I grew up with the awareness that pandemics exist and can kill. My grandmother lost her brother to the Spanish flu in 1918. Even though a pandemic touched my family, the threat seemed distant and remote. That was then, not now, when we have so much more scientific knowledge, a better understanding of how viruses spread and means of communication. We are now in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. It has changed our lives in ways never imaged before.
Mother and daughter walk hand in hand into Vaughan Woods, Hallowell, Maine
I ventured out on a photo field trip of sorts to seek out evidence of how the pandemic was impacting day to day life in central Maine. While I did see closed churches, stores, and playgrounds, I saw so much more. I saw expressions of appreciation and gratitude, I saw parents with their children having picnics, usually a rarity on a Thursday afternoon. There was also a mother and daughter sweetly walking hand in hand, while another mother watched her son and his friend play in a brook. And, there was the local soup kitchen handing out bags of food.
Life will resume to so-called normal. Have we changed? It’s too soon to tell. But for now, I am savoring the solitude, brief connections with friends and an open schedule as I seek to stay negative and to stay positive. Be well.
Spreading cheer, not germs in Augusta, Maine
A volunteer at the local soup kitchen providing bags of food to those in need.
A family enjoys a picnic on a spring day in Capital Park, Augusta, Maine
Signs were posted at the entrance of MaineGeneral Medical Center to thanks medical and nurse staff.