Corona Virus Reflections
Karen Conley resides in Las Cruces and is an Event Planner and Artist
I cut my hair this week. My husband won’t let me touch his, and one look in the mirror tells me why. He spent 28 years in the Army, and I wonder how long he will hold out on me. Maybe a Flobee would be a worthy purchase right now? They cost 139.00 and are back-ordered.
If I complete any of the online Master Classes or art opportunities, for example, MoMA’s online art history classes, I should emerge from this thing like a butterfly in spring. It is challenging to participate in sophisticated activities when NETFLIX taunts us with The Tiger King, and FOX releases season two of “What We Do in the Shadows. “
Every day I find myself checking the Johns Hopkins Corona Virus Map and figuring out the global percentages for people who have died and recovered. It was comforting to know that the recovery jumped from 30K to 300K and was continuing to go up. Then the number crunchers at Johns Hopkins removed the “recovered” numbers and replaced them with total tested. I hate them for removing my “Proof of Life.” Apparently, there are no reliable sources for recovered. I think we all know people who have not been tested and are now feeling better. I do not believe we will ever know the real numbers.
Despite distractions, I have managed to get some work done and completed one painting, but it is hard for me to sit in one position or focus for very long. There is an electrical current running through me, making it challenging to be in my studio or complete work-related tasks. I know that my flight or fight response is telling me to run, find somewhere safe. I have tangled with this demon before in another life. I never felt it as loud as I do now.
When I was in the Army, I had a gas mask, protective gear, a hard shell vehicle, and there were well-developed plans to combat a defined enemy. Now I can’t see the enemy, I don’t know if my homemade masks will protect me and I pray to God that 6 ft is far enough. There is nowhere to run, and I can only take an offensive position hunkered down at home, and I wonder what the best plan will be.