Item
Julie West Oral History, 2020/05/15
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Julie West Oral History, 2020/05/15
Description (Dublin Core)
This is an Oral History interview with Julie West by interviewer Anjelica Oswald from May 15, 2020. Julie West speaks about being physical ed teacher, being a city council member, changes in her day to day life, and running a non-profit organization charity.
This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive.
This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
05/15/2020
Creator (Dublin Core)
Anjelica Oswald
Julie West
Event Identifier (Dublin Core)
The Covid 19 Oral History Project
Partner (Dublin Core)
Indiana University Perdue University Indianapolis
Type (Dublin Core)
audio interview
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Education--K12
English
Government Local
English
Home & Family Life
English
NGOs (non-profits)
English
Emotion
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
distance learning
Zoom
city council
precautions
loss
charity
online learning
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
07/20/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
10/21/2020
11/17/2020
03/02/2021
05/01/2022
05/17/2022
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Anjelica Oswald
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Julie West
Location (Omeka Classic)
46350
La Porte
Indiana
United States
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:35:44
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Interviewee: [Oswald, Anjelica]
Interviewer(s): [West, Julie]
Date: [2020-05-19]
Transcribed by: [Otter], [Oswald, Anjelica]
Edited by: [Oswald, Anjelica]
Byline: This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive.
Anjelica Oswald 00:00
Hi, I'm Anjelica Oswald, and I'm a public history master's student at Northeastern working on the Journal of a Plague Year Archive. Today I'm speaking with Julie West about her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today is May 19, 2020. And it's 2pm Eastern/ 1pm Central time. So, really my first question for you is, how old are you?
Julie West 00:22
54.
Anjelica Oswald 00:24
And what do you do on a day-to-day basis?
Julie West 00:28
I'm an elementary physical education teacher. So I just finished up my last week of school, so that's what I normally do. So I'm out for the summer. I'm on break.
Anjelica Oswald 00:40
And how did your job change with the pandemic hitting?
Julie West 00:45
Well, it was I think the date was like March, I can't remember the exact date but it was March maybe 16th. And we said goodbye to everybody at the school not knowing that we would not be able to come back into our classrooms. So that—It's been a big adjustment. You know, I miss the kiddos in this e-learning that we're doing. We're equipped at our school to be able to do e-learning. So we're very fortunate in that aspect. So I think we've done a pretty good job staying in contact with our students, and just making the best out of a situation that we all are dealing with.
Anjelica Oswald 01:21
What school do you work at?
Julie West 01:22
Olive Elementary in New Carlisle, Indiana. So I have K through fifth grade. So I have a lot of students throughout the week.
Anjelica Oswald 01:27
I can imagine, and do you live in New Carlisle?
Julie West 01:37
No, I live in La Porte. So I got a little commute in the morning, but it's not too bad.
Anjelica Oswald 01:43
And so without that commute, how's life been?
Julie West 01:48
Um, you know, it's interesting to say the least and I, I am also on our city council in our town, so we've had to make a lot of adjustments with our city council meetings, a lot of Zooms, you know, just try to follow the guidelines and do what's right, and what's best for our community. Um, you know, I've been very careful with my visits, like with my family, my mother's 91 you know, I talk to her through her window. And, you know, I'm very aware, like I said, of following those guidelines that are set in front of us. Hasn't always been easy, but you know what, I just, I do my best every day and I'm okay. I mean, I'm getting through it. And I know better days are ahead. And I just don't know when they're going to be here where we can kind of get—feel more comfortable going out and being around people and, and stuff. But you know, I'm very faith based and very comfortable in my prayer to help me get through my days. So that's, that's been helpful for me.
Anjelica Oswald 02:57
When you first learned about the COVID-19 pandemic, what were your thoughts?
Julie West 03:04
Well, at first it was like, I can't—it can't be that bad. You know, I'd say maybe it's just like another flu. I tend to listen to more to the scientists and the data that they bring up over any politician or any other person that definitely has a strong opinion on it. But as the days went on, you know, I saw how, how it was affecting so many people, and it's really hard to watch the news. I'm very careful of how much I watch and who I watch because it can really stir up a world in a quick minute, you know? So I'm just, I kind of sometimes just live my life ‘it is what it is. And we all need to do our best to get through it.’ So that's kind of my mindset on this whole pandemic, is that I'm hoping that the people out there making the decisions for us have the knowledge that they can share with us to lead us in the right direction.
Anjelica Oswald 04:14
And what are some of the issues that have concerned you the most about the pandemic?
Julie West 04:20
Um, you know, obviously the health of my loved ones and people I care about, making sure that they're okay. But you know, I also worry about, you know, the political aspect and you just hear every—.everybody's take on, you know, how everything's being handled. In that aspect, you know, of course, I'm concerned about the economic—what it’s done to us, economically wise, and that's scary, but I'm very fortunate that I have a job that I can do at home. In my...I think my biggest concern has been for the people who are really struggling, that maybe don't have the resources or the tools to manage something like this. I'm very fortunate that I do have that. And so my, my heart's heavy, my heart's heavy for the people out there that, that maybe aren't dealing with this very well, and it's affecting their family, it's affecting their lives. It's just, you know, scary it—I mean, it is scary to think, where is this heading and then have another outbreak? Or are they going to be able to figure something out? You know, I don't know. I, I don't know. Kind of wait and see kind of deal.
Anjelica Oswald 05:37
With you being on both city council and having to transition to e-learning what have you found are like the biggest challenges of doing those switches to digital for both of your roles?
Julie West 05:50
You know, I don't—not having that contact, not having that social contact, you know, with all the kids. I mean, I see probably 600 kids a...600 kids a week. And for me as an educator, I feel that teachers are a safe place for most kids. And I know that there's some kids, they need their teachers, because their home life maybe isn't as safe. So that's been—that's been really heavy on my heart thinking about those kids that don't have parents at home that, that are able to take care of them or give them maybe the hugs that they need because that happens everywhere. So that's been a difficult thing. But I've managed with the, I get tons of emails, you know, back from the kids on, that's totally manageable. And with the, you know, our city council meetings, doing the Zooms they've worked out well, I mean, we've adapted. We, it's like, we didn't lose a step. We just said, 'Okay, this is—these are our circumstances. What do we need to do to get through them the best we can,' and so I haven't felt, you know, like, 'Oh my gosh, oh, you know, oh my gosh, what are we going to do?' I've na-, I've not felt like that once.
Anjelica Oswald 07:03
What concerns do you have about the effects that COVID may have on your employment, like in the future in terms of like, school going back and that kind of stuff?
Julie West 07:13
Well, you know, it's interesting that you asked (computed dings) me that question. Because you know, with me being a PE teacher, a special teacher, I know that when we go back there's going to definitely be some changes when we start hearing back from our state what they're going to do educational wise, but you know, I, I've been thinking maybe I might not—maybe I'll lose my job just because that is one more time that kids are all together at once, you know, how am I going to teach learn, throwing and catching, you know, when they're exchanging, you know, stuff, you know, a ball, or teaching them things in groups, and we're going to truly try to eliminate that. So yeah, it's just recently it kind of, I thought to myself, I wonder if that might be a change that I might have to deal with, you know, in another couple months, which obviously I hope I don't have to but, but that's been a concern lately.
Anjelica Oswald 08:08
And you're actively involved in the community in your hometown. So can you tell me about some of the ways that you've been working with the community or for the community since this pandemic started?
Julie West 08:21
Sure. So it's kind of like, right at the beginning, and like I said, I was heavy-hearted for just everything that I knew everyone was going through. And I know this, we all have our struggles, and some are very minor struggles compared to some really deep struggles that I know people are having. And then I would think about the essential workers, the nurses, the police, you know, the whole gamut of essential and frontline workers, and I thought, wow, would I be able to do that? Would I feel comfortable to be able to go back into that atmosphere knowing that I'm putting myself and my family at risk coming home, you know, maybe I would get it. Would I bring it home? And I thought you know what, these people deserve to be thanked. So in, in any small way. So I just got to thinking one night. I prayed about it. I woke up the next morning, without a doubt in my mind, I could, I could do this. So I just got on social media and reached out to our community and said, "Hey, this is my thought. I want to feed these guys, I want to just provide some, something where it puts a smile on their faces." So I said, "Yeah, I'm going to start a GoFundMe. Anybody that wants to donate know that this money is going to go to feed the essential workers and our frontline workers and anybody interested.” The next thing you know, donations are coming in, you know, like, boom, boom, boom, boom. So it was, that was really cool. And I didn't doubt that that would not happen. Our community is very, very good at—when someone is in need. They're, they're willing to step up. So that's what I did. I just started it, and it took on a life of its own. More than I thought it would. It was I mean, it took work to organize all this and like, by the time we finished, which I think next week, we'll be finished with the money that we raised. As a community, we will have fed like, provided over 1000 meals to our firemen, our police officers, our health department, our animal shelter. I mean, the people that are out there every day going into work that, you know, our grocery, our grocery stores, we fed them. Like every Thursday, we feed our recycle and trash guys that come through. And we meet them in the high school parking lot at 11:30 every Thursday, and we provide lunch for them, just because I believe they, they need to know that we appreciate what they're doing. And so it just like it says, taken on a life of its own, and it's just good, feels good for my heart to know that just that little small thing, what I'm doing is very small compared to what they do every day. So, I mean, it's been good.
Anjelica Oswald 11:06
When you say we, is it just people that you know that have gotten involved or like, who is providing the meals, like who's working with?
Julie West 11:16
Okay, so when I sent out that, it was on Facebook. I'm not really socially out there like on Twitter and you know, all that stuff. So I just sent out a Facebook post on my own personal page. And then I started getting emails or donations to that GoFundMe from some people I did know. And then for people I didn't know. So, you know, I'm assuming they're just people in our community that saw that message. And so they want to help. And then since just, kind of regress back a little bit, when I was thinking about our frontline workers, I was thinking about all of our restaurants that were struggling. Some had to close, some we're trying to do the carry out. They're just scrambling to figure out how they could do everything. So that was part of it too, because I thought that's a win-win, help our restaurants out and then, you know, feed, feed these workers and you know, just bring a smile to their faces. So I reached out, I just reached out to our, some of our restaurants around here and said, "Hey, this is what's going on. We're not asking for you to donate anything. Can you, would you be interested?" And quite a few said, Yes, thank you very much. That would be great. Some already had to send their workers home, that or they did not have a surplus of food on hand to take on something like that. So it is, it is, you know, helped them out a lot. And they've been very appreciative of it. So, you know, I'm all for that win-win situation, you know, so that's been really, really good.
Anjelica Oswald 12:41
That's amazing. How are people around you responding to the pandemic? What have you noticed?
Julie West 12:50
Um, a mix. I know I have some friends and family that are very like every little guideline's followed, their kids don't go anywhere, they keep them in, but now that our state has kind of gone into that phase of, you know, people going out, I actually see more people without masks, and I see more people not following those guidelines, which is really disappointing. But, you know, I, I, you know, I just, I can and I'm always anywhere that I go, just like in the last week, I've been out more a little bit, doing some things and stepping out a little bit more. I have my mask with me every time, you know, and if I run into someone, you know, I put it on if they want me to, definitely keep our distance, but I'm definitely not paranoid at any, at any thought of getting it because I am taking into account those guidelines. But like I said, I and, I put that mask on out of respect for the other person that I'm around, you know. I feel okay. I feel okay to have a conversation six feet away from somebody, but if they don't, I have no problem putting a mask on. I'm not going to be defensive, and I see some of that in our community, people just not understanding the other person's view on that. And, you know, to me, it all comes down to your perspective. And my perspective on life is pretty open, you know, and I can respect other people's feelings and how they look at things. So, um, but yeah, I've seen people really kind of come out like, and, you know, it's like, Really, guys, we're not out of this yet. It's still obviously a big concern. But, you know, I can only, I can only take care of and control what I do. So like I said, I try to do my best.
Anjelica Oswald 14:40
I think one of the things about it is just how different local, state and like the federal government itself, how every response has been different, and so do you have any thoughts on that, seeing, you know, how it's different, how much it varies from community to state to federal?
Julie West 14:57
Right. Well, I like this. I mean, I, I think, I had—tend to have a little bit more respect for the governors out there that are, that are being overly cautious. Because I'm sorry, for me, if you tell me, you know, I need to stay in, okay, I'm going to stay in. I don't feel like I'm being herded around. I don't feel that way at all. Um, alright, I'm controlled by the government. I don't feel that way. Because I think what they're trying to do is just—is to protect as many people as they possibly can. I'm sure. I can't imagine making those decisions, being in that role to make those decisions, and so I think the ones that are being overly cautious, I mean, they're just looking out for what's best for us, for us all. Some people have such a strong opinion, just the opposite, you know, which they're entitled to their opinion, but I'm kind of liking the fact that you know, we are where we are in our phase. I know some like Illinois and Michigan, they're still pretty tight, tight, you know, keeping everybody under a stricter guideline, but I think that's a good idea. I really do. I mean, this is—this is new to everybody. So thinking, err on the side of caution there for me, that's how I look at it.
Anjelica Oswald 16:20
Has COVID changed your relationship with friends or family in the community?
Julie West 16:26
No, no, no, it hasn't. Like I said, I'm a hugger, too, though, you know? So that's been kind of hard like, you know, if I run into somebody that first inkling sometimes is to give them a hug, you know, or, or, you know, I've seen like some of my son's friends that I just always want a hug, because I'm sure you're aware that I lost my son Jake at 17. So when I see them, a hug is always, always welcome. So that's been kind of tough is like, oh, and then it's like, you pull back. You can't do that. That's it. I mean, it's something that we're gonna all have to adjust to and I just think people just sometimes need to take a step back and say, you know, it's not all about you, it's not all about me, it's about what's, what we can, what's best for everybody.
Anjelica Oswald 17:15
Aside from masks, what other kind of precautions have you been taking?
Julie West 17:18
Washing my hands more—definitely washing my hands more, and if I do, you know, like I delivered a couple of the meals and stuff, and I would wear my mask in and then you know do a hand off or something. I come out, you know, of course I'm washing my hands. I actually, in my truck, I have like a little—like a gallon of water if I ever really need to feel like I need to wash my hands really well, you know, and I have soap back there just in case. I haven't used it yet. But if I'm gonna be prepared, I'm all about being prepared. But you know, I definitely sanitize, you know, more. In, in the very beginning, you know, when I, when groceries were delivered or I did have to go get groceries, I would wipe things down because everybody was, that's what they were saying. I thought I can do that, you know, I can easily wipe down my groceries. If it keeps me from getting sick, no big deal. You know, I'd rather do that and—than be on TV like some of these people that are going through this and the thought of like, my family not being able to be there for me how hard that would be. And I think that's something people are not thinking about. So let's say they, they end up, they're out there doing the thing and they're not thinking about that they could easily bring that back just to a loved one. And if that loved one has to go in hospital, you're not going to be able to go in there and be with them. So I just don't think people think beyond themselves. I don't—that'll never change. Well, there's always going to be people like that. But I, for myself, I'm very aware of that when I'm out and about. So I don't wash things down like I used to now. I mean, like, if I get a package, I get it, I open it, I go wash my hands, and then I'm done with it. Before, I probably would have let it set maybe there for a day or so before touching it, so I am definitely, you know, getting to the point where I'm going to have to go out eventually one day, you know, so it's like, I don't know, so I'm not as cautious with stuff like that in my home. But when I go out, I'm very, I try to be very aware of like staying six feet away from somebody or, you know, wear my mask, but that's pretty much it.
Anjelica Oswald 19:37
Has it affected how you do like day-to-day activities? Like do you find yourself shopping less or, you know?
Julie West 19:44
I haven't been into a good TJ Maxx store in forever, you know, you know, I have not done that. Definitely saved some money. Amazon has come a few times, so that's that's always fun. But um, yeah, I definitely I'm not so ready to, you know, jump in my car, you know. Normally, now that I'm done with teaching, you know, I'd stop and see my mom. But like I said, she's 91. She's in great health, so lucky for that, but I converse with her through her window. So I mean, that's, that's been hard, that's been hard not to hug my mom too, you know, not be able to do that. So, it's I mean, it's affected but not not to the point where I feel like I'm losing out on life. I don't feel that way.
Anjelica Oswald 20:35
What do you, what are you biggest challenges with that? Like or if something's you know, adding more pressure or do you feel relatively at ease?
Julie West 20:46
I feel relatively at ease. But that's my mindset. That's my perspective on life. You know, after you lose a child, like losing Jake, a lot of things you look at life a whole lot differently. Um, so, for me, you know, my worry is for the people that are getting sick. You know, that's scary. That's a worry for me. But other than that I've just been, you know, I've been getting a lot of projects done for sure, because I have stayed in quite a bit. But, you know, this too, shall pass. That's how I look at it. But I don't know if it's going to be, you know, a year from now, six months from now. And I know life will be different for everyone. And it's, and I think it should be. I mean, I think everyone should be washing their hands all the time. (chuckles) You know, I think, I think good hygiene is a good thing, you know, so maybe this will keep people, you know, get people to do that more often. And, you know, maybe start with our kids, you know, with little kids, start, you know, training them differently, in how they take care of, you know, they're, they're hands everywhere and stuff like that. So I don't know.
Anjelica Oswald 22:01
What are some of the things that you've done for like recreation since being home?
Julie West 22:06
I bike. I've been biking a lot more. So I jump on my bike and I go, I take my dogs for a walk. So that's definitely kind of pushed me out, outside more. So I do that, and you know, I run a nonprofit foundation, so that keeps me very busy. We had to cancel, or I want to say postpone our annual golf outing that, that's our biggest fundraiser we have every year to provide free heart screenings. So I had to postpone that until next year. So that was a big decision to make. I didn't make that lightly, but I thought that was best because I thought, "Okay, what if, what if? What if someone got sick at Jake's golf outing?" That would be, I mean, that'd be horrible. So for me to say, "Okay, we're going to have it next year. We'll come back next year." To me that just made perfect sense.
Anjelica Oswald 22:56
And what's the name of the nonprofit for people to..?
Julie West 23:01
Play for Jake Foundation. And we do provide free heart screenings.. We do EKGs and echocardiograms for school age students. We go into the school, and we provide those free of cost to, to students.
Anjelica Oswald 23:16
And has anyone you know gotten sick with COVID?
Julie West 23:19
No, no, no. So I feel very fortunate there that, you know, I don't have that...I don't have that heaviness that there's someone out there that I know that has it. So I feel very fortunate and blessed.
Anjelica Oswald 23:35
In what ways do you think that this pandemic is affecting kind of people's mental or physical health?
Julie West 23:41
Um, man, I think it's affecting some people more than we're going to realize, you know what I mean? Obviously, we're not in their homes to see it. But, you know, there's a lot of people that struggle day-to-day without a pandemic, you know, being you know, quarantined and stuff like that. So yeah, that's a big concern and a big worry. But I also think, man it's brought a probably a lot of families together. More time at home with families with fathers and mothers that are working all the time, kind of forced them to be at home, and I'm sure that's really good. Sometimes it's, you know, I, I raised two kids, I know sometimes it's like, "Oh, my gosh, guys, you know, we all need our space, you know?" So I'm sure that's been really difficult. So it's affecting a lot of people, I'm sure more than we realize.
Anjelica Oswald 24:32
Are you isolating alone, or do you live with people?
Julie West 24:36
I'm isolating alone. I have my dogs. I have my two pups, thank goodness. So that makes it a lot easier on me. So if my circumstances were different, and I had little kids that I was trying to work and e-learn with and or, you know, or my husband was going to work and coming home every day, you know, that would be a lot more difficult. I would like to think that, you know, you know, my core is, what is my core, so I think that, I would like to think that I would handle that well. So I am definitely one that does not have those, that added struggle, layers of worry, like a lot of families do. So I feel very fortunate. I'm very, very blessed in that aspect. So then I think that's why I kind of reached out to do what we did with the meals, just to, man, just to show people the appreciation that, "You guys are, you guys are appreciated, and we notice what you're doing." And that's important.
Anjelica Oswald 25:33
You said earlier that you're close to reaching the end of the amount that you raised. Do you have any intention of raising some more or is it kind of just gonna?
Julie West 25:41
Yeah, I think, I think we're going to kind of stop. Our community in other aspects, too, have stepped up to help out. I mean, there's other groups out there that are you know, doing some things. I really need to get back on track with my foundation work. I have a lot to do there. My city council work. I have, my plate is really fully loaded there. So I definitely feel we made an impact. And I thought, you know, things have to start somewhere and things have to end somewhere. So I think we'll probably end up finishing up next week. And what we plan to do with like some of the extra money is, is maybe go purchase a couple gift cards from our local establishments and take them to like the hospital. "Here's $100 gift card. When it's a good time, take this $100 gift card and buy some...you know, get the dinners delivered. Because it's kind of hard on them. I'm sure they're inundated with people coming in and wanting to give and, and stuff and you'd hate to see anything go to waste. Everybody has those, you know, the three shifts that you're always trying to worry about. So I think that that's a good way maybe to end that final, you know, $700, $800 that we have left to do that, so.
Anjelica Oswald 26:53
And as you're part of city council, what kind of conversations have you guys had about the pandemic or COVID in general?
Julie West 27:00
Just mainly keeping our community safe. I mean, we, we, you know, we put in an executive, the mayor put in executive orders that we all voted on about, you know, our larger stores, you know, having these guidelines like, you guys need to enforce these guidelines for the community. And I think for the most part, I think they've done a good job. But as soon as we kind of went into our phases, it was like, some places it was like a free for all. And it's like, oh, my gosh, so that was a little, a little disappointing, um, seeing some of that stuff happen. But we're finding that we can do business this way. We can do a lot of business, and we can keep people maybe from coming into City Hall where there's a constant, you know, in and out, you know, there's other ways, so we've learned a lot for sure, which I think is, is going to be very beneficial to our city.
Anjelica Oswald 27:54
Has the city been doing things differently than the state or is it relatively following along with what the state is saying?
Julie West 28:01
Pretty much following along with what the state is saying, you know, I think our mayor, we have a new mayor. He's very engaged with our community, more so than I've ever witnessed before of any mayor. So that's been very refreshing. So I think he, I think he and his, his focus is keeping our community safe. So he's definitely staying on top of things. So that's, that's nice to know, even not even being on city council, just being a member of our community, that our mayor and our, you know, are keeping our best interest in, first and foremost in his decisions so, that's good.
Anjelica Oswald 28:43
You mentioned earlier, you know, watching news and like, trying to keep up with things but also not do too much. What are your primary sources of news during the pandemic?
Julie West 28:54
Well, let's see. Um, my daughter would probably be like, "Mom, I can't believe you listen to that." Um, you know, like I'll turn the "TODAY Show" on in the morning and just, and, and hear things, but like I said I any politician that gets on there and starts acting like they know the stuff that the scientists know, I just, I just lots of time I just turn it off. I don't want to focus on that I want, to you know, I want to hear from the professionals and they don't even really know everything either, this is you know, this type of thing that's going on is new. I, you know, I know we've had pandemics in the past but I don't know if it's not, if it's not something positive where they're trying to figure out a solution to something instead of complaining and or, you know, about other people or other, you know, organizations doing this or that, I just, I just don't watch it. I just don't...I try to put positive...Okay, let's figure out a solution to things. That's what I try to do. I just, it just makes me feel better. It makes me feel like okay, what can I do to help instead of all the complaining and, and all that, that gets you nowhere. So it's like, let's figure out how we can move forward the best we can to keep everyone safe and, and stuff, so that's that's what I do.
Anjelica Oswald 30:16
How do you think this pandemic compares to maybe other big events that have happened in your lifetime?
Julie West 30:22
Um, it's affected every, this is affecting everybody, you know, so I guess, you know, the 9/11 and stuff like that that I mean that obviously affected a core group but then it rippled out, you know, to the, you know, to the families and the cities and everybody and how we did, how we carried on in life, so I mean, that was obviously, obviously a horrible event that happened. But the, on this level, I've never been a part of anything like this, a pandemic like this that I can even remember. I'm so...no one's immune to it. You know, no matter how wealthy you are, no matter how beautiful you are, no matter anything, I mean, you can be affected by this. So it has no boundaries for sure. So, yea.
Anjelica Oswald 31:14
What can you imagine life being like in a year from now?
Julie West 31:18
Um, you know, I can, I'm hoping let's put it this way, I'm hoping that we all can get back into our activities. But then just I think all of us need to just be more more aware of our, our distancing, maybe, um, just in, just in case. I mean, to me, to me going to into an establishment that is packed full is not worth me getting sick, and then me possibly giving it to someone else. So I think with everything that the restaurants are trying to do, you know, with the seating and everything, I think it's a good idea right now. But then again, people forget over time, you know, I can easily see things go back to the way it was. And there's, you know, 100 people, in one little small, you know, restaurants that are, you know, back to back elbow to elbow. And that's happening now. But I could, I can see it kind of go back to that it wouldn't surprise me. I mean, I hope it doesn't, I hope we can just figure out a better way to do life.
Anjelica Oswald 32:23
Do you think or knowing, even though we don't know, much yet still, even to this day, knowing what we know now, what do you think that individuals and communities and governments should keep in mind for the future?
Julie West 32:41
Um, that we're in it all together, we're in this all together, you know. I mean, there's to me, there's so many people out there that just feel so threatened by being told what to do. And like I said, I think a lot of people don't think beyond themselves and need to realize that there's others and other things that need to be taken into account. Like the decisions that the governor is making, I cannot, I can't even begin to imagine all the factors that he needs to take in to figure out what is best. Um, and you know, that's, that's kind of how it is. He's the governor, he's gonna make that final decision and whether I like it or not, I'm still going to try to do my part to keep people safe. I mean, people are dying. I mean, it's not like people are going to like not feel well for a while, you know, and everyone's going to get through it. I mean, people are dying. So to me if I have to change some, some of the things that I do to keep myself safe or my family safe, then I, to me, as I'm okay with that, I think it's important.
Anjelica Oswald 33:45
With , you know, the weather getting warmer, and people, like you said, they're starting to start going out more now that these phases are reopening. What are you kind of hoping to see this summer? How are you hoping people act or respond to what's happening?
Julie West 34:00
I'm kind of hoping that you know, people still I mean, still get out and, but they still keep that family like what they've learned in the past couple months with their family, I mean, and I'm sure it's probably brought a lot of families closer, and I'm sure it's for some families, it's been a really hard time for them, and maybe some relationships have been destroyed. But I'm kind of hoping that as we move out into the warmth, and everybody gets out there that we just we're respectful of each other's opinions and their perspective and just be respectful. I mean, we might not agree with it, but it doesn't mean that what I say to you is, right, this is how I feel is my perspective on life and just, you know, be kind to one another, I mean, give everybody a little slack, you know. It's just like, I think I was in a store one time and I kind of walked up thinking, not even thinking about that six foot distance because I never had to really before but I like I caught myself, you know, and then I just kind of took a step back. I'm like, Okay, I'm just trying to be really aware of that. And there's a lot of us that will do that and there's some that won't, but I mean I, like I said I can only, I can only take care of how I do things, you know, I can't change other people's minds. I can maybe hopefully educate them if they need that just as I'm being educated by watching the things on TV from the scientists about how to, you know, get through our days. So I just, I just hope we don't have like a really another round of, of it, and we're all shut down and you know, we're all shut down again and everybody's supposed to stay inside again. I hope that doesn't happen.
Anjelica Oswald 35:39
So, well thank you so much for talking with me. I'm gonna stop recording.
Interviewer(s): [West, Julie]
Date: [2020-05-19]
Transcribed by: [Otter], [Oswald, Anjelica]
Edited by: [Oswald, Anjelica]
Byline: This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive.
Anjelica Oswald 00:00
Hi, I'm Anjelica Oswald, and I'm a public history master's student at Northeastern working on the Journal of a Plague Year Archive. Today I'm speaking with Julie West about her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today is May 19, 2020. And it's 2pm Eastern/ 1pm Central time. So, really my first question for you is, how old are you?
Julie West 00:22
54.
Anjelica Oswald 00:24
And what do you do on a day-to-day basis?
Julie West 00:28
I'm an elementary physical education teacher. So I just finished up my last week of school, so that's what I normally do. So I'm out for the summer. I'm on break.
Anjelica Oswald 00:40
And how did your job change with the pandemic hitting?
Julie West 00:45
Well, it was I think the date was like March, I can't remember the exact date but it was March maybe 16th. And we said goodbye to everybody at the school not knowing that we would not be able to come back into our classrooms. So that—It's been a big adjustment. You know, I miss the kiddos in this e-learning that we're doing. We're equipped at our school to be able to do e-learning. So we're very fortunate in that aspect. So I think we've done a pretty good job staying in contact with our students, and just making the best out of a situation that we all are dealing with.
Anjelica Oswald 01:21
What school do you work at?
Julie West 01:22
Olive Elementary in New Carlisle, Indiana. So I have K through fifth grade. So I have a lot of students throughout the week.
Anjelica Oswald 01:27
I can imagine, and do you live in New Carlisle?
Julie West 01:37
No, I live in La Porte. So I got a little commute in the morning, but it's not too bad.
Anjelica Oswald 01:43
And so without that commute, how's life been?
Julie West 01:48
Um, you know, it's interesting to say the least and I, I am also on our city council in our town, so we've had to make a lot of adjustments with our city council meetings, a lot of Zooms, you know, just try to follow the guidelines and do what's right, and what's best for our community. Um, you know, I've been very careful with my visits, like with my family, my mother's 91 you know, I talk to her through her window. And, you know, I'm very aware, like I said, of following those guidelines that are set in front of us. Hasn't always been easy, but you know what, I just, I do my best every day and I'm okay. I mean, I'm getting through it. And I know better days are ahead. And I just don't know when they're going to be here where we can kind of get—feel more comfortable going out and being around people and, and stuff. But you know, I'm very faith based and very comfortable in my prayer to help me get through my days. So that's, that's been helpful for me.
Anjelica Oswald 02:57
When you first learned about the COVID-19 pandemic, what were your thoughts?
Julie West 03:04
Well, at first it was like, I can't—it can't be that bad. You know, I'd say maybe it's just like another flu. I tend to listen to more to the scientists and the data that they bring up over any politician or any other person that definitely has a strong opinion on it. But as the days went on, you know, I saw how, how it was affecting so many people, and it's really hard to watch the news. I'm very careful of how much I watch and who I watch because it can really stir up a world in a quick minute, you know? So I'm just, I kind of sometimes just live my life ‘it is what it is. And we all need to do our best to get through it.’ So that's kind of my mindset on this whole pandemic, is that I'm hoping that the people out there making the decisions for us have the knowledge that they can share with us to lead us in the right direction.
Anjelica Oswald 04:14
And what are some of the issues that have concerned you the most about the pandemic?
Julie West 04:20
Um, you know, obviously the health of my loved ones and people I care about, making sure that they're okay. But you know, I also worry about, you know, the political aspect and you just hear every—.everybody's take on, you know, how everything's being handled. In that aspect, you know, of course, I'm concerned about the economic—what it’s done to us, economically wise, and that's scary, but I'm very fortunate that I have a job that I can do at home. In my...I think my biggest concern has been for the people who are really struggling, that maybe don't have the resources or the tools to manage something like this. I'm very fortunate that I do have that. And so my, my heart's heavy, my heart's heavy for the people out there that, that maybe aren't dealing with this very well, and it's affecting their family, it's affecting their lives. It's just, you know, scary it—I mean, it is scary to think, where is this heading and then have another outbreak? Or are they going to be able to figure something out? You know, I don't know. I, I don't know. Kind of wait and see kind of deal.
Anjelica Oswald 05:37
With you being on both city council and having to transition to e-learning what have you found are like the biggest challenges of doing those switches to digital for both of your roles?
Julie West 05:50
You know, I don't—not having that contact, not having that social contact, you know, with all the kids. I mean, I see probably 600 kids a...600 kids a week. And for me as an educator, I feel that teachers are a safe place for most kids. And I know that there's some kids, they need their teachers, because their home life maybe isn't as safe. So that's been—that's been really heavy on my heart thinking about those kids that don't have parents at home that, that are able to take care of them or give them maybe the hugs that they need because that happens everywhere. So that's been a difficult thing. But I've managed with the, I get tons of emails, you know, back from the kids on, that's totally manageable. And with the, you know, our city council meetings, doing the Zooms they've worked out well, I mean, we've adapted. We, it's like, we didn't lose a step. We just said, 'Okay, this is—these are our circumstances. What do we need to do to get through them the best we can,' and so I haven't felt, you know, like, 'Oh my gosh, oh, you know, oh my gosh, what are we going to do?' I've na-, I've not felt like that once.
Anjelica Oswald 07:03
What concerns do you have about the effects that COVID may have on your employment, like in the future in terms of like, school going back and that kind of stuff?
Julie West 07:13
Well, you know, it's interesting that you asked (computed dings) me that question. Because you know, with me being a PE teacher, a special teacher, I know that when we go back there's going to definitely be some changes when we start hearing back from our state what they're going to do educational wise, but you know, I, I've been thinking maybe I might not—maybe I'll lose my job just because that is one more time that kids are all together at once, you know, how am I going to teach learn, throwing and catching, you know, when they're exchanging, you know, stuff, you know, a ball, or teaching them things in groups, and we're going to truly try to eliminate that. So yeah, it's just recently it kind of, I thought to myself, I wonder if that might be a change that I might have to deal with, you know, in another couple months, which obviously I hope I don't have to but, but that's been a concern lately.
Anjelica Oswald 08:08
And you're actively involved in the community in your hometown. So can you tell me about some of the ways that you've been working with the community or for the community since this pandemic started?
Julie West 08:21
Sure. So it's kind of like, right at the beginning, and like I said, I was heavy-hearted for just everything that I knew everyone was going through. And I know this, we all have our struggles, and some are very minor struggles compared to some really deep struggles that I know people are having. And then I would think about the essential workers, the nurses, the police, you know, the whole gamut of essential and frontline workers, and I thought, wow, would I be able to do that? Would I feel comfortable to be able to go back into that atmosphere knowing that I'm putting myself and my family at risk coming home, you know, maybe I would get it. Would I bring it home? And I thought you know what, these people deserve to be thanked. So in, in any small way. So I just got to thinking one night. I prayed about it. I woke up the next morning, without a doubt in my mind, I could, I could do this. So I just got on social media and reached out to our community and said, "Hey, this is my thought. I want to feed these guys, I want to just provide some, something where it puts a smile on their faces." So I said, "Yeah, I'm going to start a GoFundMe. Anybody that wants to donate know that this money is going to go to feed the essential workers and our frontline workers and anybody interested.” The next thing you know, donations are coming in, you know, like, boom, boom, boom, boom. So it was, that was really cool. And I didn't doubt that that would not happen. Our community is very, very good at—when someone is in need. They're, they're willing to step up. So that's what I did. I just started it, and it took on a life of its own. More than I thought it would. It was I mean, it took work to organize all this and like, by the time we finished, which I think next week, we'll be finished with the money that we raised. As a community, we will have fed like, provided over 1000 meals to our firemen, our police officers, our health department, our animal shelter. I mean, the people that are out there every day going into work that, you know, our grocery, our grocery stores, we fed them. Like every Thursday, we feed our recycle and trash guys that come through. And we meet them in the high school parking lot at 11:30 every Thursday, and we provide lunch for them, just because I believe they, they need to know that we appreciate what they're doing. And so it just like it says, taken on a life of its own, and it's just good, feels good for my heart to know that just that little small thing, what I'm doing is very small compared to what they do every day. So, I mean, it's been good.
Anjelica Oswald 11:06
When you say we, is it just people that you know that have gotten involved or like, who is providing the meals, like who's working with?
Julie West 11:16
Okay, so when I sent out that, it was on Facebook. I'm not really socially out there like on Twitter and you know, all that stuff. So I just sent out a Facebook post on my own personal page. And then I started getting emails or donations to that GoFundMe from some people I did know. And then for people I didn't know. So, you know, I'm assuming they're just people in our community that saw that message. And so they want to help. And then since just, kind of regress back a little bit, when I was thinking about our frontline workers, I was thinking about all of our restaurants that were struggling. Some had to close, some we're trying to do the carry out. They're just scrambling to figure out how they could do everything. So that was part of it too, because I thought that's a win-win, help our restaurants out and then, you know, feed, feed these workers and you know, just bring a smile to their faces. So I reached out, I just reached out to our, some of our restaurants around here and said, "Hey, this is what's going on. We're not asking for you to donate anything. Can you, would you be interested?" And quite a few said, Yes, thank you very much. That would be great. Some already had to send their workers home, that or they did not have a surplus of food on hand to take on something like that. So it is, it is, you know, helped them out a lot. And they've been very appreciative of it. So, you know, I'm all for that win-win situation, you know, so that's been really, really good.
Anjelica Oswald 12:41
That's amazing. How are people around you responding to the pandemic? What have you noticed?
Julie West 12:50
Um, a mix. I know I have some friends and family that are very like every little guideline's followed, their kids don't go anywhere, they keep them in, but now that our state has kind of gone into that phase of, you know, people going out, I actually see more people without masks, and I see more people not following those guidelines, which is really disappointing. But, you know, I, I, you know, I just, I can and I'm always anywhere that I go, just like in the last week, I've been out more a little bit, doing some things and stepping out a little bit more. I have my mask with me every time, you know, and if I run into someone, you know, I put it on if they want me to, definitely keep our distance, but I'm definitely not paranoid at any, at any thought of getting it because I am taking into account those guidelines. But like I said, I and, I put that mask on out of respect for the other person that I'm around, you know. I feel okay. I feel okay to have a conversation six feet away from somebody, but if they don't, I have no problem putting a mask on. I'm not going to be defensive, and I see some of that in our community, people just not understanding the other person's view on that. And, you know, to me, it all comes down to your perspective. And my perspective on life is pretty open, you know, and I can respect other people's feelings and how they look at things. So, um, but yeah, I've seen people really kind of come out like, and, you know, it's like, Really, guys, we're not out of this yet. It's still obviously a big concern. But, you know, I can only, I can only take care of and control what I do. So like I said, I try to do my best.
Anjelica Oswald 14:40
I think one of the things about it is just how different local, state and like the federal government itself, how every response has been different, and so do you have any thoughts on that, seeing, you know, how it's different, how much it varies from community to state to federal?
Julie West 14:57
Right. Well, I like this. I mean, I, I think, I had—tend to have a little bit more respect for the governors out there that are, that are being overly cautious. Because I'm sorry, for me, if you tell me, you know, I need to stay in, okay, I'm going to stay in. I don't feel like I'm being herded around. I don't feel that way at all. Um, alright, I'm controlled by the government. I don't feel that way. Because I think what they're trying to do is just—is to protect as many people as they possibly can. I'm sure. I can't imagine making those decisions, being in that role to make those decisions, and so I think the ones that are being overly cautious, I mean, they're just looking out for what's best for us, for us all. Some people have such a strong opinion, just the opposite, you know, which they're entitled to their opinion, but I'm kind of liking the fact that you know, we are where we are in our phase. I know some like Illinois and Michigan, they're still pretty tight, tight, you know, keeping everybody under a stricter guideline, but I think that's a good idea. I really do. I mean, this is—this is new to everybody. So thinking, err on the side of caution there for me, that's how I look at it.
Anjelica Oswald 16:20
Has COVID changed your relationship with friends or family in the community?
Julie West 16:26
No, no, no, it hasn't. Like I said, I'm a hugger, too, though, you know? So that's been kind of hard like, you know, if I run into somebody that first inkling sometimes is to give them a hug, you know, or, or, you know, I've seen like some of my son's friends that I just always want a hug, because I'm sure you're aware that I lost my son Jake at 17. So when I see them, a hug is always, always welcome. So that's been kind of tough is like, oh, and then it's like, you pull back. You can't do that. That's it. I mean, it's something that we're gonna all have to adjust to and I just think people just sometimes need to take a step back and say, you know, it's not all about you, it's not all about me, it's about what's, what we can, what's best for everybody.
Anjelica Oswald 17:15
Aside from masks, what other kind of precautions have you been taking?
Julie West 17:18
Washing my hands more—definitely washing my hands more, and if I do, you know, like I delivered a couple of the meals and stuff, and I would wear my mask in and then you know do a hand off or something. I come out, you know, of course I'm washing my hands. I actually, in my truck, I have like a little—like a gallon of water if I ever really need to feel like I need to wash my hands really well, you know, and I have soap back there just in case. I haven't used it yet. But if I'm gonna be prepared, I'm all about being prepared. But you know, I definitely sanitize, you know, more. In, in the very beginning, you know, when I, when groceries were delivered or I did have to go get groceries, I would wipe things down because everybody was, that's what they were saying. I thought I can do that, you know, I can easily wipe down my groceries. If it keeps me from getting sick, no big deal. You know, I'd rather do that and—than be on TV like some of these people that are going through this and the thought of like, my family not being able to be there for me how hard that would be. And I think that's something people are not thinking about. So let's say they, they end up, they're out there doing the thing and they're not thinking about that they could easily bring that back just to a loved one. And if that loved one has to go in hospital, you're not going to be able to go in there and be with them. So I just don't think people think beyond themselves. I don't—that'll never change. Well, there's always going to be people like that. But I, for myself, I'm very aware of that when I'm out and about. So I don't wash things down like I used to now. I mean, like, if I get a package, I get it, I open it, I go wash my hands, and then I'm done with it. Before, I probably would have let it set maybe there for a day or so before touching it, so I am definitely, you know, getting to the point where I'm going to have to go out eventually one day, you know, so it's like, I don't know, so I'm not as cautious with stuff like that in my home. But when I go out, I'm very, I try to be very aware of like staying six feet away from somebody or, you know, wear my mask, but that's pretty much it.
Anjelica Oswald 19:37
Has it affected how you do like day-to-day activities? Like do you find yourself shopping less or, you know?
Julie West 19:44
I haven't been into a good TJ Maxx store in forever, you know, you know, I have not done that. Definitely saved some money. Amazon has come a few times, so that's that's always fun. But um, yeah, I definitely I'm not so ready to, you know, jump in my car, you know. Normally, now that I'm done with teaching, you know, I'd stop and see my mom. But like I said, she's 91. She's in great health, so lucky for that, but I converse with her through her window. So I mean, that's, that's been hard, that's been hard not to hug my mom too, you know, not be able to do that. So, it's I mean, it's affected but not not to the point where I feel like I'm losing out on life. I don't feel that way.
Anjelica Oswald 20:35
What do you, what are you biggest challenges with that? Like or if something's you know, adding more pressure or do you feel relatively at ease?
Julie West 20:46
I feel relatively at ease. But that's my mindset. That's my perspective on life. You know, after you lose a child, like losing Jake, a lot of things you look at life a whole lot differently. Um, so, for me, you know, my worry is for the people that are getting sick. You know, that's scary. That's a worry for me. But other than that I've just been, you know, I've been getting a lot of projects done for sure, because I have stayed in quite a bit. But, you know, this too, shall pass. That's how I look at it. But I don't know if it's going to be, you know, a year from now, six months from now. And I know life will be different for everyone. And it's, and I think it should be. I mean, I think everyone should be washing their hands all the time. (chuckles) You know, I think, I think good hygiene is a good thing, you know, so maybe this will keep people, you know, get people to do that more often. And, you know, maybe start with our kids, you know, with little kids, start, you know, training them differently, in how they take care of, you know, they're, they're hands everywhere and stuff like that. So I don't know.
Anjelica Oswald 22:01
What are some of the things that you've done for like recreation since being home?
Julie West 22:06
I bike. I've been biking a lot more. So I jump on my bike and I go, I take my dogs for a walk. So that's definitely kind of pushed me out, outside more. So I do that, and you know, I run a nonprofit foundation, so that keeps me very busy. We had to cancel, or I want to say postpone our annual golf outing that, that's our biggest fundraiser we have every year to provide free heart screenings. So I had to postpone that until next year. So that was a big decision to make. I didn't make that lightly, but I thought that was best because I thought, "Okay, what if, what if? What if someone got sick at Jake's golf outing?" That would be, I mean, that'd be horrible. So for me to say, "Okay, we're going to have it next year. We'll come back next year." To me that just made perfect sense.
Anjelica Oswald 22:56
And what's the name of the nonprofit for people to..?
Julie West 23:01
Play for Jake Foundation. And we do provide free heart screenings.. We do EKGs and echocardiograms for school age students. We go into the school, and we provide those free of cost to, to students.
Anjelica Oswald 23:16
And has anyone you know gotten sick with COVID?
Julie West 23:19
No, no, no. So I feel very fortunate there that, you know, I don't have that...I don't have that heaviness that there's someone out there that I know that has it. So I feel very fortunate and blessed.
Anjelica Oswald 23:35
In what ways do you think that this pandemic is affecting kind of people's mental or physical health?
Julie West 23:41
Um, man, I think it's affecting some people more than we're going to realize, you know what I mean? Obviously, we're not in their homes to see it. But, you know, there's a lot of people that struggle day-to-day without a pandemic, you know, being you know, quarantined and stuff like that. So yeah, that's a big concern and a big worry. But I also think, man it's brought a probably a lot of families together. More time at home with families with fathers and mothers that are working all the time, kind of forced them to be at home, and I'm sure that's really good. Sometimes it's, you know, I, I raised two kids, I know sometimes it's like, "Oh, my gosh, guys, you know, we all need our space, you know?" So I'm sure that's been really difficult. So it's affecting a lot of people, I'm sure more than we realize.
Anjelica Oswald 24:32
Are you isolating alone, or do you live with people?
Julie West 24:36
I'm isolating alone. I have my dogs. I have my two pups, thank goodness. So that makes it a lot easier on me. So if my circumstances were different, and I had little kids that I was trying to work and e-learn with and or, you know, or my husband was going to work and coming home every day, you know, that would be a lot more difficult. I would like to think that, you know, you know, my core is, what is my core, so I think that, I would like to think that I would handle that well. So I am definitely one that does not have those, that added struggle, layers of worry, like a lot of families do. So I feel very fortunate. I'm very, very blessed in that aspect. So then I think that's why I kind of reached out to do what we did with the meals, just to, man, just to show people the appreciation that, "You guys are, you guys are appreciated, and we notice what you're doing." And that's important.
Anjelica Oswald 25:33
You said earlier that you're close to reaching the end of the amount that you raised. Do you have any intention of raising some more or is it kind of just gonna?
Julie West 25:41
Yeah, I think, I think we're going to kind of stop. Our community in other aspects, too, have stepped up to help out. I mean, there's other groups out there that are you know, doing some things. I really need to get back on track with my foundation work. I have a lot to do there. My city council work. I have, my plate is really fully loaded there. So I definitely feel we made an impact. And I thought, you know, things have to start somewhere and things have to end somewhere. So I think we'll probably end up finishing up next week. And what we plan to do with like some of the extra money is, is maybe go purchase a couple gift cards from our local establishments and take them to like the hospital. "Here's $100 gift card. When it's a good time, take this $100 gift card and buy some...you know, get the dinners delivered. Because it's kind of hard on them. I'm sure they're inundated with people coming in and wanting to give and, and stuff and you'd hate to see anything go to waste. Everybody has those, you know, the three shifts that you're always trying to worry about. So I think that that's a good way maybe to end that final, you know, $700, $800 that we have left to do that, so.
Anjelica Oswald 26:53
And as you're part of city council, what kind of conversations have you guys had about the pandemic or COVID in general?
Julie West 27:00
Just mainly keeping our community safe. I mean, we, we, you know, we put in an executive, the mayor put in executive orders that we all voted on about, you know, our larger stores, you know, having these guidelines like, you guys need to enforce these guidelines for the community. And I think for the most part, I think they've done a good job. But as soon as we kind of went into our phases, it was like, some places it was like a free for all. And it's like, oh, my gosh, so that was a little, a little disappointing, um, seeing some of that stuff happen. But we're finding that we can do business this way. We can do a lot of business, and we can keep people maybe from coming into City Hall where there's a constant, you know, in and out, you know, there's other ways, so we've learned a lot for sure, which I think is, is going to be very beneficial to our city.
Anjelica Oswald 27:54
Has the city been doing things differently than the state or is it relatively following along with what the state is saying?
Julie West 28:01
Pretty much following along with what the state is saying, you know, I think our mayor, we have a new mayor. He's very engaged with our community, more so than I've ever witnessed before of any mayor. So that's been very refreshing. So I think he, I think he and his, his focus is keeping our community safe. So he's definitely staying on top of things. So that's, that's nice to know, even not even being on city council, just being a member of our community, that our mayor and our, you know, are keeping our best interest in, first and foremost in his decisions so, that's good.
Anjelica Oswald 28:43
You mentioned earlier, you know, watching news and like, trying to keep up with things but also not do too much. What are your primary sources of news during the pandemic?
Julie West 28:54
Well, let's see. Um, my daughter would probably be like, "Mom, I can't believe you listen to that." Um, you know, like I'll turn the "TODAY Show" on in the morning and just, and, and hear things, but like I said I any politician that gets on there and starts acting like they know the stuff that the scientists know, I just, I just lots of time I just turn it off. I don't want to focus on that I want, to you know, I want to hear from the professionals and they don't even really know everything either, this is you know, this type of thing that's going on is new. I, you know, I know we've had pandemics in the past but I don't know if it's not, if it's not something positive where they're trying to figure out a solution to something instead of complaining and or, you know, about other people or other, you know, organizations doing this or that, I just, I just don't watch it. I just don't...I try to put positive...Okay, let's figure out a solution to things. That's what I try to do. I just, it just makes me feel better. It makes me feel like okay, what can I do to help instead of all the complaining and, and all that, that gets you nowhere. So it's like, let's figure out how we can move forward the best we can to keep everyone safe and, and stuff, so that's that's what I do.
Anjelica Oswald 30:16
How do you think this pandemic compares to maybe other big events that have happened in your lifetime?
Julie West 30:22
Um, it's affected every, this is affecting everybody, you know, so I guess, you know, the 9/11 and stuff like that that I mean that obviously affected a core group but then it rippled out, you know, to the, you know, to the families and the cities and everybody and how we did, how we carried on in life, so I mean, that was obviously, obviously a horrible event that happened. But the, on this level, I've never been a part of anything like this, a pandemic like this that I can even remember. I'm so...no one's immune to it. You know, no matter how wealthy you are, no matter how beautiful you are, no matter anything, I mean, you can be affected by this. So it has no boundaries for sure. So, yea.
Anjelica Oswald 31:14
What can you imagine life being like in a year from now?
Julie West 31:18
Um, you know, I can, I'm hoping let's put it this way, I'm hoping that we all can get back into our activities. But then just I think all of us need to just be more more aware of our, our distancing, maybe, um, just in, just in case. I mean, to me, to me going to into an establishment that is packed full is not worth me getting sick, and then me possibly giving it to someone else. So I think with everything that the restaurants are trying to do, you know, with the seating and everything, I think it's a good idea right now. But then again, people forget over time, you know, I can easily see things go back to the way it was. And there's, you know, 100 people, in one little small, you know, restaurants that are, you know, back to back elbow to elbow. And that's happening now. But I could, I can see it kind of go back to that it wouldn't surprise me. I mean, I hope it doesn't, I hope we can just figure out a better way to do life.
Anjelica Oswald 32:23
Do you think or knowing, even though we don't know, much yet still, even to this day, knowing what we know now, what do you think that individuals and communities and governments should keep in mind for the future?
Julie West 32:41
Um, that we're in it all together, we're in this all together, you know. I mean, there's to me, there's so many people out there that just feel so threatened by being told what to do. And like I said, I think a lot of people don't think beyond themselves and need to realize that there's others and other things that need to be taken into account. Like the decisions that the governor is making, I cannot, I can't even begin to imagine all the factors that he needs to take in to figure out what is best. Um, and you know, that's, that's kind of how it is. He's the governor, he's gonna make that final decision and whether I like it or not, I'm still going to try to do my part to keep people safe. I mean, people are dying. I mean, it's not like people are going to like not feel well for a while, you know, and everyone's going to get through it. I mean, people are dying. So to me if I have to change some, some of the things that I do to keep myself safe or my family safe, then I, to me, as I'm okay with that, I think it's important.
Anjelica Oswald 33:45
With , you know, the weather getting warmer, and people, like you said, they're starting to start going out more now that these phases are reopening. What are you kind of hoping to see this summer? How are you hoping people act or respond to what's happening?
Julie West 34:00
I'm kind of hoping that you know, people still I mean, still get out and, but they still keep that family like what they've learned in the past couple months with their family, I mean, and I'm sure it's probably brought a lot of families closer, and I'm sure it's for some families, it's been a really hard time for them, and maybe some relationships have been destroyed. But I'm kind of hoping that as we move out into the warmth, and everybody gets out there that we just we're respectful of each other's opinions and their perspective and just be respectful. I mean, we might not agree with it, but it doesn't mean that what I say to you is, right, this is how I feel is my perspective on life and just, you know, be kind to one another, I mean, give everybody a little slack, you know. It's just like, I think I was in a store one time and I kind of walked up thinking, not even thinking about that six foot distance because I never had to really before but I like I caught myself, you know, and then I just kind of took a step back. I'm like, Okay, I'm just trying to be really aware of that. And there's a lot of us that will do that and there's some that won't, but I mean I, like I said I can only, I can only take care of how I do things, you know, I can't change other people's minds. I can maybe hopefully educate them if they need that just as I'm being educated by watching the things on TV from the scientists about how to, you know, get through our days. So I just, I just hope we don't have like a really another round of, of it, and we're all shut down and you know, we're all shut down again and everybody's supposed to stay inside again. I hope that doesn't happen.
Anjelica Oswald 35:39
So, well thank you so much for talking with me. I'm gonna stop recording.
Date Accepted (Dublin Core)
7/9/2020 11:54