A note on the fence in the time of Covid-19

This morning when I went out to the patio to water my nasturtiums I saw a note on the fence between my casita and the one behind me. I took it down and when I read it I burst into tears. My neighbors, who turn out to be a youngish couple, wanted to know if I was okay and if I needed anything. Suddenly I didn’t feel quite as alone.

One of the problems I’ve encountered since the Stay-At-Home order went into effect is a growing sense of isolation and increasing apathy. Because I have worked as a freelance writer since the 1990s, I thought I’d be better about handling being alone. And I have…sorta. But I haven’t lived here long enough to have a group of Tucson friends, so my human contact has consisted of emails and messages to family and friends scattered from Los Angeles to Casper to London. That’s not the same, however, as talking to a real live human being.

My London friend really cranked the fear level up when her last email contained an all caps admonition to STAY INSIDE. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOUSE. DO NOT GO OUT. She is definitely not an all caps person under normal circumstances. I got the impression that things were much worse in London. Their Prime Minister was hospitalized with the virus and the death rate in the U.K. is over 15% — higher than in the U.S. Oh, in her email was a recommendation to read an old Dean Koontz book entitled “The Eyes of Darkness”. In the book there is a virus called Wuhan-400.

Well, back to the note from my neighbors…As it turns out, I am fairly well stocked with everything except my favorite gourmet breads, Bakehouse Bakery’s pumpkin and banana loaves. For whatever it is worth, the Bakehouse Bakery tea loaves are baked right here in Tucson and distributed across the country–well, at least the part of the country I traveled through last spring and summer. Better yet, my neighbor knew exactly which breads they are–she really likes their zucchini loaf– and will pick some up for me.

And maybe I’ll become inspired to write some more posts about living in Tucson in the age of Covid 19. What a difference a friendly note makes!

A day later: The store was out of banana bread so my neighbor brought the zucchini loaf–it is good too. And I decided to sign up for a Zoom account and have happily been in contact–eye to eye contact–with family and friends since. If you don’t have a Zoom account yet, sign up today. The Personal Account is free. Seeing a face and chatting idly about all sorts of stuff makes a world of difference.

Stay at Home. Smile and wave hello to passersby. Maybe even drop off a note to an older neighbor.

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