Victor Gibbs - I worry • Las Cruces pandemic testimonies

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I worry

Victor Gibbs – Archeologist and Photographer

(April – 2020) Early morning, April 15, 2020, can’t sleep. Planetary alignment of moon and three planets rest in the southeastern sky. The corona virus has spread to almost every country on Earth in under three months’ time. Most of the world has been hiding and waiting for it to leave. I feel like I am living in real time through an amalgam of some old sci-fi movies. The Quiet Earth, The Andromeda Strain, Invasion of the Body Snatchers come to mind. A complete makeover for the plane

Yet life is moving on. Growing up during the Cold War in Los Alamos, I always thought nuclear war would be our undoing. It still might. Climate change has been working to knock a few of us off through extreme storms, fires and droughts. Now this virus.

Things have changed pretty radically for some. Millions have lost their jobs or are working in jobs where their exposure quotient is particularly high. Millions will likely go bankrupt in our country because of an inability to pay for treatment to the disease. The government is failing, caught up in its own greed and inaction, blaming everyone but themselves. Most states have been leading some effort to stop the spread, with differing results. Medical supplies shipped to the states from the federal government stockpiles have been handed out not based on need, but on who bends the knee to the president.

The company I work for remains open for now, as an essential service. A month ago I moved my desktop to my house. Some of my workmates still go to the office, but a lot of us worked remotely before the shutdown. The projects I am working on have been put on hold. My wife is a teacher and she works from home now too. My son is a student at NMSU, and he attends classes online. Life has slowed down a lot. We have time to throw the Frisbee for the dog, and see hummingbirds in the back yard.

We go shopping every week at the grocery stores. We shop for our parents so they won’t have to expose themselves. Over the past month, more people are wearing cloth masks. My wife made some masks for the family last week too, so we’re following the latest fashion trend. Seeing people in public has made me paranoid. No one knows who could have the sickness, so there is a level of distrust of fellow humans. To me there is still not enough room in the aisles of the store for my comfort. This creepy feeling is something that may not abate for a while, even after the virus leaves us.

I worry about what the future holds. I see this change as temporary, but I think it will take us a long time to recover from it. We’re not out of the woods yet. After a month of lockdown, people are getting a bit cagey. Beneath the thin veneer of civilization, lies chaos. Hoarding of goods and guns may lead to more crime and looting if food sources become scarce. People will be or already becoming desperate.

In better moments, I choose to look at this as something we are all facing together, a shared global experience. We have common cause. We can take stock of who we are and what we can do to help one another make it through this time. On an environmental scale, we can see what our lifestyles have done to the planet. The skies over major cities are clear for the first time in 30 years. We can see distant mountains. The water in rivers runs clear again. Animals are flourishing. People are gardening. How can we make changes in our own lives to keep those planetary benefits during our cocooning? Do we need all those material goods? Where do we go from here?

The choice is ours to make.

Robert McNamara – The Tale of Two Pandemics

COVID-19 has been a tale of two pandemics for me… one in New Mexico and the other in New York City where I was born and raised and where many family members and friends still live.

Natalie Walston Abbott – The Philosophers were right

Hell IS other people. The loss of, the existence of, and now the lack thereof.

It’s living in your pajamas each day and wiping down every surface while avoiding another human with the COVID19 virus. The person is now nocturnal as to stay away from me.

Cristina Fridenstine – Corona Virus 2020

A quasi self-quarantine – because let’s face it, the quarantine isn’t perfect nor is it fully enforced – has caused me to stop attending Spanish classes and practicing tai chi chih with a group at Senior Amigos.

Jeff and Dennis Milligan Lujan – Life during the Corona Pandemic

It was the beginning of March we had just finished up our annual erotic art show and were planning the spring art show that was right around the corner, we were already aware of a virus that was traveling throughout China.

Catherine Lucas – While my Heart is still aching

All in all, while my heart is aching for the families who lost loved ones, my life is good. No, can’t go out, can’t do this or that, but there are so much things I still can do. We live next to the desert in Las Cruces, a big trail is leading from my house into it.

Linda Caray Rude – Reconnecting

It is not a surprise for my family and friends, the pandemic has not been a problem for me. I will not allow negativity into my life, therefore all of the lifestyle changes, depression and deaths are literally life lessons.

Karen Conely – Corona Virus Reflections

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.

Sonya Fe – Lilies in the Field

My life hasn’t changed much. I am a studio artist and spend most my time in my studio. I don’t care to socialize much anyway except on Facebook, because there I have control to turn on or off. I don’t like social obligations. I have a very difficult time attending parties, events and social commitments.