By
William Natale
(author of “1968 – A Story As Relevant Today As It Was Then,” and “The Resurrection of Boraichee” — to be released May 17, 2020)
We all know about the bad things that COVID-19 has brought, what about the good?
Is there anything good that has come from this infectious nuisance and deadly disease?
To answer that question, one is inclined to automatically say NO – especially if you’ve lost someone or had someone close suffer from the effects of a virus that attacks the respiratory systems of the young and the old. However, there actually have been a few things that we in the U.S.A. can celebrate as a result of COVID-19 infecting our world, even if we hesitate to attribute anything GOOD to Coronavirus.
We are driving less. Less carbon dioxide emissions means a quality of air that is indeed cleaner. Maybe Mother Earth needed that? Here’s an example of where residents of a once filthy, smog-filled location are finding it easier to breathe. You can read more about it here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/07/us/los-angeles-pollution-clean-air-coronavirus-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1CnKS6m5WgBUCIjKQSC8yJC1HkFCB9Vsn-B42Ftc0cPHluQg2YOZiezQA
We have had to make our own fun despite TV viewership being up; even some fine examples of quality TV production from NETFLIX and AMAZON only go so far. Puzzle producers are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for their products. People become engaged in the scope of a thousand piece puzzle, unlike a TV show, and actually forget their troubles due to the fact that their focus is now on the challenge laid out on a table before them.
Some families are rekindling their joy of music—as a family. Here’s one example that I’ll bet was a blast for them to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ugfNXYcDg&fbclid=IwAR1GAuuMitx75mjE-ltoOZVWjvE9gtxImi0BZlifnmj8ccWVb3aZGh6ObNg
Others have picked up their cell and called longtime friends and relatives they haven’t spoken to in months, maybe years, just to check up on them and ask about their safety; or how they’re feeling with all of the isolation affecting us humans who normally enjoy being gregarious. And for those who’ve always loved isolation, this has got to be heaven. I know of many writers who are using this quarantine to complete work they’ve been meaning to finalize for the chance at publication.
As a society, we have a newfound appreciation for many we may have neglected to value — not in spite but due to indifference…like the sanitation worker who hauls away your waste; or the grocery stock and clerk individuals who are essential in the food supply chain; or the truck drivers who haul that food and other necessary products we need to exist. And without question, we now value our first responders in a way that we might not have appreciated since 9/11. We also appreciate those on the front line of this war, the nurses, the doctors, the medical lab technicians, the janitors keeping our hospitals clean, and all the others who maintain our medical facilities and keep them running. And to those at the utilities who sanitize our water, keep our lights on, or provide the flame for us to cook — we say THANKS.
COVID-19 has brought families together at dinner time, possibly in a way this country hasn’t seen since Ward Cleaver and his family ruled the airwaves with “Leave It To Beaver,” still very much in the public eye with syndication re-runs.
And for those who believe in something greater than this life, people are finding their way via the miracle of LIVE STREAMING – a technological advance that now allows almost anyone with a computer and a minimal amount of video gear, to bring into households all over the world the word of GOD; or maybe the joy of music or the delight of meeting up as a group and sharing a recipe, an anecdote, or a sign of affection.
For me, I personally love the fact that I can wear my robe all day and not have a care in the world when it comes to dressing the part. For now, it’s best that I don’t dress the part and STAY HOME because that really is the only way we’re going to FLATTEN THAT CURVE – a phrase that will always be tied to 2020 and a reminder that somehow, we survived to live another day long after COVID-19 exited the stage.
HOPE is a wonderful thing and sometimes it takes a disaster to help us cherish that which we should always carry even in an abnormally normal world.
