Columnist/WoostaChat
Practice social distancing, but let your humanity roam
Shelter-in-place orders can stir belligerence.
We have seen this in armed groups descending on their state capitols to demand the right to confront the coronavirus in the wide-open, mano a mano.
We know how that usually ends, but if you have any doubts, just check the national death toll from the virus. I believe it’s above 1.2 million and climbing.
On the other hand, shelter-in-place can revitalize our humanity.
And we have seen this in the great number of people around the world who daily serenade nurses, doctors and first responders with clapping, singing, shouting, the ringing bells and banging pots.
Indeed, in big and small ways, social distancing is predominantly putting a shine on things we value but may have been taking for granted.
That was the case yesterday, when family members threw Worcester resident Laurie Kalil a drive-by birthday greeting. Those participating in the drive-by included her 97-year-old mother-in-law, Doris.
“I’ve been crying,” Laurie said of her response to the joyous birthday Caravan that drove by her resident on Andover Street.
“It was the best gift that anyone had ever given me. With everything that is going on, people are just coming out of the woodwork to be kind and be nice and to do something special for somebody.
Laurie had earlier in the week extended a special touch in a birthday card she had sent her Cousin Steve, a California resident.
On her 10th birthday, May 7, 1960, her grandmother had taken her to see Steve when he was just five days old.
That visit established an enduring friendship that played out in visits to the beach and the candy store as children and persisted with the occasional visit and the exchange of birthday cards as they grew older.
This year, as her attention turned to his birthday, she found herself revisiting the simplicity and joys of their childhood years.
So, she ordered him a box of 1970s candies and sent him a card saying, “From our penny candy stores days, thinking of you and all our memories.”
“He was so touched,” she said.
“He posted it on Facebook and said, ‘oh my god, I didn’t think this candy existed anymore.”
“Before, it was always just ‘happy birthday, happy birthday.’ But I wanted to do something different this time. And I think a lot of other people stepping back and saying, ‘what’s important in life now with all of this(coronavirus) going on.”
Her whole day was special, beginning with her youngest grandchild serenading her in bed.
“The baby this morning came in and he said, ‘nana, it’s your birthday,’ and he sang me a song, and it meant so much to me,” she said.
“And he got a book that I read to him all the time, and he jumped on the bed, and he said ‘nana’ I’m going to read the book to you.’
“We are so busy in this chaotic life all the time; we don’t take the time to reach out to others and show them that we care, and that’s why this (birthday Caravan) was so touching for me.
“I feel so loved right now.”