Barbara
Covid-History Item Type Metadata
Age
77
Date
7/2/2020
Location
Saratoga Springs, New York
When did the impact of COVID-19 first occur to you? How did your reaction to COVID-19 change between then and the first case in your town?
March 2020. All lives matter. All impacted by COVID-19 matter wherever they are anywhere in our world.
How is your life different now than it was before the pandemic?
Volunteer activities mostly cancelled, no eating in restaurants, no in-person meetings of many, Saratoga Springs much quieter, little traffic, peaceful with the birds singing gaily every day, meeting more residents as I walk 2 hours for 3 days with one day off cycles, seeing whole families biking, walking, being and doing things together, people happy to see each other, make new friends.
How are you feeling? What are you doing to relieve stress?
Barbara G. is first an introvert, so no stress to relieve. Basically, I am a Transcendental Meditator twice daily, so even mild stress goes anyway. If stress comes from problems encountered, I have always been a problem-solver rather than a problem perseverator.
What have you noticed has changed in your community since the outbreak? What has surprised you?
Volunteer activities mostly cancelled, no eating in restaurants, no in-person meetings of many, Saratoga Springs much quieter, little traffic, peaceful with the birds singing gaily every day, meeting more residents as I walk 2 hours for 3 days with one day off cycles, seeing whole families biking, walking, being and doing things together, people happy to see each other, make new friends. Surprised to see bars & restaurants & gyms, hair salons CLOSED & liquor stores, abortion clinics, & "smoke" shops open.
Are you a business owner who has had to close? If you are still open, how have you had to adjust how your business operates?
Closed before pandemic.
Are you an essential employee? What do you do? What precautions are being taken at your workplace? What precautions are implementing at home?
Writer/Artist/Coach/Teacher. Same as all prudent service providers: making sure I am healthy that the people I meet with are healthy, wearing mask & gloves, meeting outside as much as possible.
Are you an employee who has been laid off or furloughed? Were you able to get unemployment? Were you able to retain your health insurance?
n/a
Are you working from home? What adjustments or challenges are you experiencing?
Love the peace and quiet of the home atmosphere, whatever I want to eat and/or drink readily available.
Do you have children at home? How’s it going?
n/a
If you’re a student, was school canceled? Were you able to complete your studies online? Do you think you’ll be back on campus in the fall?
n/a
Did you have to postpone any major life events? (e.g. Graduation, wedding, major birthday) What did you do instead?
Entertained myself.
Do you have animals? Did you adopt a pet? How have they impacted your day?
n/a
What positive things did you contribute to or notice take place?
Working at being as kind and considerate of all people including especially family, friends, those I do business with, working at being understanding of those working at home, paying kindnesses forward.
Did you or someone you know contract COVID-19? What was it like?
n/a
If you lost someone during the pandemic, how did you celebrate their lives?
Visited them before and after they died, brought comfort to their loved ones.
What do you wish you knew before the pandemic began?
That it was actually possible for the world as I know it to close down.
What would you want future generations to know about the 2020 pandemic? How would you recommend they prepare for it?
Let us hope that future generations first have a more ethical, responsible mainstream media serving them rather than the disgraceful, unprofessional mainstream media we seem to be stuck with, that they learn what we did right and work not to repeat what could have been done better, most of all that they stay positive, solution-oriented instead of negative, problem-preoccupied.
How do you think this pandemic will change how we behave going forward? What will the “new normal” look like?
The relationship-building that has taken place cannot be taken away from us. Our Motto "We are Stronger Together" in Saratoga Springs, NY deserves to go forward in our attitudes.
Is there anything else you would like to add that hasn't already been asked above?
Nothing asked about how our religious faith helped get us through these challenging times, nothing even alluding that most of us prayed our way through the pandemic, watched Mass on television or over the Internet because we could not attend in person.
Dublin Core
Title
Barbara
Publisher
Southern Adirondack Library System
Language
English
Type
Covid History
Identifier
11754784335
Collection
Citation
“Barbara,” Leaving Our Fingerprints on History, accessed December 3, 2024, https://fingerprints.sals.edu/omeka/items/show/143.