Somebody who can reckon with the past, who can live with the past in the present, and move towards the future - that's fabulous.
-Bruce Springsteen
I hope everyone is doing the best they can in these crazy times. I'm trying to stay positive and not let the stress of "what if" get to me. So, I want to share a few things I've noticed over the past week since things really got weird out there.
We've lived in our current house for about six years. It's in a very quiet suburban Massachusetts neighborhood. By "quiet" I mean we very rarely see our neighbors other than when they are pulling in and out of their garages to go to work, or wherever they go. We have two dogs and are always walking around the neighborhood, and we still hardly ever see people out and about, even on the most glorious of New England days. Well, that all changed...
For the past several days, the streets have been full of people out walking: couples, families, small groups of kids...it's pretty amazing. We've also noticed more people outside in general, in their yards and along the trails in the conservation land where we also bring our dogs. Maybe it's just early-onset cabin fever, but it reminds me of how neighborhoods were when I was a kid. Simpler times.
We've been pretty good at self-quarantining (what writer isn't?) with the only exception a daily trek to the local coffee shop. While it hasn't been crowded, the owners are planning on staying open (they've taken all the recommended precautions) for as long as they can. What I've noticed is that people seem friendlier every time I go there. More small talk between customers as well as the workers (and people are being very good about keeping their physical distance). It's very...encouraging, kind of nice, actually. I hope it continues when all this is over.
Well, that's all for now. Since I'm working from home for the foreseeable future, that gives me two extra hours every day not commuting, maybe I'll get better at blogging?
Finally, this Tuesday is the day Coleridge becomes available. If you haven't already, head on over to Amazon for a copy. As soon as the paperbacks are available, I'll be selling signed copies from my website.
Stay safe all, we'll get through this!