...Coronavirus Time Traveler
Coronavirus time. It’s a strange phenomenon – the clock ticks by at a snail’s pace while the calendar makes days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months. I wake up with a few things on my “to do” list, yet somehow it takes all day to accomplish those few important items. Our son had his bar mitzvah on 02-22-20 – a day we’d planned for years. And yet, even after 45 days or so, it feels like it was another lifetime that I saw my daughter, my parents, my brother, my in-laws, cousins and generations of friends all gathered in very large settings to celebrate our 12-year-old. In coronavirus time, 45 days was a lifetime ago.
In that time, we have learned a lot. And by “learn” I mean we’ve gone kicking and screaming into a “new normal.” People don’t, generally, love change; we’re not wired to. Our brains have to create new neural pathways, and that usually takes time. In coronavirus time, time is not a luxury we have. If we are going to survive, however, we must adapt quickly. Fortunately, adapting is one of the things humans do better than any other species on the planet. So we choke down our discomfort about change and we stay inside, work from home, learn from home, use technology way more than we did 45+ days ago, wear masks and gloves, and do the hardest thing imaginable – avoid other people, including children we’ve birthed, ailing parents, worried friends, lonely colleagues, and dying spouses. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
By “learn” I also mean we’ve understood what “important” means when it’s a matter of life and death. The workers of America – those in often-shunned roles including front-line grocery personnel, teachers, janitorial staff, and medical people of all types – are clearly worthy of medals, accolades and compensation well beyond the paychecks most receive. It is strange to see empty grocery shelves in the wealthiest country in the world; it is comforting to see people restocking them as quickly as inventory arrives. It is strange to see kids attend meetings and webinars for school; it is comforting to see teachers reinvent the classroom to keep them learning about history, DNA, grammar and algebra. These “important” people help make life normal; they lightspeed us out of coronavirus-time. They are, as some of the political cartoons illustrate, heroes. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
By “learn” I also mean we have seen humanity at its most exposed. We’ve seen the human need for control -- of something, anything -- including toilet paper – during a time of crisis. Like during Harvey, Katrina and other hurricanes, we have seen selfless compassion as neighbor helps neighbor with food, medicine and other daily necessities. And like after 9/11, we have seen the world’s phone lines light up with empathetic inquiries of “How are you?” and “Are you okay?” and “What do you need?” Quieted are the conversations of missiles, political interference, and car bombings. Decades of negotiating, peace talks, and community organizing couldn’t accomplish what happens in coronavirus time. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
By “learn” I also mean that we have leaned into solving problems as only human beings are equipped to do. We have invented and reinvented processes to save lives and save businesses. We retooled factories – machines and people -- to produce things the world desperately needs. Medical solutions are finding expedited approval timelines and state/local governments quickly cleared the path for electronic signatures for many legal transactions. Work-from-home capability is no longer a luxury, benefit, or Gen Y preference, but a legitimate mode of production. Average people have turned t-shirts and bandanas into face masks and empty soda bottles into face shields, while still others have 3D-printed or otherwise tried their entrepreneurial hand at solving the PPE problem. Coronavirus time calls us to immediate action. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
And by “learn” I also mean that we have to reconcile the greatest grief, heartache, and irreconcilable pain we may ever know. How do we explain the loss of a 39-year-old “perfectly healthy” man to his 4-year old child? How do we comfort the widower whose hand we cannot hold, whose wife he could not say good-bye to? How do we help the caregivers – the doctors, nurses and countless other hospital workers – who go to war with this virus, winning some, losing many, and who are not to be comforted by their loved ones for fear of infecting them?
18,011 American lives lost. And having just keyed that sentence, coronavirus time has already invalidated that number. May their memories – and those to sadly follow – be a blessing. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
In that time, we have learned a lot. And by “learn” I mean we’ve gone kicking and screaming into a “new normal.” People don’t, generally, love change; we’re not wired to. Our brains have to create new neural pathways, and that usually takes time. In coronavirus time, time is not a luxury we have. If we are going to survive, however, we must adapt quickly. Fortunately, adapting is one of the things humans do better than any other species on the planet. So we choke down our discomfort about change and we stay inside, work from home, learn from home, use technology way more than we did 45+ days ago, wear masks and gloves, and do the hardest thing imaginable – avoid other people, including children we’ve birthed, ailing parents, worried friends, lonely colleagues, and dying spouses. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
By “learn” I also mean we’ve understood what “important” means when it’s a matter of life and death. The workers of America – those in often-shunned roles including front-line grocery personnel, teachers, janitorial staff, and medical people of all types – are clearly worthy of medals, accolades and compensation well beyond the paychecks most receive. It is strange to see empty grocery shelves in the wealthiest country in the world; it is comforting to see people restocking them as quickly as inventory arrives. It is strange to see kids attend meetings and webinars for school; it is comforting to see teachers reinvent the classroom to keep them learning about history, DNA, grammar and algebra. These “important” people help make life normal; they lightspeed us out of coronavirus-time. They are, as some of the political cartoons illustrate, heroes. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
By “learn” I also mean we have seen humanity at its most exposed. We’ve seen the human need for control -- of something, anything -- including toilet paper – during a time of crisis. Like during Harvey, Katrina and other hurricanes, we have seen selfless compassion as neighbor helps neighbor with food, medicine and other daily necessities. And like after 9/11, we have seen the world’s phone lines light up with empathetic inquiries of “How are you?” and “Are you okay?” and “What do you need?” Quieted are the conversations of missiles, political interference, and car bombings. Decades of negotiating, peace talks, and community organizing couldn’t accomplish what happens in coronavirus time. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
By “learn” I also mean that we have leaned into solving problems as only human beings are equipped to do. We have invented and reinvented processes to save lives and save businesses. We retooled factories – machines and people -- to produce things the world desperately needs. Medical solutions are finding expedited approval timelines and state/local governments quickly cleared the path for electronic signatures for many legal transactions. Work-from-home capability is no longer a luxury, benefit, or Gen Y preference, but a legitimate mode of production. Average people have turned t-shirts and bandanas into face masks and empty soda bottles into face shields, while still others have 3D-printed or otherwise tried their entrepreneurial hand at solving the PPE problem. Coronavirus time calls us to immediate action. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
And by “learn” I also mean that we have to reconcile the greatest grief, heartache, and irreconcilable pain we may ever know. How do we explain the loss of a 39-year-old “perfectly healthy” man to his 4-year old child? How do we comfort the widower whose hand we cannot hold, whose wife he could not say good-bye to? How do we help the caregivers – the doctors, nurses and countless other hospital workers – who go to war with this virus, winning some, losing many, and who are not to be comforted by their loved ones for fear of infecting them?
18,011 American lives lost. And having just keyed that sentence, coronavirus time has already invalidated that number. May their memories – and those to sadly follow – be a blessing. In 45+ days, this is how far we have come.
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