Pandemic Fatigue

Pandemic Fatigue

Hello Everybody. I have something to say about pandemic fatigue. 

I didn’t know that’s what it was. All I know is that a couple of weeks ago, my psyche went into a dark place. I was so sad.  I felt little joy in watching the news or a scary movie on Netflix. I started sinking into a pit of self-pity and depression.

Carole, I said to myself, “Get yourself together.” “But I can’t,” I said to my other self. “Everything is so sad.” The virus is soaring again; there’s sickness and death. People are out of work and hungry. Businesses are folding. And some folks are still refusing to wear masks. Thank you, Donald Trump.

But then I was watching the news and I saw all these people in long lines in different states, waiting to vote early. They had chairs, and food and drink. Thousands and thousands of people waiting for as long as 10 hours to cast their ballots. Last I heard nearly 50 million votes have been cast with less than a couple of weeks to Election.

I was like, “WOW.” I became happy. The American people were energized. Are energized. They are making sacrifices to vote; they finally realize that every vote counts. Those of you who haven’t voted, make sure you do. Cuz, after November 3rd, I feel there may be light on the other side of our tunnels, both pandemic and political.

Until next time.

Feelings – Part 2

Feelings – Part 2

Hello Everybody. Last time, I said I would have something to say about how to maintain our mental health during the pandemic. So, I consulted the medical community and here are some tips.

First: Try to keep up with a daily routine—getting up and going to bed at the same times. Don’t wear your pajamas all day. Get dressed. Eat healthy meals and exercise. You know doctors would tell us that.

Second: Keep up your social contacts. You can’t be with loved ones and friends in the flesh, but you can use the phone, Facetime and Zoom to stay in touch and find out how everybody’s doing.

Third: Limit the alcohol you drink or don’t drink it all. You may think it eases the pain, but it can make you more depressed.

Fourth: Limit your time watching news about the coronavirus and stories about other problems in the country and around the world. It’s not good to dwell on the bad.

But I have some of my own tips. Let me tell you about those.

We take any opportunity to celebrate. Like my cat’s birthday or the first day of fall, or National Elephant Appreciation Day. And yes, there is such a day set aside and it’s in September.  It’s an opportunity to make a special meal or bake a cake or have a toast.

Those Amazon deliveries? I open those boxes pretending they’re Christmas presents. I take out what’s inside and say something like, “Oh, batteries. Just what I needed.” You can have fun.

And color. I surround myself with colors. I don’t wear any drab clothes. I wear something like this. Too much color for you? Oh, I love all the colors.

I’m sure you can come up with your own ideas. It’s just so important that we take care of our mental health as we try to protect our physical health. We need to help ourselves and help each other get through what is probably the worst period of our lifetimes.

See you next time.

Feelings – Part 1

Feelings – Part 1

Hello Everybody. I have been away awhile. It was a bad month. But I come back because I have something to say about feelings. This pandemic has got me bewitched, bothered and bewildered. I always prided myself in my ability to cope with situations. But we never had anything like this, and I can’t. This vicious virus is making me feel helpless and frightened. I can’t be the only person with these feelings. And studies show I’m not.  Nearly half of Americans are developing some kind of mild mental problems, like depression, stress, anxiety, fear, paranoia and even substance abuse…

Look at this. I saw this painting on an online art gallery and I had to have it. It’s called My World Is Falling Apart. Look at it. Muddled colors, an undefined landscape, fuzzy atmosphere. It captures perfectly how I feel about my world falling apart. I don’t know what’s going to happen.  Nobody knows. Is this the beginning of the end of civilization as we once knew it? Or the apocalypse?

Please don’t get me started on Donald Trump, who didn’t want to put us in a panic. We are in a panic because he didn’t tell us the truth and he has done nothing really to stop the spread of the coronavirus. No wonder fear and anxiety are making most of us a little crazy.

I’ll tell you what the experts say we ought to do if we’re to survive this when I see you next time.

Pets and the Pandemic

Pets and the Pandemic

Hello everybody.

I have something to say about the joy of pets during the despair of the pandemic. I can tell you that things are a little less stressful if you are staying at home with a loving pet.

This is my crazy poodle, Roxy. She’s still a puppy and makes me laugh when I might rather cry.

Like other canines and felines, she doesn’t know anything about the horrors of the coronavirus. All your pets want is food, a walk, some playtime and plenty of sleep. Ah, but even more, they want you to join in the fun: their very best friend.

They love you.

How anxious can you be when your cat crawls onto your lap and starts purring. It’s so calming. Or when your dog stares at you, with his tail wagging and a squeaky toy in his mouth?

In March when the national stay at home orders took effect, there was a run on animal shelters all over the country. Shelters in Los Angeles and New York had a 500 percent increase in applications for cats and dogs to foster. Shelters with animals to adopt were overwhelmed.

People stuck at home to avoid catching the coronavirus, don’t want to be alone. They want company. They need emotional support, even if it’s provided by a creature with four legs and a furry coat.

Until next time.

Can The Coronavirus Be Funny?

Can The Coronavirus Be Funny?

Hello Everybody. I have something to say about the amazing capacity of Americans to find humor in the face of adversity. I ‘m in the third week of my self-imposed quarantine from the coronavirus. I have been feeling depressed and isolated. But recently, I happened upon some You Tube videos that finally gave me a smile. Take a look:

[Music Medley]

“Don’t let the corona get on ya.” Love that. Go to You Tube to see the entire videos and some I couldn’t include. We deserve a little laughter.

See you next time.

A Face of Evil

Those fanatical eyes.  That twisted face.  The Joker smile.  The bald head. I avert my eyes every time I see photos of Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old being held in connection with the shooting deaths of six innocent people, and the wounding of 13 others.  Among them, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the main target of his bloody rampage that warm Saturday morning in the parking lot of a suburban Tucson Safeway.  The supermarket, whose name I always found comforting, was anything but safe from a disturbed young man with a grudge.

Everything that could be said has been said about the Tucson massacre. Over the past week the incident has been dissected, analyzed, denounced and memorialized from every point of view:  the victims, the heroes, the medical skill, the senseless violence, the easy access to guns and the suspect, a frightening specter of a human being.  When the funerals end, and the wounded are released from the hospital to continue their recuperation and when Congresswoman Giffords, I pray, returns somewhat to her former self in mobility and intellect, Loughner will receive the subject of most public attention.  Is that what he wanted all along?

We know every one is innocent in America until proven guilty, but isn’t it a little silly to call Loughner “the alleged murderer” when in the midst of his killing spree he was tackled and held to the ground by courageous older citizens who were determined that this guy would not get away. Before Loughner could reload his gun, a woman in her 70’s snatched the magazine of bullets.  He did it, okay.

But why does his mug shot give me nightmares?  He must have practiced his fearful look.  It was recently revealed by authorities that he did video blogs and took photos of himself.   He dropped off a roll of film at the Walgreen’s next to the Safeway the day before his bloody rampage.   Walgreen’s notified law enforcement officials about the photos developed.  Oh, this so creepy.  There was a picture of him naked, except for a red G-string, holding his 9 mm glock handgun across his groin area.  There’s been no word yet on what other images were developed from the film.  I cringe at the thought.

If you watch the contributors on cable news, Loughner is dismissed as “crazy,” a “lunatic,” a “wacko.”  The psychologists have more sophisticated language for him.  They say he is mentally ill, the victim of a nervous breakdown, a paranoid schizophrenic, a psychopath, a sociopath.

I think of another mass murderer, Timothy McVeigh convicted of parking a truck loaded with explosives and detonating it in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.  I don’t remember people calling him crazy.  He was an Iraqi War veteran who hated the U.S. government.  He had a goal and a plan and he achieved them with detailed precision.  And so did Jared Loughner.

So why are people so quick to call him a crazy.  Because he looks like one?  He sure looks like one, but is he “crazy” like a fox?  I hope we find out, but until we do, I don’t want to look at his photos.  They give me nightmares.