Right. This should be a great opportunity for everone who's self-isolating to unleash their inner creativity, shouldn't it? Or get around to long postponed projects. Or just get to know themselves? Shouldn't it? I exempt from this those parents with children at home--though I suspect some of them are getting mighty creative in their dealings with their offspring. The same for folks working from home--the commute may have disappeared but other bits of life may well be more complicated. In talking with the students in my (now online) creative fiction class, most of them have said they are writing less, rather than more. I'm not surprised. Aside from the other online distractions --museums and zoos on display, impromptu serenades, and any number of other oppotunties for distraction, I find myself paying far more attention to the news these days, spending lots of time reading opinion pieces and articles, all of which contribute to a kind of low-grade worry--mainly for family and friends but also for the state of health of our democracy. How can I be creative, how can I even undertake spring cleaning when I see the chaos in this administration's response to the pandemic? I can just barely manage blog posts, normal household chores, and my editing for class; how could I possibly start a new story when I read the news that SCOTUS is abetting the Republican push to make voting harder, even in this time of plague or that the Orange Ego is firing everyone who speaks the truth and putting Jared in charge of yet another bit of government. Of course I've called and written my congresspersons--and received soothing form letters in return--not that I ever expected anything else. So I turn to comfort re-reading -- Pride and Prejudice followed by John Grisham's The Firm ( a classic example of terrific pacing in a thriller, plus, and this is no small thing these days, the good guys triumph over both the bad guys and the FBI) -- and comfort viewing--still working our way through All Creatures Great and Small, with a break away now and then -- A Fish Called Wanda, The Big Lebowski, O, Brother Where Art Thou? (for the dialog and the laughs) and The Client (another Grisham where the little guy triumps over the Mob and the government) were recent diversions. For me, that's what matters right now--doing what I can to keep our life normal, finding joy and sometimes even focus in the small familiar things. And, of course, Josie is one of those. Stay safe, you all, and find what works for you in this strange time.
