Saturday, March 14

E and I took the dogs for a walk at about 5pm today. Downtown Clinton seemed the way it usually does--quite a few people on the terrace by the art museum, lots of people walking dogs, and the coffeeshop about half full.

Usually by 5, it's a fairly quiet town, especially at this time of year when it's still too cold for outdoor seating. So it's hard to say, but my sense was that things might have been a little slower than usual, but not by much.

Photo from
https://anamericanhistorianinrome.wordpress.com/

I couldn't help but wonder if it will be the same story by this time next week. A friend of mine was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to teach and do research in Italy, and had started a blog to let everyone know how it was going and how she was doing. You can read it here: https://anamericanhistorianinrome.wordpress.com/.

There are only a few posts, and if you read it from bottom (the earliest ones) to top, you can see just how quickly she went from telling the story of being in Italy to reassuring everyone that things were fine to saying something very different. She is now home and in self-quarantine for 14 days, which has to be just heartbreaking for her. I can't imagine.

If you have any friends who are unwilling or unable to imagine the possible impact of this virus, I highly recommend that you send them to her blog.

I suspect that this is exactly where we'll be in a week or two, though I hope I'm wrong.

For our part, E's school play is being delayed and I'm almost certain her ballet recital will be cancelled or delayed. And if it isn't canceled, she won't be in it (it's supposed to happen on March 30). She will, of course, be fine, but it makes me think about the actors who were just about to get their shot at Broadway and the athletes who were just about to have their last college season. Who knows how their lives will change because of this?

She is also out of school for two weeks (so far) and has asked us to put a desk in her room so that her dad is forced to let her work alone for at least part of the day. 😝Having been essentially home sick with Lyme for the last three years, I'm pretty sure he's mainly delighted that we're all going to be here. MY number of co-workers may have just shrunk from hundreds to four (E, G, and the two dogs), but HIS has just increased by two!

So, that's it for today. I might move this blog to a different site, as this one doesn't seem to have all the features it used to (I used to blog on this page, but it's been 8 years!). I'll let you know if I do.

For now, I leave you with this amazing video of people in Italy, singing on their balconies:



xoxo, Lex