Diary of a shut-in, week 3
When we were ringing in the new year three short months ago none of us could have imagined just how profoundly life as we knew it would be changed in the near future. It would have seemed like an April Fools prank. But alas, here it is April Fools’ Day and it’s no joke.
March has been particularly cruel. So much so I may need to go back and re-read the 1998 best seller, “Who Moved My Cheese.” First there was creation of the term social distancing and cautions about gatherings of more than 200, then 100, then 10 and then just stay the heck at home.
In mid-March schools were closed until April 6. Then the next week cities in Kootenai County closed bars and restaurants for dining in. We were to socially isolate until the end of the month, first week of April. Then Governor Little made a stay at home order to last until April 21. Now the President has extended that through the end of April. As we try to adjust, the goalpost keeps being moved.
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Reminder that it’s not mutually exclusive to recognize and respect the seriousness of this pandemic and still recognize and respect the sadness and disappointment people are feeling about the loss of life’s big moments. My heart truly breaks for those in the Class of 2020 graduating classes. Coeur d’Alene High School’s Class of 1970 has canceled their 50th reunion this summer but at least we had our moment in the sun, glory days a half century ago. We feel your pain, seniors. In 2070 you’ll have some fantastic stories and memories to relive at your own 50th reunion.
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I applaud clever creativity and this week’s Lemonade Out of Lemons Award goes to Phil Corless. Phil was to join friends Kurt and Heather Krajic and their daughter, Ruby, for an 8-day trip to London. They were to leave for their flight across the pond on March 26. We all know that didn’t happen. What happened was Phil began a trip that never was travelogue on his Facebook page. Using Photoshop and existing photos of iconic London sights, Phil’s imaginative commentary has been entertaining and topical. On Tuesday they had high tea with the Queen!
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So many non-profit fundraisers have been canceled this month but there’s one that’s still happening from a safe social distance. The Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County’s annual Egg My House Easter promotion is still on. The Easter Bunny will hide treat-filled eggs in your yard on Easter Eve for the kiddies to find in the morning! Sign up at www.northidahobgc.org
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On a sad note our local singer Amber Fiedler didn’t make it to American Idol’s Top 20 on the Sunday night show from Hawaii (taped in January). But she represented well and I’m sure that we’ve not seen the last of the talented Ms. Fiedler.
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If you have Netflix and a few hours to spare that you’ll never get back, join the masses and watch the Tiger King docu-series. Oh Lordy! If it weren’t a true story it would be too over-the-top fiction to have warranted the time spent to watch it. The cast of real-life characters make the Kardashians look positively mainstream.
I predict that the iconic memories of 2020’s Covid-19 will be rolls of toilet paper and Tiger King.
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While I’ve struggled with the confinement, ability to focus and anxiety, there’s still humor to be found. I’ve made an art form out of my bad hair; I’m using my daily pill holder instead of a calendar to keep track of what day of the week it is and amazingly as a world-class stress eater I’m not consuming mass amounts of carbs or snack foods. I’m also not baking and we’re keeping to regular meals and times. Three weeks in and I’ve not gained a single pound or cut my own bangs. Winning!
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I’m also ready to view this forced separation from my people and the world as a sabbatical. More than once I’ve seen a cottage at the shore or a cabin at the lake and thought how wonderful it would be as a writer’s retreat, dreaming of a day when I could remove all distractions and weave words to my heart’s content. Even if my retreat looks a lot like my home office it’s definitely solitary. I’ll use my imagination for the rest. My writer friend Cindy Hval is describing herself as Writer in Residence. That works, too.
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Happy April Fools birthdays today to Ed Frazey, Keri Schwenke, Kim Haddock, Candi Applegate, Chris Thompson and Payton Peugh. Tomorrow Jonathan Owens, Judi Jackson, Dallan Pope, Taylor Huber, Kathy Willy, Beth Barclay, Nell Gordon and Lee Periman are blowing out the birthday candles.
Liz Montgomery, Doreen Porter, Cameron Dominquez and Cindy Jordan celebrate on April 3. Chrissy Wortman (70!), Laura Keck, Marshall Meeks, Nancy Gurno, Keith Hanlon, Duffy Taylor, Ann Fox, Nicholas Kane, Pappy Butler and Toni Hackwith celebrate on Saturday.
On Sunday Sharon Stevenson, Terri McTavish, Dan Powers, Sharon Wagner, Kelli Hawkins, John Negaard, Jamie Dallas and Gail Osterson blow out the candles. Bruce Hough, Caitlin Hodl and Tyler Bush take another trip around the sun on Monday. Carrie Gridley Shenfield, Katie Keane, Mary Epstein, Melaine Spalding and Eli Gonzales have their cake and eat it, too, on Tuesday.
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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.