts of health, including their traditional medicine, consult and consider the free prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples in the development of preventive measures on COVID-19." Recommendations also include measures for voluntary isolation from outsiders. #IndigenousStories
• 
  2020-03-30

  Message About Food Programs for GGUSD Students

  An update to community members in Garden Grove to make sure families know that breakfast and lunch will still be provided during school closure, and that parents no longer to have each child present to pick up food.
• 
  2020-04-18

  COVID Aid Offer in Chalk

  The South City area of Saint Louis is a diverse, tight-knit community. It only makes sense that residents would go out of their way to assist each other during this difficult time. The residents of this home near the intersection of Arsenal St. and Gravois Rd. advertised resources in chalk writing on the exterior of the house, including a LinkTree website, toll-free helpline, and email account dedicated to helping those in need and connecting volunteers with service opportunities. There are also children’s chalk drawings of flowers and a rainbow on the exterior and of a rainbow and a pot of gold taped to the window. #DePaulHST391
• 
  03/31/2020

  Illinois emergency alert (healthcare workers request)

  An emergency alert sent to residents of the state of Illinois requesting licensed healthcare workers sign up to assist in the pandemic. Text reads: State needs licensed healthcare workers to sign-up at IllinoisHelps.net to fight COVID-19.
• 
  2020-04-16

  P.E. Class During the Epidemic

  During the epidemic, our physical education classes became more efficient and healthier. In the school's physical education class, we only do free activities. We can do whatever exercises we want. This led to the inertia of some students. Now, everyone concentrates on the online class. We exercise more and have become healthier and stronger.
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  2020-04-18

  Journal of the Plague Year entry 2- Logan Bellos

  When I was younger, my parents called me the nature boy because I was so invested in being amongst nature and spent almost all my free time outside. However as I got older, although I still had an strong interest in nature, I began to spend more of my time inside, playing videos games or at friends houses doing typical stupid teenager things. However, I have recently revived my inner nature boy due to these tough times, going on frequent hikes by myself or with my dogs and have been having so much fun in doing so. Nature has given me freedom to continue to be myself, during these unprecedented times and now I'm beginning to wonder why I ever stopped embracing nature in the first place!
• 
  03/30/2010

  Checkpoints Set Up on Crow Reservation

  Crow Tribal Chairman A.J. Not Afraid opens checkpoints to stem the influx of non-locals searching for areas that are Covid-free.
• 
  2020-04-10

  Meals for Musicians, New Orleans, LA

  The Howlin' Wolf, Culture Aid NOLA, and New Orleans Musicians' Clinic provide free meals to musicians who are unable to work during COVID-19.
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  2020-04-05

  Covid-19 Landscape

  Palm Sunday, normally a high point in the social life of our church, was celebrated remotely. Palms were left outside the church to be collected by parishioners.
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  2020-04-05

  April 6th - April 12th

  The week of April 6th, 2020 – April 12th, 2020 marked over 21 days of quarantine for myself. Here in Conway, South Carolina, it feels as though life has taken a hit, but not to the extension that you see in places such as California or New York. Whether it is people have been lucky here or just not enough testing to actually confirm the correct number is anybody’s guess. You can still go into a store such as Wal-Mart and find an overwhelming amount of people at any given time. Even though Governor McMaster has put on a stay at home order for all nonessential workers, it just doesn’t feel like daily life has slowed down for many. For myself, the only positive that has come from all of this are the low gas prices, as low as $1.19 in some places! One of the biggest issues that I have seen is the mental aspect of the country. The panic, the worry, the fear. Granted it is unprecedented times, but instead of calm and trying to find positive in this, all over the TV and media is negativity. In my hometown of Adams, Massachusetts, this virus is destroying them, but yet when I talk to family members, the lack of action is mind – blowing to me. My mother works for a dentist office who continues to stay open, even after her boss recently came back from a cruise. Is it ignorance or greed? I have struggled with those two topics of this whole situation. It is clear now that the measures taken at the beginning of the outbreak were not enough. Now the government handing out money to people to try and keep them afloat is their way of trying to curb public opinion. What better way to prevent an outcry of the public than to give them free money to keep their opinions to themselves? For me in this situation, the real fear in this, is my mind. As someone who has struggled the majority of my life with addiction and alcoholism, it is a crippling time in the sober community. On April 15th, it will mark my one year anniversary of being sober. These last few weeks seem to have tested me more than ever. With the social gatherings limit, that means all of the meetings I was attending every week are no longer an option. Being laid off and not being able to go anywhere, you have restless legs and a restless mind. This past week I have done hours of yard work and home maintenance just to keep my mind busy and hopefully exhaust me to the point where I just go to sleep. I am one of the lucky ones, I guess. In the last ten days, I have had to watch three friends in sobriety, go back out, and lose their lives to the disease. I know the longer that this pandemic goes on, the more friends I will have to say goodbye to and you just pray that you stay afloat. There has been good in this though, there are pop up groups that have created online meetings where you can facetime in and get to have meetings with people from all over the world. I’m not sure what this next week holds in store, but just like everyday I pray we see the light at the end of the tunnel. P.S. I miss sports desperately (this was supposed to be the Master’s tournament this weekend!).
• 
  2020-04-12

  Keeping Busy

  With having to stay inside all the time, it can get pretty difficult to keep yourself busy. Of course, there's always school work you have to do, but what do you when all of that is done? How do you keep yourself from losing it in times like this. Well, recently, my sister has taken up painting. When she finishes up her school work, she goes to the garage and starts painting all sorts of stuff. It's even gotten to the point that friends of hers have made personal request, and she's almost starting to make her own little business. I even requested something. I would've put it here, but she hasn't finished it yet :/ I think it's cool she's finding a creative outlet in a time like this. Beats doing nothing anyway.
• 
  2020-04-09

  The Week of Baking

  This week I have done nothing but school work and bake. I have had so many reciepes that I have wanted to try for so long, and I finally have the time. They have all come out pretty good, except my sister burnt one batch of peanut butter cookies. This week the Stimulus package is supposed to be distributed, so we will see how long that takes. We also found out this week that there has been a federal addition to unemployment, which will help a lot of Americans keep their homes and vehicle payments on track. This is honestly turning into quite the financial disaster, especially if the government does not make good on their promise.
• 
  2020-04-06

  A Letter to My Future Self

  Dear future self, Welcome back to the wonderful world of the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s been a year, so you will be in 2021, 17 years old and about a month from graduating high school. Current status: I don’t even know, the US is doing the worst in the world (for COVID-19 cases and other assorted issues haha) and last time I checked 34 of the states have stay-at-home orders. It’s April 6th, 2020, and we have been self-quarantining for about 3 weeks now, but the actual stay-at-home order from Ducey is fairly recent. All I’ve been doing is go to work a few times a week, babysit twice a week, and do online school. I’m excited to be a senior next year, especially because I’ll have a half day. When the outbreak first happened in China, I can’t say I cared or knew a lot about it. Come February it was getting worse, and we heard about schools closing, but looking back I was in a bubble, and I felt like it wasn’t going to really affect me. (“They won’t close schools, and it’s not like anyone I know will get it”). We joked about it constantly, but we’re Gen Z, we’re nihilistic about everything - walking through the school I heard banter about people trying to get COVID-19 just so they will cancel school. Around then was when I started to see real effects of Corona, movies not being released in theaters, talk shows filmed at home. So, I began reading the news and listening to a news podcast every morning in hopes of educating myself. As I started to grasp the situation, my bubble burst all at once. It was the day after I took my SAT (I was one of the few who did take it: most test centers had been closed due to the virus - once again I was not directly affected), and it was announced that school had really been cancelled, so my first week of quarantine began. Spring break was coming up, and I still had a lot of hope: that we’d be back in school, that this would be over soon, that we’d still go on vacation, that life would quickly return to normal. Everything accelerated so quickly about a week after that, and the situation became stressful. All of the sudden my daily routine of waking up, going to school, coming home, sometimes working, sometimes going to French Honors Society: it was all gone. I realized I wouldn’t see my friends in person for months, and that I would have to try to keep my grades up from home. The only thing that really brought normality was my favorite show (Good Mythical Morning) that brought new episodes (now from their homes) daily, so that’s what I woke up for each morning. The next week I continued work, which I had taken a week’s break from to assess the situation, and started babysitting for two kids whose parents needed someone to look after them now that we are all at home. Having something to do brought a schedule to my life, and shortly after that school started up again online. I hope that by the fall the outbreak has calmed. I have been listening to the news podcast for a couple weeks, and scientists such as Dr.Fauci say the virus might be seasonal, meaning it would never really go away. However, the swine flu was really bad like 10 years ago, and now it is just one of the strands of flu we get shots for. In my free time I’ve been playing a lot of Switch, FaceTiming with my little cousins, and hanging out in the backyard. It’s really interesting to hear about the situation from the perspectives of younger kids because they see things much more simply than we do. It seems like they just miss going to school, and are waiting for this to be over already: I’d guess it’s hard for them to grasp the severity of the situation, especially since it seems like a lot of adults are failing to do so. I think the main thing I will remember from this time is the confusion and some of the hopelessness I feel, staying at home to protect myself and others but wanting nothing more than to go back to normal life (as I suspect everyone who goes through an upheaval in their life feels). Anyway, I hope you’re doing well, future me! P.S. Do you still listen to the same music and podcasts I do now? Right now I’m loving The 1975, Nirvana, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Mayer (as I have literally my whole life - no way that’s changed), and the Mythical Feel Good Quarantine Playlist that Rhett and Link made. As far as podcasts, I listen a lot to Ear Biscuits, Philip DeFranco, and NVC, and some Dolly Parton’s America.
• 
  2020-04-06

  A Letter to My Future Self

  Short text
• 
  2020-04-07

  Daily Schedule during Quarantine March

  My daughter is a HS freshman and has been at home since March 16. This was her very early on schedule for her day. School was just transitioning to remote learning and the days were more free-form. We have 8 pets of various sizes and varieties so the 'pet hour' is a very important way to stay relaxed. Photo taken April 7, 2020. Document created late March 2020 just when schools closed.
• 
  2020-03-09

  Calm before the Storm

  This was on a nice, sunny Monday. Students were enjoying the weather, looking forward to spring break and "Staller season". The very next day, there were a series of emails announcing the transition to online classes followed by the complete shut down of the campus days after. Due to COVID-19, events were canceled, students were forced to go back home, and people are worried. This video perfectly encapsulates how care free students were before things became serious. *Last week of classes before Spring Break
• 
  2020-04-03

  Thought it would be interesting.

  Reflection of a university student in London.
• 
  2020-04-02

  A Special Spring Semester

  In winter 2020, China has a bad virus. The virus is spreading rapidly.
• 
  2020-04-01

  Batman Didn't Eat a Bat to become Batman.

  In my free time during this virus, I decided to draw this picture. The caption says: "Do you really think you can eat bats? Who do you think I am?" We need to protect wild animals.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Silent shopping

  #HIST4800
• 
  2020-03-30

  Six Things You Can Do to Help Musicians Impacted by CoVid-19

  Details fundraisers and free ways to support musicians - signing petitions to support potential laws, watching live streams via social media, etc..
• 
  2020-03-26

  New Hours at Caffe Nero

  This is a photograph of the front door of Caffe Nero in Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, where I work. The new, shortened hours have been written by hand on the window. Below, two printouts have been printed on the door. One explains that the cafe is open for takeout only, as per the order of the governor earlier in the week. The other announces that the cafe is now giving all healthcare workers free coffee. The cafe closed for an unknown amount of time (at least 2 weeks) the day after this photo was taken. #HIST5241
• 
  2020-03-27

  Instacart Gig Workers Are Planning a Nationwide Strike

  News article about a planned strike of Instacart workers who are calling for hazard pay of an additional $5 an order, free safety gear (hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and soap) to workers, and paid sick leave to include workers with pre-existing conditions who have been advised by their doctors not to work at this time.
• 
  2020-03-23

  Menu for grab and go breakfast & lunch at Scales Technology Academy, March 23-March 27, 2020.

  When public schools closed across Arizona, some worried that low-income students who normally receive breakfast and lunch at school for free, might face food insecurity. 9 Schools across Tempe, AZ offer a grab and go breakfast and lunch.
• 
  2020-03-21

  Ology Hand Sanitizer

  Ology Brewing Company in Tallahassee Florida made hand sanitizer with its distiller equipment to help in this time of sanitizer scarcity. They gave it free with any curbside pickup of beer.
• 
  2020-03-28

  The social distancing line

  The Australian Government has recommended social distancing of at least 1.5 metres. This pharmacist has taped a line on the ground in front of their counters — it makes trying to reach forward to pay for goods a bit like a fairground game of "tap the card reader with your bankcard".
• 
  2020-03-05

  Skiing in Big Sky, Montana

  Life goes on in the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave."