STEVE CAMERON BLOG We’re all in this...

Still here.

So we’re starting our next week of the new normal.

Years ago, in the days before my back gave out, I was a distance runner. I did marathons.

Sometimes, when you’re at the 20-mile mark, or maybe at 22, you feel like your body isn’t your own anymore.

You can hurt, too.

And for just a few seconds, maybe, the thought creeps into your head: “This is too much.”

But there is always something to soothe you, no matter how miserable you might be feeling.

The finish line.

You not only know it’s there, but you know WHERE it is.

The thing that’s bothering most of us during this pandemic is that we can’t see the finish line and, unlike the marathon with all its twists and turns over 26.2 miles, we don’t know where our coronavirus finish line might be.

Or even what life will be like when we get there.

THE GOOD news is that none of us is running this thing alone.

Millions of people, all over the world, are struggling as much (or perhaps considerably more) than we are.

Oh, and these fellow Earth citizens with whom we’re sharing this strange marathon?

Lots and lots of them are wonderful souls, and we should feel a sense of pride that they care about us – and likewise, that we find ourselves caring about them.

When I wrote, just a few days ago, about how my sleep patterns had changed in isolation, and wondered what the heck was wrong with my sinking blood pressure (all because my back wouldn’t let me exercise), I was really writing about all of us.

I wanted to offer some warning signs that you might expect after such swift, stunning changes to your lives.

I thought: Maybe there’s a lesson here, and I should share it.

The result, which I still find astounding, was a seemingly endless stream of emails and private messages on Facebook – all wishing me well, and some offering advice because something similar had happened, and these “new friends” understood what might be happening.

Honestly, I was not expecting these responses, and I’m still flabbergasted that you took the time to send them.

To everyone: Thanks, more than you can know.

In this time of uncertainty (“Where’s the finish line?”), and the need to worry about yourselves and your own families, reaching out to a writer who most don’t even know in person is, well...

Amazing.

On the other hand, maybe I shouldn’t have been quite so shocked.

After all, right here in Twin Lakes Village, two tireless ladies have been sewing and assembling protective masks for anyone who needs them.

Patty Handley and Darlene Lamb, who call themselves “The Masketeers,” are creating useful (and attractive) masks, almost non-stop.

They’re selling them for the very fair price of...

Nothing.

They just put them in a repurposed food cooler out by the front porch, and if you need one, you take it.

Here’s the thing...

There are SO many folks like Patty and Darlene, all over the globe, who are doing whatever they can to help – even if it’s just encouraging each other to put one foot in front of the other.

The message: We’ll find our way to this finish line, and we’ll do it together.

Wherever that damn line might be.

You’re welcome to join the blog. Any time, on any subject. Or with any opinion that doesn’t get us sued.

scameron@cdapress.com

Facebook: Steve Cameron