During the Christmas and New Year holidays, I reviewed my notebooks from the past year. The notebook started on the first day of the year, it was the start of a new decade. The first page of the notebook had a wish that over the upcoming year and decade, we would be seeing a bit more clearly. This was mainly meant as an astronomical wish but I think as the year progressed, it turned into more than just that, astronomy, politics, country, and also world- wide health.
The year started out with me anxiously looking forward to January 20th. This was for more than one reason but the biggest was an upcoming trip to the other side of the state to visit with my new grandson and his parents. It is tough living on opposite sides of the state. Visits are mostly by phone or computer. Little did I know how this type of visiting would soon become a norm as the world came rushing towards us.
January went by with no major problems, the world was looking good. Ann Marie and I went to visit with the Cordero’s and got to meet my grandson. It was a wonderful trip but it accentuated how important it is to be careful of your actions. They can come back at you with a vengeance. You never know how important things can be until they are gone!
The virus was making itself known. Covid 19. The president kept saying we didn’t need to worry. The Church covered the Holy Water fonts and stopped distribution of the Consecrated Wine. The sign of Peace was reduced to waving or smiling. People were asked to cough into their elbows and wash their hands frequently.
By March the virus had spread across the globe. Hundreds had died from it. (Looking into the future, in January of 2021, 4600 people died from it in one day!)The stores reflected the panicked state of the population, hand sanitizers disappeared along with paper products and cleaning supplies. Surgical masks were hard to find. Toilet paper started to get scarce as people started to stockpile it!
People have started to change the way they greet each other. Hugs were not given as much as before and elbow bumps took the place of handshakes. Employers are starting to have their workers work from home instead of coming in and possibly spreading the virus. The president still is saying that it isn’t as bad as the news stations are saying. I had written in my notebooks that I wonder what he isn’t saying. The word Pandemic is being used more and more.
In the middle of March the Pittsburgh Diocese put out an announcement saying that attendance at Sunday Mass was not required. The Mass can be viewed on the computer and that would satisfy the weekly attendance requirement. Sadly, it doesn’t satisfy the mental satisfaction and rejuvenation that going to Mass in person gives you. It isn’t quite the same sitting in a room filled with books, pictures and knick knacks. My computer is set up looking out the window which gives it a nice background, a crucifix is hanging between the windows and I light a couple candles to try and make the “library” seem a bit more sacred. Still, there is much missing from going to Mass in this fashion, one of the biggest is the social interaction.
On the 17th of March as I was driving to work, I received a text telling me to stay home. The company was being shut down for 48 hours. One of the workers on the floor possibly had the virus. Before this scare was over, more than half of the workers at our plant were put into quarantine, including me. For two weeks I did nothing more than read and walk the dog. I looked forward to my daily phone calls to Ann Marie, (not that I don’t always!), and the company personnel person, Ashanta, who called daily to see if I had developed any symptoms. We developed a friendship during these daily calls.
It was during March when the libraries closed their doors to the public. We knew that the virus was real when we couldn’t get into these establishments. Stores, restaurants and businesses were closing due to state requirements.
I returned to work on the first of April, April Fool’s Day. How appropriate! We were told there would be no raises this year but we would get our bonus from the year before. We were given face masks to use while in the plant. I also got a letter saying I was working in an essential business. This was in case we would ever get pulled over by a policeman. The state was basically in a lockdown. You were to stay home unless you needed food or medicines or your work was important in keeping the country running. Since we produce pieces for pumps that the gas companies and water departments need, we were deemed as one of those, essential. The roads were nearly empty as I drove to and from work.
Drivers on the roads during this period were tending to get rather crazy. Many a night I would be passed by cars going 10 or 20 miles faster than me and a few times, I’d swear they were hitting the triple digits on their speedometers. It can be a little scary to have someone go past you going at that high of a speed. I’d see them in my mirror and then they’d be disappearing ahead of me. Some drivers loved to swing around the cars ahead of them, switching from lane to lane, barely missing the cars they were passing. I felt as if I was in a video game.
I can remember going up to the Church for Eucharistic Adoration and having to stand on the patio of the Church and pray to the Blessed Sacrament which was displayed on an altar behind closed, locked doors. The Churches were closed. You couldn’t even go in to pray by yourself. Each day things got a bit more depressing. Even with the rising death tolls, people were still not bothering with masks or socially distancing.
Social distancing are words we would come to see everywhere and hear over and over. Stay at home, wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands. The signs on the highways even stated these “rules”. It was around this time that the mask started to become a political statement. The Republicans tended to believe what the president was saying, the virus would run its course and we would soon be back to normal. Some were even spouting that it was nothing more than a political ploy to get the president out of office. It came to be an infringement on their personal freedoms. I never could figure out how having to wear a mask was a loss of personal freedom. They/we were wearing them to help stop a deadly virus, not to steal their personal freedoms. I was wearing a mask to prevent my spreading any germs to anyone else. It wasn’t to keep me from getting the virus; it was to keep them from getting it. “Your mask protects me and my mask protects you!” Later in the year the doctors started saying how masks will also protect you, perhaps they started saying this to help get more people to wear them.(?)
Easter Sunday was rather depressing. I went over to Ann Marie’s house and we sat on her front porch and drank some coffee and visited. While I had been going to work, AMB had basically stayed at her house. It was hard to remain upbeat!
It wasn’t until the end of May when Alleghany County went green again. Stores and restaurants started re-opening. We turned that page on the 29th, on the 30th there were riots in Pittsburgh because of the shooting of George Floyd, a black man who was shot by a policeman a few days earlier. The country was starting (?) to go crazy, in so many ways!
When June started, I returned to going to Church. I get so much more from being at Mass as compared to watching it on a screen. They required that everyone wear masks while in the building, there would be no sign of peace and the congregation wouldn’t be singing. The booklets which give songs and the readings were removed fearing that they might spread germs. A seating plan was instituted, only some pews would be used for each Mass. They would then be wiped down and alternating pews would be used for the next Mass. I got a good feeling when during the Mass, the congregation still waved to each other during the sign of peace. We needed that contact, even though it was from afar!
People were still having trouble with wearing masks. Some were happy to do it, hoping to protect themselves and others while some thought the whole idea was ridiculous and refused to wear them. I could see the two different sides at work every time I’d visit a convenience store or grocery store. The stores were required by the state to have signs on their doors requiring masks but not all stores would enforce the signs. Money and customers were more important than the country’s safety. Meanwhile, the infection numbers along with the death rates continued to rise, alarmingly fast! Still, some people considered it a political ploy, stating that it will all go away as soon as the election was over.
Sadly, the virus struck close to home in June. Ann Marie’s nephew John passed away after becoming infected. This made the wearing of masks so much more important to us. Experiencing a funeral with a limited amount of people was difficult. People stood in small groups, afraid to mingle, to talk or to share their experiences with others, it just wasn’t right. We need the comfort of having people hold us, hug us and cry on our shoulders. It helps the grieving process!
In the month of July we (meaning myself mainly) were blessed with the reopening of City Books, my favorite Pittsburgh book store. It was such a nice feeling to be able to browse through the shelves again! We also had a bright comet grace our skies!
Comet Neowise was first visible in the morning skies and I only managed to see it once in-between the clouds and terrible Pittsburgh weather. As it passed into the evening sky the opportunities to see it increased and thousands of people including myself watched it as it progressed under the Big Dipper and then slowly disappeared as it moved away from us. This gave me something to look forward to, something to watch and search out and to share with others. It helped me forget the difficult state our country was in, both health wise and politically.
August brought my grandson Mateo’s first birthday. I found this a bit depressing since I had only seen him once since he was born. I anxiously anticipate the time ahead when we can get back together without fear of passing any infections, without the necessity of wearing a mask. I am looking forward to being able to hold him and hug him once again. By the time this finally comes around, he won’t want to be held anymore…
“We have to remember that the gloom is only temporary before we see the beauty of the rising sun!”
I watched one of Jupiter’s moons disappear behind the planet on one of our rare clear nights and thought about Pittsburgh’s terrible weather and seeing conditions. I put these words in my notebook;
Stars and planets
from the east,
Wind and clouds
from the west.
Always seeming to
meet over Glenshaw!
November brought us Election Day. I was the 143rd person to vote at my polling place. Usually I vote when I’m heading in to work, around 1PM and often there were less people before me than this. I went early expecting crowds but only had 3 people in front of me, still there had been a lot before I arrived. Across the country the polls were crowded! Masks and social distancing were required.
A woman had brought her son (too young to vote) along to show him how it is done. What a great example of parenting. We had record turn outs in the country and the vote went to Biden and Harris. Little did we know that it wasn’t over yet, not by a long shot! The president claimed that there was voter fraud, that the election was rigged, he claimed he was the rightful winner. His claims and accusations continued into the new year, even after numerous court cases and investigations showed no sign of any type of error or fraud. His rants made many people wonder about his sanity.
November had the start of the distribution of virus vaccines. Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital was the site of some of the first injections. Health workers received doses first. Thanksgiving came and went…
In December I had to have Red, my dog, put down after he started going downhill. Numerous times I had come home from work and wondered if he was still with me. He had been getting more and more health problems and I knew the time had arrived. Naturally, he was excited when we got in the car for his final ride, he showed more energy and excitement than he had in months. It reminded me of the Far Side cartoon of a dog leaning out the window of the car barking to other dogs about how excited he was, “I’m going to the vets to get tutored!!!” I think, no, I know he had a good life with me and l miss him!
There was nothing special about Christmas. Ann Marie and I celebrated together. Church was via the computer. I talked with Chelsey and Mateo and Jaime via Zoom. I watched Mateo open his presents and enjoyed it but it wasn’t the same as being there in person. The holidays were rather unexciting.
There was one last astronomical event that happened at the end of the year. On the 21st of December, the planets Jupiter and Saturn were than a 1/10th of a degree apart. This was something astronomers had been looking forward to for months if not longer. The last time this had happened and was observable was in the 1200’s! You can guess what happened here in Pittsburgh. Yup, clouds everywhere. One astronomy club member drove over 400 miles to escape the cloud cover to see this event. I was able to catch the pair eight days later on the 29th. They were still close but it wasn’t quite the same. Oh well, this will be happening again in about 60 years or so. I can wait!
On the final day of the year, Frank and I went out on a “photo-expedition”. The weather was great for photography; a coating of 2-3 inches of freshly fallen snow covered everything. Scenery made for black and white pictures! We lasted about 10 minutes. Frank stepped on a piece of ice and fell into a pool of water, drenching his camera and of course, himself. Naturally this was the end of our photo shoot! It was a fitting end to an unremarkable year.
The year had some (?) bad spots but there were also lots of good times scattered around in it. I can only pray that it will be the worst year any of us will EVER experience. Really, the bar has been set really low!
I released this blog on Jan.18th, Martin Luther King Day. Ann Marie and I had just watched Robert Kennedy's speech to people in Indianapolis telling them about his assassination and I feel we can get a lot out of it today! He said among other things on the tragic day,
"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black."
Have a Happy New Year! Stay safe, strong and healthy!
1 comment:
What an odd year 2020 was .. But glad we can at least count on Friday zoom calls with Pappy Phil. Keep staying home and safe with your mask so we can see each other again in person soon.. We love you!
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