The Surprise Ending to My COVID-19 Birthday Blues

I also made some big decisions regarding my writing for OpEdNews.

At least for the time being, I've decided to tweak both my tone and content. Since 2005, I have been writing about election integrity, whistleblowers, the incarcerated and various voices straining to be heard. Heavy stuff that can get downright depressing. I had leavened this with upbeat stories of activists trying to clean up their corner of the world, social entrepreneurs, people in the arts, and other good news. But it feels like it's time to ratchet things up a couple of notches.

With the help and encouragement of OpEdNews' Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler, I plan to devote more time to sharing helpful resources, uplifting stories, sidewalk art and anything else I can think of that might give readers a moment of relief, a smile, maybe even a chuckle. This is crucial right now and I'd love it if you would help me in this endeavor.

Last week, I inadvertently witnessed a homeowner opening his front door as a neighbor passed by with his dog. They clearly did not know one another. The homeowner asked if he could give the dog a treat. The transaction took place while observing social distance and the whole shebang took less than half a minute. Had I passed by a moment earlier or later, or been talking on the phone or otherwise zoning out, that moment would have been lost to me. Instead, I got to observe a slice of community and connection. That's the kind of moment to look for, cherish, and share. We are truly all in this together.

What's the take-away here? What can we extrapolate from my experience?

We all need to feel connected. Even now. Especially now. And there are ways to do it. Reach out and connect. It's good for the reacher as well as the reachee. It'll help keep us all sane in a world that now seems a lot crazier.

I'm open to suggestions. I'm looking for a long-term and fruitful give and take. Let's share photos, jokes, resources, anything cheery that floats your boat. Include them in the comments below. Or, send them to me at joan(at)opednews(dot)com. I'll do my best to gather them and share in subsequent articles.

I'll start: Have you heard of the National Emergency Library? I hadn't. Check it out. I learned about this from the 3.28.20 edition of a wonderful newsletter put out by Bia Winter [grannybgood(at)roadrunner(dot)com]. Here's what the newsletter said about this:

This week the Internet Archive, in San Francisco, announced-and, in the blink of an eye, opened-the National Emergency Library, a digital collection of 1.4 million books. Until June 30th, or the end of the national emergency in the United States ("whichever is later"), anyone, anywhere in the world, can check books out of this library-for free. As Brewster Kahle, the digital librarian at the Internet Archive, wrote in an online announcement, if you can afford to buy books, please buy books! Bookstores still need your business. But, by God, if you can't afford them, or if the books you need aren't in any bookstore, and, especially, if you are one of the currently more than one billion students and teachers shut out of your classroom, please: sign up, log on, and borrow!

How about that? Okay, tag, you're it!

***

Thank you, Meryl Ann, for your editing expertise. This is a much, much stronger piece than it would have been without you.

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