COMMUNITY | PANDEMIC | AWARENESS

What Started as a Rona Challenge - Ended Up as a Plea for Racial Equality

When You Don’t Expect a Writing Challenge to Take a Twist

Writer’s Note: I started to write my answers to this challenge and left the last question blank. When I came back to it George Floyd’s murder happened and my pen refused to address the pandemic for this last question…

Tim Maudlin is the first to challenge me to answer a series of questions about the ‘rona and how I am handling the pandemic lockdown. This is in response from Keno Ogbo, who wrote 12 Questions to Make Sense of Your Lockdown Moments.

From Tim’s intro:

Michele Thill challenged me to answer a series of questions about the pandemic lockdown. I know I’ve been tagged in this challenge by others. I’ve been so busy, I forgot who tagged me first and then forgot to do it. Well, now it’s time to get ‘er done.

Ready? Here we go…

1. What have you missed the most during in lockdown?

I have missed meeting up with friends after work. Also, living in New York City there is always some pop-up event that you can check out. I miss those things a lot.

2. What’s the best thing about being in lockdown?

My commute to work is just lovely. I just enter the living room/office, put up my room divider for any Zoom calls and go. 🙂

3. What has been the worst thing about being in lockdown?

I used to love to go grocery shopping. But now I find it slightly stressful and depressing. I used to treat the grocery store like a casino. Once you enter, time slips away. Try finding a clock — don’t bother, you won’t find one — because they want you to stay as long as possible. I could stay four, five hours easy. When I leave I would often remark, “Oh! It’s dark outside already?”

Not today. Today I go in there, hurry up and grab what I need. I try to put everything on the conveyor belt really fast and then race out of there as soon as possible. But it’s not over, because then I get home and wipe down the packaging. And this can take as long as I did my shopping. 😩

4. Who would you have liked to host in your home during the lockdown and why?

Hosting my niece’s birthday with my immediate family would have been nice to have happened. We ended up doing the default alternative — a FaceTime call. Her birthday was the only one that happened during the lockdown.

5. What have you discovered about yourself in lockdown?

I used to be really shy as a kid. Back then, I would have preferred to just stay home and read a book. Well that little introverted little girl has come back out and is enjoying being free and hanging out!

I’m also a planner and apply it to just about everything in my life. I think somewhere deep down, I’ve been preparing for a lockdown situation. I think I may be an urban doomsday prepper! 🤔 I already had masks, crank radio, toilet paper, a sterno stove, a go bag….

6. What did you eat (or drink) the most during the lockdown?

Food: seafood, donuts and potato skins with cheese, chives, sour cream, chives, salt & pepper 😋

Drinks: red wine and margaritas 🍷

7. Apart from sleeping and working what activities did you undertake the most during the lockdown?

Before the pandemic, I was painting and removed everything out of a room. So I had a lot of boxes and bins to go through and get rid of. So I’m still working on that.

8. Will you come out of lockdown heavier or lighter?

Based on that diet above? Uh, slightly heavier 😔

9. What resource has helped you most during the lockdown?

Two things have “saved” my life during the lockdown. Music and the internets. DJ’s like D-Nice and Jon Quick have held their finger on the pulse of the community and we have danced our butts off with glee.

And how can I express my love for the “internets”? My friend, my chef and overall lifesaver. From watching Netflix to how to set up an infrared thermometer to virtual happy hours. Where would we be without it? Without regular human interaction because of the lockdown, the internets has been there when we need it the most.

10. What is your top tip for other people in lockdown right now?

Give yourself permission not to do anything if you want. You are not obligated to find projects and complete them before the lockdown is over. Take the time to breathe.

11. How has lockdown changed you?

Before I go outside, I am a little apprehensive. Fortunately this goes away the moment I step outside. But this feeling is new and I need to acknowledge that. I never had that apprehension until now.

12. If you were to leave a ‘message in a bottle’ for the future, what would you say?

I imagined this message is discovered in 2120 or later…

“If you are reading this — it is 2020 in the year of the Lord in which this was written. 2020 has made been very disruptive in a good and bad way.

Americans were forced to see the real cracks in the healthcare system and also had to decide if they are fine with the status quo re: police brutality and racial injustice.

Never forget the names of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Christian Cooper and George Floyd. These were events that happened closely together which resulted in the world spilling over, with anger, outrage, frustration, sadness, fear, and an awakening. People who never saw themselves as a protester making it known they will not be silent.

The need to speak up is more about [your] connection with humanity, equality and putting an end to racism across the board. - Cephas Williams

Also realizing that protesting doesn’t always mean out in the street with a sign. But using your voice to really find out who you should vote for — instead of just voting along party lines — to make real changes on a local level. Both need to happen.

Real change requires protest to highlight a problem, and politics to implement practical solutions and laws. Barack Obama

My wish for the person reading this is that you are much much further ahead in the humanity movement. The Call for the Need to Change was actually answered. And that for once, the past has not been forgotten, and the nation and the world is better for it.”

Following Tim’s lead, I will end this with an acronym of one of my favorite words.

Practice

Life Lessons

Adaptable

Navigate

Here is Tim Maudlin’s story that prompted me.

Helen Boss also challenged me.

Tagging a few to do the challenge: Margaret Eves, Candy L Hill, Natasha Herring/Natashasview, Rebecca LeBard, Augustine Habenga, Shoreditchpoet, J. D Castillo Garcia, Ethan Taylor, Rose Bak, Nikki Petrova, Jessica Vu, Rachel Sample, Hannah Altagracia, Angel Joy, Kasia Kalinowska, Adriane Riesser, Suryatapa, Sahba Sanai, Jim Latham, Genevieve Rossier

Please tag all of us so that we can read it. 😊

This challenge reminded me of a story I posted a couple months back.