I was listening to Mara Gay, member of the New York Times Editorial Board talk about the perception that New Yorkers don’t know each. She said she knows her neighbors. “We raise our families. I know the kids down the street. The spirit of NYC is knowing each other, you go to the same corner store, your kids play together. You go to the same bagel shop. You talk to the cops that you meet on the street. That’s part of the fabric of living here. We’re used to being able to send our kids down the street to the store.”
“What makes this pandemic difficult is knowing that our neighbors are suffering and that we can’t actually be together.” Mara Gay wrote an Op-Ed about it. She said they will keep up the fight in NYC because that’s what they do even there, (even seemingly as the President of the United States isn’t supporting them): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/opinion/new-york-coronavirus.html?searchResultPosition=2 .
“For now, we are finding moments of light in unexpected places.
My childhood friends and I have been enjoying happy hour (or ‘quarantini’, if you like) over FaceTime. The last time we’ve seen this much of one another was in high school.
One morning last week, I played flashlight tag with the kids in the building across the street. When we tired of the game, we waved to one another, and I saw four little faces pressed up against the glass from yards away.
We go on long walks under the warming early spring sun, giving our neighbors lots of room as we pass them by. Rainbows dot the windows, offering a little cheer for a city that desperately needs some.
One day soon, we will all shove into the same subway car together, cursing under our breath, but crowding closer to make room for one more.”
In NY, they will fight on and in neighborhoods all over the country. I live in Raleigh. I grew up in St. Pete and still have family there.
I have family in Washington, DC, in Maryland, in Los Angeles, in Chicago, in Louisiana, in Berkley CA. We are used to being together whenever we can at our own discretion. You have family in many other places around the country and world. Even if you hadn’t planned to be physically together right now, you didn’t expect to be mandated not to be together.
The gyms and fitness centers are closed so to get some exercise, walk around your neighborhood. I’ve lived in my neighborhood for 28 years. I actually do know my neighbors, even those that moved in recently. I did the old fashioned thing and took them baked goods when they moved in, Butch brought wine for them. When we first moved into our neighborhood, there were many children in the neighborhood who were in the age ranges of our children. It was great. We had neighborhood gatherings, including 4th of July bike parades when they were little, snow get-togethers on snow days, and lots of playing outside and inside.
I don’t know how much of that still happens in neighborhoods but these stay-at-home days makes me think of connections like that.
I know my neighbors and I care about how they’re doing right now. I talked to the neighbor across the street from me at the mailbox yesterday. I am glad that I already knew him and we could chat about what’s happening. He moved in about 18 months ago. The former occupants of that house was a family that included three daughters who grew up with our daughters and son and they feel like family to us, we went to their daughters’ weddings.
Staying-at-home orders mean you can still go for a walk, you can wave at your neighbor and still keep your six feet of distance. You can ask how they are doing. You can check on them, ring the door bell and step far enough back when the door opens so you get to put eyes on them and ask if they need anything.
I’ve heard about young people doing grocery store shopping for their elderly neighbors so they can have food and don’t have to worry about getting out to shop while this pandemic is happening. Have you thought of offering that for neighbors? Maintaining social distance doesn’t mean we can’t help each other and it doesn’t mean we can’t “connect” with each other.
Don’t wait for someone to ask you, “did you hear about the neighbor?” Now’s a good time to find out yourself. Do you know your neighbor? Can you do something for your neighbor right now while you are spending more time in your neighborhood? This can be done while practicing good social distancing techniques. It probably won’t cost you much money and it just might make you feel good.
calliopehummingbirdproject 