343 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d3513b1cd1e00ebc14ea8acd6686113e.pdf 6946b73cac41c4a194ed8b182d6fb732 PDF Text Text Emily Buettner 3/3/2020 Time feels as if it carries an entirely different weight with it now. The days are long yet heavy, with more and more happening to those close to me everyday. Over two weeks ago I began this pandemic in a hospital room with my Grandmother. The previous weekend my Grandmother had been admitted to the hospital for colon cancer, the second time she has had to face cancer in her life. One of her favorite game shows, The Price is Right, echoed through the speakers on her hospital bed as I talked to the nurse taking care of her. He was a grand valley state university student, and from him I learned that the university was going to be potentially closed. At the moment I honestly believed nothing was going to happen. However, later that night as I prepared to head back to my apartment the notice came out about the University shutting down for the next two weeks. I remember mainly feeling surprised, but also worried for what was to come. Within the next couple of days the hospital my Grandmother was at began restricting the number of visitors who could enter a room at a time. I remember this being the first time I directly felt the effects of the pandemic. I was worried about carrying a disease to my vulnerable Grandmother, and being the reason she would never be able to make a recovery. My roommates chose to worry about how to have a good time instead. While my roommates worried about what outfit to wear to their next day party, I had to worry about them bringing any number of diseases ranging from COVID, the flu, or strep back to the apartment. Because of my living situation at the time, and being able to choose to go home as my mom was in the area, I decided to leave. Over the past two weeks I left my apartment to move back home with my family in Virginia. Me and my mom were able to fly out of Grand Rapids and went through the Chicago airport in order to get home. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-03-30_BuettnerEmily Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Buettner, Emily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-03-30 Title A name given to the resource Emily Buettner Journal Description An account of the resource Journal entry of GVSU student Emily Beuttner shortly before the university closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1822e27fda11a105afc21c5a3e5a09d.pdf 2589e33c85cf6ea9c25a7989eafd1bc2 PDF Text Text Day 114 by windoworks As my friend said to me today: Pamela, you are living the virus. Yesterday in Michigan, where we have endured months of behaving ourselves and following the Governor’s instructions, the number of virus cases rose by 543 in one day as opposed to under 100 a day in the middle of June. In Kent County there were 107 new cases yesterday. The day before there were 30+ new cases. So here I am, living the virus. I watched Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State talk this morning. He is famous for his one liners. This morning he said ‘reality always wins’. He was referring to Chump’s refusal to face any sort of fact about the virus. Governor Cuomo also said some weeks ago ‘the other choice is death’. Hawaii has mandated quarantine for tourists and if you don’t comply, you face a $5000 fine or a 12 month jail sentence. New York State says any visitor who doesn’t quarantine will be fined up to $10,000. MiamiDade County in Florida had instituted a curfew beginning tonight. Beaches are closed in a number of coastal states. �And here we are again: In Arizona, where the virus appears to be spreading out of control, hospitals rushed to expand capacity and adopted practices similar to those employed at the height of the outbreak in New York City and Italy, including doubling up hospital beds in rooms, pausing elective surgeries and bringing in health-care workers from other states. �Perhaps most chillingly, at the urging of doctors and advisers, state officials this week activated “crisis standards of care” protocols, which determine for hospitals which patients get ventilators and care as the system becomes overwhelmed under the crush of patients. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction,” Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious-disease expert, said during a YouTube live stream. Although people are asking to be tested, once again there seem to be shortages of test kits and the accompanying paraphernalia. At the same time, laboratories are running out of test reagents as well as being simply overwhelmed by the rush. From Sydney, Australia: in Balmain where Zoe and Oliver live, their local grocery store, Woolworths, was closed for deep cleaning and restaffing after one store worker tested positive. Disturbingly, he tested positive several weeks after recovering from his initial bout of Covid-19. Accordingly (with many others) Zoe lined up to be tested again. She and Oliver had planned to visit his great grandmother in Canberra this weekend, and she needed to know if she was infected. Zoe reported there was a long line of cars and when the nurse asked her why she was being tested she replied: I live in Balmain. And the nurse replied: Ah, Woolworths. The nurse then scraped both sides of Zoe’s throat ad well as both nostrils - a change from the previous test when the nurse had scraped one side of Zoe’s throat and one nostril. Fortunately the test came back negative and Zoe and Oliver can safely visit my mother-in-law. But here’s something cheery: In El Cajon, Calif., a procession of cars carrying 600 soon-to-be U.S. citizens from 68 countries passed through a series of stations behind a local community center earlier this week, where they were asked a series of final questions: "Any coronavirus symptoms? Have you been arrested since your interview? No tickets, nothing like that?" After that, they were asked to surrender their green card and given a small American flag. Driving a little farther forward, an immigration officer wearing a face cover administered the oath of allegiance, 6 feet from the car's window. And in a matter of minutes, years of uncertainty were over — hundreds of people became U.S. citizens over the course of the day. Yay! I remember our ceremony from 10 years ago and what a thrill that was. At the end of the drivethrough ceremony (above), the immigration officer then said to each new citizen: congratulations! Welcome to America. On the reverse side, here is something scary: �Russian voters passed a referendum allowing President Vladimir Putin to remain in office until 2036. Vladimir Putin is 67 years old, by 2036 he will be 83 years old, if he is still alive. The referendum contained 200 amendments. 200! Just remember, Chump adores Putin. And just to cheer us all up, from John Lennon: Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope some day you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people sharing all the world. Under the heading: Let sleeping dogs lie - ��French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson greeted each other with waves and thumbs up this week. Even the elbow bump with which Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders opened their mid-March debate is a thing of the past. Forget handshakes or hugs. And gestures aren’t the only rituals learned over a lifetime that have been adapted in mere months since the novel coronavirus began changing the world. A quick shout out to my niece Elle Benjamin in Cornwall, England. As she has returned to her office job part time, she has taken up crafting in her spare time and is concentrating on weaving wall hangings. She is also a wonderful potter. This month she is making Christmas decorations for a booth she hopes to have at a nearby Christmas Market in December. You can see her stuff at: completeanduttercraft on Instagram. I have purchased 3 items from her already. She has a PayPal account that is easy to deal with. Check out her site. By the way, she made 33 cloud rainbow window hangings. They are all over the world as well as locally and she donated half the profits to the National Health Service. Oliver. If the video was too big yesterday, I apologize and I will just post photos until I figure video posting out better. Here he is at daycare surrounded by his team. You’ve gotta laugh. ��Flashback: on our way into Edinburgh we visited Rosslyn Chapel. The building was begun in 1456 and of course at that time it was a Catholic Church. In 1861 it became a Scottish Episcopal Church. The really interesting thing about this chapel is the speculative theories about a connection with the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail and Freemasonry. It was prominently featured in Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code (2003) and the film adaption in 2006. Sadly medieval historians say these accounts have no basis in fact. However, the church has gained an impressive amount of tourists visiting, who all come to see the crypt featured in the film. ����From the top: me outside the church looking at the extensive carvings; Asher outside; the church is famous for its carvings, both inside and out but the ones outside have suffered greatly from weather and pollution; lastly a photo from the crypt - I’m not sure of it’s significance. Broadway will remain shuttered until at least January. But if you subscribe to Disney+,from tonight you can watch the complete stage performance of Hamilton featuring the original cast. Simon says; put your mask on. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-03_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-114 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-03 Title A name given to the resource Day 114 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b43b777fa8bdf37d2617aa00b2454163.pdf 5547f3d9c194d315753ed0f37b31a636 PDF Text Text Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Stuff Day 113 by windoworks ��This is Gretchen. She’s got our backs. She talks to us every week and tells us exactly what’s going on in Michigan. She surrounds herself with experts who all have the opportunity to speak and be heard. This is what a leader looks like. Yesterday, Gretchen did this: The rest of the article stated that take out cocktails would be allowed. Another restaurant near us closed on Tuesday because a staff member tested positive. You have to wonder (a) how did the staff member become infected and (b) how many times can this happen before a restaurant or bar closes permanently? “We shouldn’t presume that a group of experts somehow knows what’s best,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said during Fauci's appearance before the Senate health committee. �What is wrong with this statement from a prominent Republican Senator? I know there’s something....... The Women’s City Club has organized a Lets Do Picnic Lunch at a nearby park, and I have to tell you, I’m a bit nervous about it. I know we’ll all have masks and disinfectant and we’ll sit far apart but even so, its scary. In part of the video of the reporter in a Houston hospital that I told you about yesterday, the reporter interviewed the owner of 2 bars that had to close. He asked him: how do you think you got the virus? And the bar owner (60-70 year old) said: it might have been the hugs or the kisses or the handshakes, I don’t know. I’ll just let that sink in. Here is one of the lions that guard the entrance to the New York Public Library. We have a house around the corner from us that has a pair of lions guarding their doorway and for months now they have been masked up. In the ‘well at least they told us straightaway’ catgeory: Chinese researchers announced the discovery of a new strain of swine flu among workers at a slaughterhouse and warned it should be monitored in case human-to-human transmission starts. �Is this the point at which I lie on the floor and moan? That pretty much sums it up for Craig and 3 of our neighbors, as well as all their colleagues. Should be easy, right? And this one has that very bad word, but I’m posting it anyway. ��Well this seems sensible: Half of the entire workforce is now working remotely (that’s right, half), and many companies believe it makes economic sense to keep it going — pandemic or not. No more wasted time or money on commuting. Workers can live where they want. Companies save money by not paying for commercial real estate, which is insanely expensive in places like Boston, New York City and Silicon Valley. Virtual offices mean companies can tap into an unlimited labor pool for recruiting. Plus, one expert says the teleworking shift is pushing companies to focus on performance and output as opposed to just clocking hours. Here’s my question: what’s going to happen to all those high rise office buildings that are downtown in every large city? Yesterday we drove past Monroe Plaza (which had the most number of smashed windows after the demonstration) and it was closed to all cars. Instead it had colored umbrellas and tables and chairs and there seemed to be people sitting and eating and relaxing in the gorgeous day. It’s one of the temporary social zones and I really hope they make it a permanent one. And this really sums it up for Craig and I: This next item is good to know but - scary. Medical experts say autopsies are becoming a critical source of information on coronavirus as scientists race to understand it. Autopsies have confirmed that the virus does attack the lungs with the most ferocity. But the pathogen was also found in the kidneys, liver and the brain, where some damage could be permanent in survivors.Dissecting 38 brains,87 lungs and 42 hearts of people who died from Covid19 revealed surprising and alarming results. (You’ll need to look online to find those results) This just in: Los Angeles County has ordered all beaches to close over the Fourth of July weekend after reporting its highest single-day number of new cases on Monday. But L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he does not plan to enforce the order. You have to ask yourself: why wouldn’t he enforce the order? Lazy? Too hard? Virus is a hoax Or, Chump fan? So I FINALLY figured out how to load a video on to this blogpost. Wait for the smile at the end. Craig is very excited. He sees a drum kit in Oliver’s future. �Flashback: our last visit to Hadrian’s Wall. ���We visited Walltown Crags which is considered one of the best places to see Hadrian’ s Wall as it snakes through the countryside along the crags of the Whin Sill. It is one of the most preserved pieces of the Wall. Asher was very excited by all our Wall days. He stood on the top of it at one place and declared loudly ‘Winter is coming!’ - and unless you were a Game of Thrones fan, you would have no idea what he was talking about. The Wall was an amazing experience. I know I use that word a lot, but it was such an experience to look at a long wall that stretched across Britain and did a decent job of keeping the Picts out. As I write this today, I am so grateful for all the traveling Craig and I have been able to do. As my motherin-law says: the photos remind you of experiences you have had. It may be a long time until Craig and I are able to travel again - and as Americans we are not welcome in Europe or, I suspect, Australia and New Zealand at this time. Our photos of previous times are therefore doubly precious. Further north tomorrow. �Remember to vote! November 3 is 123 days away. Vote Blue, from the bottom to the top. Mark it on your calendar. In Michigan you can vote absentee - its ridiculously easy. No excuses - just vote! � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-02_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-113 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-02 Title A name given to the resource Day 113 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1c6788efe3e394efdfdcba827a7dcedc.pdf 170dc51e9f4a91121ac071560ab97d29 PDF Text Text Day 112. by windoworks This morning is overwhelming. Firstly, I watched Joe Biden give a speech. When he said the words: every store should have a big sticker on the door that says: Safe For Shopping, I cried. As he talked about the steps that should have been taken by the administration, I cried. As he acknowledged the huge sacrifices that Americans have made by staying home and staying safe, while the President did NOTHING to help, I cried. When he acknowledged how frightened and anxious we all are, I cried. Oh how different this would have been if Hillary had won. I look at Jacinda in New Zealand and Angela in Germany and I wonder if those citizens know just how lucky they are. And then I watched a CNN report form a hospital In Houston, Texas where the reporter and the cameraman were allowed into the Coronavirus Wing (the Coronavirus Wing!) through the zippered negative air seal door to see the patients being treated. The journalist was dressed in 3 protective layers, from head to foot. The head doctor has been working for 100 days straight. They had so much protective gear on you couldn’t tell if they were a male or female, but each staff member wore a large laminated photograph of themselves around their neck for the patients to see who they were. The doctor said he is treating people in a completely different way to 2 months ago, never mind 4 months ago. His recovery rate is 98%, which is fantastic, but if the numbers continue to surge, they won’t have the beds to accommodate the patients. The reporter then said: look behind me. There was a long line of cars stretching into the distance, waiting to be tested - and they had begun lining up at 1am. I feel like a front line reporter, just behind the battle lines. There is only one way to get out of this mess and unfortunately, we can’t affect a change until November 3. We need a new leader who actually leads. There is so much disparaging stuff said about Joe Biden, but he is stepping up and offering solutions and reassurances and I am impressed by his ‘steady hand on the wheel’ stance. �There’s a novel concept: actually listening to the experts! As I write this, there is a plumber in our basement trying to find out why there is s growing pool of contaminated water coming up the drain. I’ve heard of this happening to other friends but not us. I am safely upstairs, sitting in bed, writing this blog. There are some days I can’t believe my life. Breaking: Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert, gave a dire warning Tuesday in a Senate committee hearing held as coronavirus infections surge in many parts of the United States. �“We are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. And so I am very concerned,” Fauci said in response to questioning from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on what the overall U.S. death toll is likely to be. Fauci testified alongside Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield; Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn; and Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, before the Senate’s health committee hearing meant to focus on safely reopening schools and businesses. And this: A top doctor at the CDC said the U.S. has “way too much virus” to control it. “We’re not in the situation of New Zealand or Singapore or Korea where a new case is rapidly identified and all the contacts are traced and people are isolated who are sick and people who are exposed are quarantined and they can keep things under control,” Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Howard Bauchner. "We have way too much virus across the country for that right now, so it’s very discouraging. … This is really the beginning. But while the Democrats in both houses are listening, no one is listening in the White House. They’re too busy planning rallies and that big fireworks display I told you about. Because getting Chump reelected is more important than anything. And this just in from the European Union: It’s official: the EU says Americans are persona non grata. U.S. travelers won't be among those allowed to visit the European Union when the bloc begins opening its external borders on July 1. EU ambassadors endorsed 15 countries that were hit early by the pandemic but have been able to bring the coronavirus under control. The U.S., not so much. That’s fine. Who needs a lovely beach in France or Croatia or GREECE! with the beautiful water and … oh, forget it! We’re totally bummed out. (Update: kitchen faucet fixed. Blockage in basement cleared. Drains being scoured out). And then here’s this: If you read just one story today, make it Watergate legend Carl Bernstein's deep dive for CNN: “In hundreds of highly classified phone calls with foreign heads of state, [Trump] was so consistently unprepared for discussion of serious issues, so often outplayed in his conversations with powerful leaders like [Putin] and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and so abusive to leaders of America's principal allies, that the calls helped convince some senior US officials – including his former secretaries of state and defense, two national security advisers and his longest-serving chief of staff -- that the President himself �posed a danger to the national security of the United States, according to White House and intelligence officials intimately familiar with the contents of the conversations. … The sources said there was little evidence that the President became more skillful or competent in his telephone conversations with most heads of state over time. … Putin ‘just outplays’ him, said a high-level administration official -- comparing the Russian leader to a chess grandmaster and Trump to an occasional player of checkers. While Putin ‘destabilizes the West,’ said this source, the President of the United States ‘sits there and thinks he can build himself up enough as a businessman and tough guy that Putin will respect him.’ (At times, the Putin-Trump conversations sounded like ‘two guys in a steam bath,’ a source added.) … In separate interviews, two high-level administration officials familiar with most of the Trump-Putin calls said the President naively elevated Russia – a second-rate totalitarian state with less than 4% of the world's GDP.” To inject some humor: And �It must be time for an Oliver photo. Yesterday Oliver went to visit The Taronga Park Zoo for the very first time! He had a very exciting day. And I think today is a 3 photo day to cheer us all up. ����The view of Sydney Harbor from the Zoo, elephants, and so tired on the way home. I feel better, how about you? More Hadrian’s Wall. Today we visited Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort just south of the Wall. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, a set of wooden leaf-tablets that were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. There is a museum there which displays finds from the site. The site was under Roman control from about 85CE to 370CE. ������From the top: walking into Vindolanda; the archeological site; a communal toilet; lots of shoes in the museum and lastly, an unknown woman’s tomb marker. Two days ago we walked through another part of the grounds at Aquinas College. Whenever I am stressed and I can’t get to the lake, an over abundance of green always helps. Today’s new message for all Americans: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! (And wear your mask everywhere!) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-01_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-112 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-01 Title A name given to the resource Day 112 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bfd5eaeb555c69059ef8d4a645b4bf01.pdf 0a9921b62d7423463ac43e22411b743c PDF Text Text Day 111 by windoworks Whenever I feel overwhelmed or sad or angry, or maybe just so dammed tired of it all, I look at photos and videos of Oliver. Oliver was born into the pandemic - he’s never known any other lifeway. For weeks he accepted living in an apartment with just his mother: no daycare, no park outings, no walks in strollers with friends. Now it has opened up a little more in New South Wales, and he is back at daycare and getting cuddles from relatives and other adults. And through it all he continued to grow and change and see Craig and I every day on FaceTime. Last night, looking at me, he laid his head on the side and smiled a faint smile. He knows I will copy him. Craig and I have known Oliver all 11 months of his life. Sometimes he makes sure we are watching him play and sometimes he ignores us - but he always knows we are there - the little people in Mummy’s phone. ��I don't see this as a wave anymore. Waves are outdated. We have peaks and valleys,” says Michael Osterholm (Director; Center for Infectious Disease, U of Minn). And here’s another new development everyone in research is talking about: At least four laboratory experiments suggest that the mutation makes the virus more infectious, although none of that work has been peer-reviewed. Another unpublished study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory asserts that patients with the G variant actually have more virus in their bodies, making them more likely to spread it to others. The mutation doesn’t appear to make people sicker, but a growing number of scientists worry that it has made the virus more contagious. So after months of assuring us that the virus was stable and not mutating, now you’re telling us you think it is and that mutation is helping it to spread faster and be more contagious? More than half a dozen epidemiologists, virologists, and psychologists contacted by National Geographic agree, and said that struggling governments can win their COVID-19 wars—and perhaps avoid further lockdowns—through more unified planning and messaging, steeped with harm reduction. They say much of America’s inabilities to waylay COVID-19 stem from humans ignoring their essential advantages over the virus: communication, cooperation, and compromise. Tomorrow it will be 16 weeks (4 months) since I began this entirely new way of life. In 8 weeks time (half the time I have spent at home) Grand Valley State University will reopen to students and faculty alike. I am not comfortable with that thought - and today I read an NPR article which confirmed my unease. When asked if he could imagine a college party where everyone is wearing masks, Jacques du Passage, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, laughs. "No. I don't think they would do that," he says. "I think [students] would just have the party and then face the repercussions." That's exactly what Apramay Mishra, student body president at the University of Kansas, is worried about when it comes to reopening campus amid the pandemic. "Right now it's kind of slipped from most people's minds," he says. Students "don't really think it's a big deal." Around the U.S., coronavirus cases are rising among young people. The spread of the virus has been connected to college-related events such as fraternity parties, drinking at off-campus bars and athletic practices. For colleges planning to bring thousands of students together in the fall, student spread is a real worry. And the stakes are high: If there are outbreaks, campuses may once again be forced to shut down, scattering students and disrupting academics and college finances all over again. �Many college students still have developing brains, so it's not that they aren't informed or that they don't understand the risks — its that they’re wired differently. They are highly sensitized to reward, especially in the context of peers. Hanging out with friends is a pretty incredible reward, given that many students have been isolated for months. All of their routines are built around social interaction. It's just a totally new set of social conditions that certainly nobody in that age has ever been subjected to. ���Two different approaches to social distancing. And then there’s this: ��I read a personal post this morning which suggested that, through all his actions since taking office, trump appears to be a perfect Manchurian Candidate under the control of Vladimir Putin. I remember that movie as very scary. There couldn’t be any truth to this, could there? From Zar in New Zealand: another bear, this time Superbear! ��Flashback: We journeyed on to Hadrian’s Wall. This wall was begun in 122CE during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It ran from the banks of the River Tyne near the North Sea to the Solway Firth on the Irish Sea. This was the northern limit of the Roman Empire. It had a stone base and a stone wall. There were milecastles with two turrets in between. There was a fort about every five miles. It is thought the milecastles were staffed with static garrisons, whereas the forts had fighting garrisons of infantry and cavalry. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been custom posts. ���Here we are at Housteads Roman Fort. This fort on the Wall was built in 124CE and abandoned in 400CE. It must have been a lonely spot especially in midwinter. Most of the sentries were recruited from the local population. The Wall was built to keep out the Picts who were a confederation of Celtic speaking peoples. Picts means painted people in Latin. The Romans didn’t have the manpower to subdue them so they built the Wall to keep them out. Nowadays the Wall is overgrown and sinking into the earth. It was much higher and formidable during Roman times. More Wall adventures tomorrow. Today is the 2nd day of 16 days in a row of 90F (32C) and above. There may be more days but that’s as far as my weather app goes. In the back yard TJ is building a wooden wall and gate, and when its done, Craig will (hopefully) take out the chain metal gates. And so the summer goes - one project after another. Tomorrow the plumber comes to switch out the kitchen faucet and clean out the kitchen and the laundry drains. I shall be safely ensconced upstairs, although the company assured us that all of their plumbers wear masks. I will be glad to get a faucet that pours out water rather than the measly trickle we have at the moment. Remember: keep on smiling through. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-30_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-111 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-30 Title A name given to the resource Day 111 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dc566fad3e94a54ae49fd1bc889fb2e1.pdf 36e367a15996296aec5373a7c9680e88 PDF Text Text Day 110 by windoworks This morning Craig said: there’s never any good news any more. So first I offer these: ��Yes, we can still laugh, only not quite as much or often, as before. Because here’s what we’re dealing with today. �Most other high-income countries are dealing with modest numbers of new cases — often an inevitable consequence of reopening — and the countries are responding aggressively. Many are following the advice of public health experts, ordering social distancing, mask-wearing and partial lockdowns and doing their best to track people who came in contact with new patients. The United States is not. President Trump and many governors continue to flout scientific advice and send mixed messages about the seriousness of the virus. The federal government has failed to offer the kind of clear and consistent messaging experts say is necessary to mount a successful public health response. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, put it this way: “From the very beginning, this outbreak has really been mismanaged in terms of what the government response should have been.” That quote appeared in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article headlined: “The lessons Canada can take from the U.S.’s mishandling of Covid-19.” And if that wasn’t concerning enough, here’s what is happening in Texas. Texas Medical Center hospitals stopped updating key metrics showing the stress rising numbers of COVID-19 patients were placing on their facilities for more than three days, rattling policymakers and residents who have relied on the information to gauge the spread of the coronavirus. The institutions — �which together constitute the world’s largest medical complex — reported Thursday that their base intensive care capacity had hit 100 percent for the first time during the pandemic and was on pace to exceed an “unsustainable surge capacity” of intensive care beds by July 6. This must be part of the ‘if I just close my eyes it’ll go away, right?’ plan. Also, embarrassingly, the governor of Texas had to go on live television and ask (almost beg) his constituents to wear a mask. Because, guess what? Wearing a mask keeps you safe and your friends and family safe! Who knew? Oh Gov Abbott - too little, too late. Meanwhile, here in West Michigan: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Several restaurants and bars in West Michigan are closing back down, this time because of staff members testing positive for Coronavirus. So far, FOX 17 has confirmed that Long Road Distillery in Grand Haven, Bostwick Lake Inn near Rockford, and Donkey Taqueria in Grand Rapids are all shutting their doors temporarily. Each had at least one employee test positive for Coronavirus, but where they were exposed is still under investigation. The cases are not surprising to the Kent County Health Department.”It’s understandable, people want to get together and hang out and they’re going to go where they can and do that. So we just still want people to be taking precautions,” said Brian Hartl, Epidemiologist with the Kent County Health Department. The real concern for the department is the rising number of daily cases. On Tuesday Kent County saw 24 new cases. Wednesday that went up to 37. Thursday it was 52. As I write this, the new cases over the weekend brought our numbers yesterday to 4,450 and our deaths 127-132. The numbers vary according to the source. I keep seeing posts on FaceBook from friends, particularly younger people, showing them standing close to their friends with no masks. It’s worrying. Meanwhile my friend Merrilyn (remember she wrote a book using her bear photos, entitled Bear Hunt) wrote that she’s going into the West Australian State Library tomorrow to hand over her 2 “Bear Hunt” books, one of which they are buying. She’s had quite a remarkable response from local child care centres, primary schools and others and is about to place an order for 50 copies. Congratulations Merrilyn! And Asher sent me this link to an article for businesses but I think some parts are applicable. Leadership in the New Now The coronavirus has shaken the nature of work to its core. While many are still anxiously awaiting a return to normal, what’s “normal” after the pandemic is likely to look very different from what we were used to before it began. Uncertainty will stay with us for many months, so it will be almost impossible to �define what’s “normal.” What we need to think about is not a “new normal” but a new reality—a “new now.” The crisis is shining a bright light on corporate culture. It is revealing whether businesses support their workforce, for example, through the promise of avoiding layoffs and doing what they can to minimize financial hardship, or whether employees feel that protecting the bottom line is priority number one. I believe it is the New Now for all of us. Normal will never be what it was and I don’t think gathering in bars, or on beaches or crowded together at sporting venues will ever bring normal back. Part of our New Now for Craig and I, is a return to online grocery ordering. It is just too upsetting to see whole families or young people in grocery stores without masks. Instead of calmly shopping, we both get angry and anxious and forget half of what we came for. It is challenging to order groceries online - you ask for a pound of tomatoes and you get just one. And extraordinary items are out of stock. Who knew everybody loved chocolate covered gluten free cookies? So to cheer us all up: here are Oliver and Zoe, standing in front of the school Oliver will attend when he’s 5 years old. ��Back in Britain, we began our journey to the north. ������Here we are exploring the ruins of Barnard Castle. The town of Barnard Castle surrounds the ruins, which are on the banks of the river Tees. The only other item of note is that the towns biggest employer is GlaxoSmithKlein, which has a manufacturing facility on the towns edge. Tomorrow we reach Hadrian’s Wall. Remember: wearing a mask shows others that you care about their safety. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-29_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-110 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-29 Title A name given to the resource Day 110 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/058ce104880e54b06d8c6903a25ca127.pdf 44c303fb7df3f0a198fd8a255d68db36 PDF Text Text Day 109 by windoworks The virus is the boss. This is not a thing to be decided by governors or mayors or anybody. Well here we are. There are any number of articles describing new details of the virus such as transmission and long term effects - and here’s a sobering one: We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas. It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidney and other organs. We didn’t appreciate that in the beginning,” said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California. In addition to respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that can lead to strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems. The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache, dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion. And recovery can be slow, incomplete and costly, with a huge impact on quality of life. Now I know, it’s Sunday morning and you wanted kittens or babies or cute zoo animals. But this is what we have and this is the new normal. All these things we do right now to keep ourselves safe and healthy are going to have to continue into the foreseeable future and even though the scientists know all those facts (see above), they still don’t know when or if the virus will finish. So we have to make this new life our own. We have to enjoy it and grow within its confines. We have to embrace it. Yesterday my friend Wendy and her husband were driving by and they stopped to check out our new red house front. I just happened to be bringing the dog in off the front porch (she needed a drink of water), and I saw them and invited them up on to our porch to sit at the other end on the swing and chat. Craig came out and we spent a lovely 30 minutes catching up face to face. I couldn’t offer beverages or snacks but none of us cared. It was so nice just to actually see each other and not on zoom. ��The big white and red house and the big blue house, side by side. The blue house will have terracotta trim and our house will be red on top on all sides when finished. Across America, a large number of Police Chiefs have resigned after racial incidents by their police staff have taken place. And Chief Medical Officers have also resigned due to personal harassment, trolling online and protestors turning up at their homes. I’m missing the link with this last item. If I get my CMO to resign, then the virus will disappear, right? In keeping with that thought: �This morning I watched an interview with John Kasich (R), the former Governor of Ohio, with Erin Burnett on CNN. Here’s a snippet of what he said: “In 2016, people wanted to shake up Washington. Quoting Pink Floyd, this is being viewed by many (overseas) as ‘a momentary lapse of reason’. The 2020 election isn’t about a great vision for the future. It’s about a return to normalcy.” �Joe Biden talking about trump. I focus in on the words: it happened to all of us. This is the man I am supporting and voting for in November. And if you’re not sure of his capabilities, I offer this: �Yesterday we went for a drive after lunch. We drove out to Allendale to the GVSU campus - very quiet and then we pulled in to Versluis’s farm stall on the way back to buy some fresh picked strawberries. They �had NONE! For the first time ever, in their farming career, a fungus destroyed their entire strawberry crop! So is it a plague of toads next? Then we swung by Rise Gluten Free/Vegan bakery and picked up our donuts and muffins. I managed to order their last 3 muffins. Yum! Their treats are wonderful. Lastly we drove by one of the 4 social zones downtown. People can buy food and drink and then take it outside and safely sit. ��The City of Grand Rapids has canceled all Fourth of July celebrations including the downtown fireworks display. You can purchase your own fireworks but there is a strict period in which you can set them off (which some people are ignoring). And speaking of ignoring safety rules in hot weather and a pandemic: President Trump is planning a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite a decadelong ban on pyrotechnics at the iconic spot because of concerns about public health, environmental and safety risks He’s hoping aligning himself with those presidential monuments will boost his ratings and make himself feel really important. ��Because Oliver in his new Pom Pom hat, clapping his hands. He also sometimes waves to me, like the Queen does - fingers together, turning his hand back and forth. A full day in Cambridge with Asher. �����At the top: inside the Fitzwilliam Museum. This is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1816 from the will of the 7th Viscount FitzWilliam. it was stuffed full of goodies. Next, in the early evening we lined up and bought tickets to enter the Kings College Chapel and listen to the choir sing Evensong. Henry VIII finished the construction of the chapel in 1544. The choir is all male students and is famous world wide. Photography was not permitted inside the chapel but it was a magical performance and a highlight of Cambridge . Waiting in line to enter the chapel; the Gothic entrance; the view from the top of the tower and Asher and I in the college green. Tomorrow we leave Cambridge and begin our journey to the north. Just do your best - that’s all anyone can do, really. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-28_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-109 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-28 Title A name given to the resource Day 109 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/abb58d872b1d1b3543acee0a59e4ebfb.pdf 97b5b52290d08669ed2939455c832489 PDF Text Text Day 108 or 15 1/2 weeks. by windoworks On Thursday a staff member at Donkey Taqueria, one of several restaurants owned by a friend of mine, tested positive for coronavirus. Paul immediately closed the restaurant temporarily and posted about it on FaceBook. But what impressed me was the line: ‘this is not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last’. Yes indeed. This morning I watched an ad with President Obama and he said: Don’t be afraid. It struck a deep chord within me and of course, I cried. Craig said: why are you crying? And I had to think about it. I cried for those 8 years when we watched every broadcast Obama made; when he told us just how bad things were and then reassured us that working together, we would get through it. The 8 years of no scandal in the White House; a First Lady who embraced her position and was accessible. During his presidency, I was the chair of Grand Rapids Weed & Seed, a National program designed to work with the police department. We were the seed part and the police were the weed. We had a one day summit planned and I proposed that we ask Michelle Obama to come and talk to our kids. I thought the worst could be that she would say no. Quite quickly we received a response from one of her staff, saying unfortunately she had another event on that day that she couldn’t move. Two weeks later we received another letter asking us what was the date again, because she might be free. We corresponded but unfortunately, she was still not able to attend. It was surprising as we thought the first letter was a gracious brush off. I simply can’t imagine this would happen with Melania. Nationally, 44,702 new infections were reported by state health departments on Friday, surpassing the previous record, 39,327, set a day earlier. So just leaving that alarming development there for your consideration, then there’s this: Vice President Pence said during a White House coronavirus task force news briefing that it is “very encouraging news” that half of the increasing cases in Florida and Texas are among Americans under 35, because younger people tend to have less-serious outcomes. Followed by this: Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease doctor, urged Americans to see their role in taking safety precautions as a “societal responsibility.” He begged them not to let their guards down even if the risk to their own health is considered minimal, because they can still transport it. When you consider any words from the vice president, you have to remember this is a man who cannot eat a meal with any other woman but his wife. That opens up a whole new set of questions, doesn’t it? So �the fact that he publicly believes that its encouraging news that the cases are less serious for under 35 year olds - and doesn’t take the consequences of community transmission into consideration at all, AND he’s the head of the White House virus team, just makes me want to lie down and scream: Jacinda, Angela, anybody? Help us! The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late on Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act, telling the court that “the entire ACA must fall.” The administration’s argument comes as hundreds of thousands of Americans turned to the government program for health care as they’ve lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said that axing the healthcare law as the nation is still reeling from the pandemic would amount to a double whammy for covid-19 survivors. He worried insurers would view covid-19 as a preexisting condition, and without the ACA, would be free to deny survivors coverage. Those survivors, having struggled and won the fight of their lives, would have their peace of mind stolen away at the moment they need it most,” Biden said. “They would live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump’s twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus, and his heartless crusade to take health-care protections away from American families." This brings to mind the analogy of Rome burning while Nero fiddled (as in played the fiddle). So now we’re definitely not welcome anywhere in the European Union and Britain is trying to cope with a heatwave and a decrease in social distancing especially on the beaches. Their cases are continuing to rise as well. And what is it with Australians and toilet paper? Supermarkets in Australia have been forced to reintroduce limits on toilet paper and other goods to stop a fresh wave of customers from bulk buying unnecessarily. The recent panic is believed to have been triggered by a surge in coronavirus cases in the southeastern state of Victoria. Woolworths supermarkets announced Friday the reintroduction of a limit of two packs per customer on toilet paper and paper towels in all stores following “a recent surge in demand.” The Coles supermarket chain also implemented buying restrictions on toilet paper, rice, flour and sugar.Morrison described the behavior of those engaging in panic buying as “ridiculous.” Photos shared on Twitter this week showed empty shelves in grocery aisles in Sydney and Melbourne, as fears of a second wave seemingly spread across the country. Weeks ago Zoe struggled to find enough items like baby wipes and fresh fruit for Oliver. I hope this isn’t the case again. And speaking of Oliver, here he is with Great Aunt Bernie, reading a book. ��Yesterday Craig finished most of the front of the house. He didn’t repaint the porch walls as they were painted not so long ago. Instead he washed them down. Then he put up our new flag - which I hope covers everyone. In the photos you can see me with my new haircut, the flag, the new painted 2nd floor, my new rainbow weave in the tv room window (from my talented niece Elle), and the edge of our neighbor’s new blue painted house. ��And I just had to put this here: �That’s for all my friends of more experienced years. �More Cambridge adventures. �����One of the ‘must do’ things in Cambridge is take a guided punt tour on the River Cam. We slid around the university on the river while our punter and guide told us more information than I could remember. The most exciting moment was at the end when I tried to clamber out of the punt. Craig and I almost fell in the river. An exciting beginning to our first day in Cambridge. So, be brave, be safe, be healthy and carry on. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-27_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-108 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-27 Title A name given to the resource Day 108 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7051240c404978054f95c7b9aceb30a6.pdf 185b8da807b6f2c521f61446bcec3209 PDF Text Text Day 107 by windoworks I’m late writing the blog today because this happened. I plucked up my courage, put on my mask, grabbed my hand sanitizer and went to my new hairdresser. This is not the best photo but Craig is on the porch roof painting the front of the second floor red, so I had to take the photo myself. And as Zoe says: I never know where the camera is. This is a better start to the day than earlier when I woke up. Overnight the stats continue to surge. Yesterday the US recorded 34, 191 new cases, Michigan had 353 new cases and Kent County had 52 new cases and our deaths here in Kent increased to 127. The graphs show a new climb. People are declaring it a second wave. I don’t believe we’re out of the first wave yet. Gov Whitmer is watching isolated clusters closely and saying we should be prepared to stay home again if needed. She had hoped to raise the state to Stage 5, a much freer level, by July 4, but I’m not sure that will happen. The number of Americans who have been infected with the novel coronavirus is likely 10 times higher than the number of cases reported, according to the head of the Centers for Disease Control and �Prevention. In a call with reporters Thursday, CDC Director Robert Redfield said, "Our best estimate right now is that for every case that’s reported, there actually are 10 other infections.” Redfield estimated that 92 to 95 percent of the U.S. population is still susceptible to the virus. He also said that young people are driving the recent surge in cases in parts of the South and West. By my calculation, if the US has about 2.4 million confirmed cases, that means according to Redfield we actually have 24 million cases. An overwhelming thought. In Kent County there might be 43,000 cases. These are sobering numbers. When I went to my hairdressers this morning at 7:45am, I was the only client there. Consing, my hairdresser said there had been at least 2 customers who argued about wearing a mask. Their rule is simple: no mask, no haircut. The problem is that people believe that if they get the virus, they’ll get over it fast. They don’t believe the real life accounts until they’re in the hospital - or they’ve infected a family member. So, to educate us all further, I offer this: What does it mean to be asymptomatic? SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – can produce a range of clinical manifestations. Some people who are infected never develop any symptoms at all. These patients are considered true asymptomatic cases. When people do get sick from the coronavirus, it takes on average five days and as many as two weeks of to develop symptoms that can range from very mild to extremely dangerous. The time between initial infection and the first symptoms is called the presymptomatic phase. How many people are asymptomatic? Estimates of the proportion of true asymptomatic cases – those who are infected and never develop symptoms – range from 18 percent to over 80 percent. The reasons for the huge range in estimates are still unclear. A recent mass testing campaign in San Francisco found that 53 percent of infected patients were asymptomatic when first tested and 42 percent stayed asymptomatic over the next 2 weeks. How can asymptomatic people spread the coronavirus? Compared to most other viral infections, SARSCoV-2 produces an unusually high level of viral particles in the upper respiratory tract– specifically the nose and mouth. When those viral particles escape into the environment, that is called viral shedding. Researchers have found that pre-symptomatic people, shed the virus at an extremely high rate similar to the seasonal flu. But people with the flu don't normally shed virus until they have symptoms. When people cough or talk, they spray droplets of saliva and mucus into the air. Since SARS-CoV-2 sheds so heavily in the nose and mouth, these droplets are likely how people without symptoms are spreading the virus. �How much asymptomatic spread is happening? An early modeling estimate suggested that 80 percent of infections could be attributed to spread from undocumented cases. If half of all infected people are without symptoms at any point in time, and those people can transmit SARS-CoV-2 as easily as symptomatic patients, it is safe to assume a huge percentage of spread comes from people without symptoms. What can we do to limit asymptomatic spread? Any time a virus can be spread by people without symptoms, you have to turn to preventative measures. Social distancingand lockdowns work, but have large economic and social repercussions. Universal mask wearing is best tool to limit transmission, and there is evidence to back that idea up. Wearing a mask and practicing social distancing can prevent asymptomatic spread and help reduce the harm from this dangerous virus until we get a vaccine. Monica Ghandi, Professor of Medicine, Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. I know this was a long read but it is the best explanation of contagion and best evidence for wearing a mask. Gone With The Wind has returned to HBO Max — with an update. The 1939 film has a new introduction addressing the film’s problematic depiction of the Antebellum South by film scholar and Turner Classic Movies host Jacqueline Stewart. I remember watching this movie at a theater - it was so long there was an interval in the middle for snacks and toilet stops. In other changes, the Dixie Chicks have renamed themselves The Chicks. And apparently Allendale (where GVSU’s main campus is) has a confederate statue that locals are agonizing over. Jon Stewart spoke with Stephen Colbert about why he believes Joe Biden is “the man of the moment.” Stewart told The Late Show host he wasn’t a Biden supporter until recently, but he’s come to believe that Biden is the leader the country needs right now: “Biden was not my guy. Wasn’t even in the top four or five. I was more of a Sanders, Warren… Not my guy, but having watched him on your show and having spoken to him at other times and seen him in other situations… I’ve recently been thinking about something and that is that, we are a country in terrible anguish right now. We are in pain. American exceptionalism, the kind of blindfold is off, and we’re kind of seeing ourselves as who we really are. ‘American exceptionalism’ is not a title that you wear like you were Miss America in 1937 and you’ll always be Miss America. Like it takes effort and work to maintain. If you treat it like a fait accompli, it will erode and you will lose it. And we are seeing that erosion, and we are fearful and we are angry and we are in pain. When I see Biden, past the shtick, I see a guy who knows what loss is, who knows grief. And I think that, that kind of grief humbles you… and what I think in this moment what this country needs is a leader of humility.” �And here’s a problem solved in a unique way: What do you do with millions of pounds of potatoes with nowhere to go? Give them away, of course! While huge numbers of Americans are struggling to get enough to eat and supermarkets are running out of certain foods, farmers around the country are trashing crops because they have no way to get them to stores. Enter Ryan Cranney of Cranney Farms, who grows russet potatoes. He posted a photo of a big mountain of extra spuds (along with a note that read “Free potatoes”) to his Facebook page, then watched in amazement as people from as far away as Nevada, Kansas and Ohio lined up to fill their truck beds and pack their cars with 'em. �Me eyeing those people without masks. �From Auli in Finland - guaranteed to brighten up your day. �First coat done! Yesterday Zoe, Asher and Oliver went walking on the Fairfax Walking trail at North Head. At this time of the year you sometimes see whales migrating, but not yesterday. ��You can see the city in the background. So on to Cambridge. Cambridge is a university city on the River Cam. It’s about 55 miles north of London. The university was founded in 1209. It is famous for Kings College Chapel, the Cavendish Laboratory and the Cambridge University Library - one of the largest legal deposits in the world. �We were staying in a lovely bed and breakfast, which the 3 of us crammed into and shared our tiny bathroom. But we were just so happy to be together and here are Craig and Asher enjoying dinner. So, be well and stay safe - and respect others. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-26_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-107 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-26 Title A name given to the resource Day 107 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d59055b4a17be1e4744912f5d562bd9.pdf 0d2b5c32a50084c11a40147b0218aa34 PDF Text Text Day 106 by windoworks Good morning all. The above cartoon seemed applicable as all things virus worsen, not only in the US, but in other countries. As new coronavirus cases in the United States reached their highest single-day level yet on Wednesday, companies and state officials appear to be taking matters into their own hands. While Vice President Pence urged senators to focus on “encouraging signs,” these governors and CEOs are instead responding to mounting indications of a deadly surge across the South and West. Nevada and North Carolina both ordered residents to wear masks in public, as Virginia moves to implement new �workplace safety rules that would force companies to protect workers from infection. Disneyland’s both delayed plans to reopen. The 38,115 new infections reported by state health departments Wednesday underscore the changing geography of the U.S. outbreak. The bulk of the cases were posted in Texas, Florida and California, while Oklahoma also set a new statewide record in infections. Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has recorded more than 2.43 million coronavirus cases and yesterday 124,000 deaths, while the global number of cases has soared past 9 million. As Grand Valley State University moves towards reopening, here are some thoughtful and challenging words from the Honors College: As you welcome this new academic year into your consciousness and begin to think about who you are going to become in this re-imagined space, please consider what it would look like for you to pause and go deeper. What education do you need? How will you show that you care about your community and those around you? How can you open up space for genuine conversation and connection with people whose perspectives are different from your own? What would it mean for you to challenge yourself to listen more and speak a bit less at times? And if you really want to go deeper, how do you cultivate bravery within, so that you can identify your own places of need while also sitting with and calling forth the moments when you have fallen short, where you can do better. What does that look like? Craig has completed painting half the back of the house. As the sun shines hottest on the back of the house in the mornings, he will start on the front of the house this morning and return to the second half of the back in the afternoon. As our neighbor John (who is having his house painted a vibrant blue) said: we need never fly an American flag again. Our houses are red, white and blue. �And if you’re wondering - just the top half of the house will be red. The bottom half will stay white. Remember I told you about social zones being installed downtown? Here are 2 of the 4 zones. Eastown is considering where to install our social zone. �N.Y. N.J. and Conn. order quarantine for travelers from Florida, other states hit hard by coronavirus �The governors of the tri-state area jointly announced the travel advisory, which requires a 14-day quarantine for visitors from states whose infection rates meet certain thresholds indicating “significant community spread,” according to New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D). Nine states currently meeting that threshold, Cuomo said: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas. Perhaps this is something Michigan could consider? And if you’re wondering how small children got on in daycare centers - Throughout the pandemic, many child care centers have stayed open for the children of front-line workers — everyone from doctors to grocery store clerks. YMCA of the USA and New York City's Department of Education have been caring for, collectively, tens of thousands of children since March, and both tell NPR they have no reports of coronavirus clusters or outbreaks. As school districts sweat over reopening plans, and with just over half of parents telling pollsters they're comfortable with in-person school this fall, public health and policy experts say education leaders should be discussing and drawing on these real-world child care experiences. Working in early days, and on very short notice, these two organizations followed safety guidance that closely resembles what's now been officially put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Y says a few staff members and parents at sites around the country did test positive, but there are no records of having more than one case at a site. This, among a population of essential workers. In order to slow the spread of illness, local YMCAs and New York City grouped "pods" of no more than nine children with each adult. Heidi Brasher of the YMCA of the USA says this often meant using spaces such as basketball courts or even boardrooms, taking advantage of buildings that were otherwise closed. "They were very creative in the way they utilized space," Brasher says. They did temperature checks and symptom screenings on each child coming in each day, with staff members wearing masks, gloves and gowns where available. Children with symptoms were urged to stay home. Staff came up with creative ways to reinforce frequent and thorough hand-washing. At the beginning of each 30-minute activity, such as sports or craft time, children get a stamp or marker doodle on their hands, which they have to wash off before moving on to the next activity. Staff were teaching them not just 'rinse your hands,' but 'scrub them.' And instead of having to dread washing their hands, they were able to get excited and laugh and have fun while they were doing that. They also reinforce social distancing by having the kids make "airplane arms" when they're standing in line or moving from place to place. And children get their own materials, such as art supplies, to use from day to day, rather than sharing. �In Australia, my youngest son has gone to Sydney to visit with his sister and his nephew. Yesterday he managed an early morning row on Sydney Harbor with a friend. It was the beginning of a gorgeous day as you can see. ���Thats not the Sydney Harbor Bridge - its the Anzac Bridge connecting downtown with the inner west neighborhoods. You can see the Sydney Tower in the background. This snippet is something we live with every day. Across the government, key security positions are vacant or filled by acting personnel who many believe are too inexperienced or too afraid to enact meaningful changes. “The system now is set up to keep your mouth shut,” said Sam Brannen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who tracks vacancies in the security agencies that he says make the country more vulnerable to a disaster. And a very worrying phrase has begun to pop up: the next pandemic. The next one? There’ll be another one? We can’t seem to manage this one never mind another one! In sad travel news - The European Union may ban Americans from traveling there when it reopens its borders, as coronavirus cases surge in the United States. European countries are working to agree on two lists of acceptable travelers as they finalize plans to reopen on July 1, and the U.S. isn't on the drafts. Speaking of sad travel news, Craig and I are finding it difficult to get our passports renewed. They expire in December and the passport offices have been closed for weeks. I believe they’re open now but with greatly reduced staff and hours, so it may take us months to get them renewed. Well we can’t go anywhere, anyway. Obligatory Oliver photo: ��Chatting up aa girl at daycare. Our last outing in Brandon. Close by Brandon is Thetford Forest. This is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain. It is 47,000 acres and is a Site of Special Interest (I have no idea what that means). It was created (planted) in 1922. It is a beautiful place to walk. ���It was a lovely, peaceful place. We were supposed to stay in Brandon for a few more days but instead we moved to a hotel in Thetford overnight. Our flint cottage really cured me of tiny house dreams. Then we drove to Cambridge to meet Asher who was arriving from London by train. We’ll visit Cambridge in tomorrow’s blog and then we’ll set off north to Scotland. Remember: returning to “normal” cannot be our goal. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-25_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-106 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-25 Title A name given to the resource Day 106 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/49356b7096df82d9eacc2259ecafd7ae.pdf 994e293b30535ba588ae5585ceb6f5bf PDF Text Text Day 105 by windoworks There are some mornings when the news is so alarming I can barely read it. Some friends advise not reading it at all. I’m not that person. Fortunately I do not have access to cable tv so I can only get my news online. Have you ever noticed that every email that the Washington Post sends out is headed ‘Breaking News’?After 106 days I tend to ignore the header. So yesterday, that unsung hero of the pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci, testified before Congress. Here’s some of what he had to say: Fauci told lawmakers he had never seen a single virus that produced such a wide range of symptoms and disease severity in its victims. Some people infected with covid-19 have no symptoms, Fauci said, while others have mild symptoms, and still others require weeks in a hospital on a ventilator or die as a result of the virus. Fauci urged young people who might be tempted to resume their normal lives because they believe it is unlikely they will get seriously ill from the virus to consider the impact they could have on the outbreak across the country. “Even though the overwhelming majority then do well, what you can’t forget is if you get infected and spread the infection, even though you do not get sick, you are part of the process of the dynamics of an outbreak,” Fauci said. “What you might be propagating, perhaps innocently, is you infect someone, who infects someone, who then infects someone who is vulnerable.” Fauci warned “The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges that we are seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other states. If the surges aren’t reversed, they will create a much larger pool of people who have the virus and can then spread it to others”. Sadly (and worryingly) there are surges in other places across the world. German authorities said Tuesday they would impose a new regional lockdown in a district of the country’s northwest to contain an outbreak linked to a meat-processing plant, after more than 1,500 workers were infected. Portugal cracked down on mass gatherings. Australia’s Victoria state re-shuttered several schools. An area in the northeast of Spain reintroduced restrictions. Even New Zealand, which has just 10 confirmed, active cases, tightened border measures as an increasing number of citizens abroad began to fly home. In Germany, schools and kindergartens had already shut their doors as the number of cases climbed in recent days. Starting Tuesday, people will only be able to meet with one other person or members of their �own household. Gyms, bars, galleries and museums will be closed. Health officials remained optimistic that localized outbreaks could be contained through testing, contact tracing and quarantines. Officials in the Australian state of Victoria also blamed large gatherings for climbing case numbers. Over the weekend, officials there already lowered the cap on gatherings following four consecutive days of double-digit rises in infections. As during the first phase of reopening, no more than 10 people can meet in public and no more than five can assemble inside homes. On Tuesday, officials also closed two primary schools after a flare-up of more than a dozen coronavirus cases prompted concerns about “significant” community spread. “I know and understand that all Victorians want this to be over,” Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews said at a news conference, “but we simply can’t pretend the virus is gone, that the virus is somehow not in our state." His comments echoed a growing rift that has emerged between nations that are doubling down on trying to contain the virus and countries like the United States, where scientists fear economic recovery is being prioritized over virus containment efforts. The hardest part about all this is the continuing echo from scientists everywhere; we don’t know. The question When will this be over? And. When will life return to normal? Are always answered by: we don’t know, sometimes followed by: we think that ..... As human beings we find it difficult to embrace the unknown. Most of us like normal. It’s comfortable and reassuring. I find reassuring things with my own family but outside of that tight circle, it is all the great unknown. My grandson will be one year old in a month’s time, and we will not be there to celebrate. I hope that we will be able to visit Australia by this time next year and celebrate his next birthday, but I don’t know for certain. To lighten the mood. Remember when I posted the photo of the roller coaster with stuffed animals riding in it because they needed to keep it in running order? Well, this happened: What do famous musicians do when they have with no one to play for? They perform for plants. Obviously! Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu opera opened to a full house on Monday for its first concert since mid-March. All 2,292 seats were filled with leafy green plants for the UceLi Quartet's prelude performance to the 2020-2021 season. The string quartet serenaded the quiet in-house audience with Giacomo Puccini's "Crisantemi" (human fans listened via livestream). The plants have been sent to health care workers at a hospital in Barcelona. Maravilloso! Craig and I watched it and at the end of the piece, they played the sound of rain falling on plants and they made the plants wave in the breeze to simulate applause. Very clever. �And this thought: You should probably just go ahead and permanently convert your closet into a home office. Like it or not, many employers found the benefits of working from home outweigh the drawbacks, mostly because of — what else? — money. According to Global Workplace Analytics, "a typical employer can save about $11,000 a year for every person who works remotely half of the time." And workers can bank between $2,500 and $4,000 over the same split. However, there are potential downsides collaboration with colleagues can suffer, and some feel like they’re disconnected from their company. Yesterday we went walking in another cemetery, this time Oak Hill. I like walking in cemeteries, especially older ones with well established trees. It’s quiet, contemplative and safe and I find myself thinking about death and sorrow but not in a depressing way, which is surprising. Now these 2 photos were taken (awkwardly) out of Craig’s office window, but they’re of a team cutting down the huge tree limb which fell on my neighbor’s garage roof some time ago. (authors note: the passage of time is very confusing in a pandemic). Anyway they have ropes (how did they get that red one up there?) and they have helmets, gloves, harnesses and chainsaws. ���Not great photos but you get the idea. Now Oliver, because his smile makes me feel better. ��All bundled up for the cold weather and a happy family shot. Now our second last outing in Brandon. It was a cold, rainy day and somehow (although it didn’t improve my mood) it made our destination more atmospheric. Not far from Brandon is Lakenheath Fen. This is a 740 acre site of reed beds and grazing marshes. It is a haven for wildlife. ������As well as all types of breeding birds, there were wild ponies grazing. Britain is astonishing with all its well preserved and maintained natural areas. Standing rules: You should wear a mask if you’re going to spend time near anybody who is not part of your household. You should minimize your time in indoor spaces with multiple people. You should move as many activities as possible outdoors. You should wash your hands frequently. And you should stay home, away from even your own family members, if you feel sick. On that happy note, I’ll see you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-24_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-105 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-24 Title A name given to the resource Day 105 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25380b3c14743c6b65b9398893f829ea.pdf d044f6207efb2c5b4be49c2fd1318431 PDF Text Text Day 1, 793. Oh okay Day 104. by windoworks Our neighbors are having their house painted which a new source of interest for me as TJ (on the other side) finished his south wall repair and repainting a couple of weeks ago. The house is being painted a vibrant shade of blue with terracotta trim. We are going ahead (when I say ‘we’ I mean Craig) with painting our house red on the top half and white on the bottom with grey trim. Craig is starting with the back wall of the house, so we can see what it will look like. The team painting the house next door are spraying the paint on. It’s much quicker and it gives a better coverage than brushes. Craig is thinking about hiring a compressor and sprayer. He’s going to start tomorrow I think. This began on Friday here in downtown Grand Rapids: • Restaurants, bars and coffee shops in downtown Grand Rapids are getting an influx of outdoor seating thanks to a city of Grand Rapids program designed to give businesses a boost during the coronavirus pandemic. • Four outdoor, open-air seating areas — know as “social zones” — are being installed Friday, June 19, by city workers. • The areas will include table and chairs, where residents can eat to-go orders and takeout meals from nearby restaurants. Patrons can drink beer or wine that is purchased and stored in a sealed container. • The idea is to give food service businesses, whose inside capacity has been reduced by half to comply with social distancing guidelines, more space to serve customers. • “They’re an important way for us to ensure that downtown and neighborhood business districts retain their vibrancy, because restaurants and bars are important businesses that bring people into those areas,” said Lou Canfield, who manages the city’s development center. And I offer this in case you are struggling to comply: During its WWDC keynote Monday, Apple announced a new addition to its Watch to help users wash their hands the appropriate amount of time. With the update, the Watch will look out for the signs you’re at a sink, from the way you move your hands, to the sound of water swooshing by. Then the Watch will give you a countdown to make sure you spend the doctor-recommended amount of time cleaning away all those nasty germs. Here is a change I can get behind: In a growing trend, dozens of aging dams are being removed from U.S. rivers every year, and wildlife populations are exploding as a result. In Maine, this has meant the return of millions of migratory fish, plus �bald eagles and other birds who eat them. East Coast rivers have been dammed for hundreds of years and many people have never seen a large river system in its natural state The virus continues to increase as people try to return to normal life. Some don’t believe in it and some have cast caution to the winds and some say that if they get it, they’ll get over it quickly and easily. Hmmm. Around the country, Americans in their 20s and 30s are increasingly testing positive for COVID-19. Public health experts have a couple of theories about this. More people are getting tested for the virus as the capacity to test them has expanded. Why the increase? Some say younger adults believe they are less at risk than their parents or grandparents; they are also more likely to venture back into society as it reopens without practicing social distancing and wearing masks. We are shocked — shocked! — about 20-yearolds not thinking long term. But all you 30-somethings? C’mon, people. Recently I read a twitter post from a comedian who watched her mother dying from COVID-19 in an ICU, on FaceTime. I can’t imagine how dreadful that would be. And the comedian said: it happened so fast. Here in Michigan our governor and her colleagues are getting kudos for the way in which they managed the virus from the beginning - not from trump, but from researchers at Imperial College London and Oxford University. Here’s some of what they found: The researchers found that states that were more successful at keeping people at home were also more successful at reducing the spread of COVID-19. And mobility decreased more in Michigan under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-home orders than in any other Great Lakes states — or most states in the United States, according to the study. In Michigan, as of about March 12 — before restaurants, businesses and schools were closed and prior to Whitmer's stay-at-home orders — each person with COVID-19 was spreading the virus to about 3.5 other people, the study found. By mid-May, after mobility was reduced by Whitmer's measures, the state's reproduction number had fallen to 1, meaning sick individuals were spreading the disease to just one other person on average. The population of Michigan is 9 million. In an unmitigated epidemic, you might expect that 70% to 80% of the population might be infected, that's 7.4 million people infected with COVID-19. We assume around a 1% infection mortality rate — that's over all the infections in the population, some are very mild. So if you multiple 7.4 million by 1%, you get 74,000 deaths. Michigan has experienced 5,990 confirmed and probable deaths through Friday, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Probable deaths are defined as people whose death �certificates say they died of COVID-19 but they were never tested for the virus. The state has had 65,672 cases confirmed and probable cases through Friday since the virus was first detected in early March. The conclusion is that the Stay At Home order worked even though businesses were hugely affected. The conversation seemed to be: its either the virus or the economy, but really its both. And in states where they rushed to open - State and city leaders in the U.S. are responding to a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations by implementing new rules, scaling back on reopening plans and issuing dire warnings about the future of public health and the economy. In lieu of a Florida statewide mask rule, several city mayors in Miami-Dade County are implementing their own mask requirements. Texas authorities temporarily suspended the alcohol permits of 12 bars for violating protocols designed to stem the crisis, as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said cases and hospitalizations there are increasing at an “unacceptable” rate. And in Utah, the state epidemiologist is warning that the state could be facing a “complete shutdown” if cases continue to rise. Twenty-nine states and U.S. territories showed an increase in their seven-day average of new reported cases on Monday, with nine states reporting record average highs. In the states where cases are spiking the most, hospitalizations are also rising sharply. More than 2,290,000 cases and 118,000 deaths have been officially reported in the United States. The phrase ‘between a rock and a hard place’ comes to mind. In the end, whatever presidents or governors or mayors do (and my governor and mayor are stellar women), it comes down to each of us deciding what we are comfortable with. If you do reengage with the world - remember to respect others - stay apart, wear and mask and wash your hands. First a photo from Zar. This is Cornwall Park in Auckland New Zealand. Auckland City is built on a large number of dormant volcanoes - around 50. When I was growing up I thought the Auckland volcanoes were extinct. Once married to a Big Historian I learned that volcanoes are never extinct, but dormant. Sort of sleeping between eruptions. My sister lives on the lip of a crater and she always says she’ll be gone in the first 7 seconds. Cornwall Park surrounds One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie Pa) which is one of the dormant volcanoes. I will talk about Pas etc in another blog thread but not this pandemic diary. Walking in Cornwall Park is always a joy and here is Zar’s photo of the path through the trees. ��And the daily Oliver photo, this time with his uncle: ��We are coming to the end of our adventures in Brandon and are now in week 4. Late one afternoon we drove to Tichwell Marsh. This is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is located on the north coast of Norfolk and its 420 acres include reed beds, salt marshes, a freshwater lagoon and a sandy beach. It also has artifacts dating back to the Late Paleolithic era and the remains of military constructions from both world wars. It is immensely popular with birdwatchers or twitchers as they are known. We felt woefully under equipped as we were there with people who had cameras with huge lens and binoculars. We had our cell phones. ������The first 3 photos are of the marshes, reed beds and lagoon and the next photo is of the concrete bunker remains on the beach. Then a photo of me on the beach and lastly Craig and I. It was a cold day - you can tell by the layers Craig is wearing. A very wild and beautiful place. Keep smiling through. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-23_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-104 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-23 Title A name given to the resource Day 104 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/86272fb62253c457114868bfa10cd895.pdf df2c2fd102b8b7dc72fc65e01f33a54b PDF Text Text Day 103 by windoworks Yesterday was a big day. For the first time in 3 and a half months we ate food we hadn’t prepared ourselves. Because it was Fathers Day we picked up sushi from our local Japanese restaurant, Maru. We brought it home and sat on the front porch and devoured it. It was delicious and so far, so good. They seemed very organized and cautious at the restaurant. In other news, Craig took one of his saxophones to a music store to be repaired, some weeks ago. There is a master repairer working there, and on Saturday he called Craig to say it was finished. Craig will pick it up today, 72 hours after it was finished which, even though it was sanitized, gives it extra time to be clear of the virus. The repairer works in shifts with other repairers to minimize virus contagion risks. Some of the things trump said on Saturday night are beginning to circulate on online media. There was nothing that he wouldn’t say. He called the virus the Kung Flu and told his audience (a paltry 6,300 people), that he had commanded (instructed, ordered) officials to slow the virus testing down because that way, the numbers of cases would slow down. As I write this, I am astonished anew that any sane person would think this, never mind say this out loud, and make it an order. A comedian Zoe follows said ‘Oh, so if we slow down pregnancy tests, there should be less babies, right?’ The only answer is to vote him and anyone following his lead OUT OF OFFICE! (Yes I am aware I am shouting). We can’t take another 4 years of this, there will be nothing left of America as we know it. Lets not worry about the polls, lets just get out there and vote them all out. Here’s this: Paul McCartney talked about the origins of his song Blackbird. “Way back in the Sixties, there was a lot of trouble going on over civil rights, particularly in Little Rock. We would notice this on the news back in England, so it's a really important place for us, because to me, this is where civil rights started. We would see what was going on and sympathize with the people going through those troubles, and it made me want to write a song that, if it ever got back to the people going through those troubles, it might just help them a little bit." He explained that when he started writing the song, he had in mind a black woman, but in England, "girls" were referred to as "birds." And, so the song started: "Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly �All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise." "Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free." Until I read this story yesterday, I had no idea what this song referred to. In other news: There is now a growing list of outfits revisiting troubling brands. The country group Lady Antebellum has changed its name to Lady A. NASCAR has banned the use of the Confederate flag. The Mars Company is trying to decide what to do about Uncle Ben. Time to retire him, too. The companies that clung to these brands need to do some honest soul-searching to own up to why they waited so long to let go. Just in time for Juneteenth, Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand will be retired as its parent company PepsiCo works to “make progress toward racial equality.” Like that of the enslaved black people in Texas who remained in bondage years after President Abraham Lincoln had granted their freedom, the emancipation of Aunt Jemima is way behind schedule. In those days Aunt Jemima didn’t look like the lady you see on the box today. She was a slave woman, and a demonstrator was expected to act and talk like a slave woman, using a kind of broken patois. Jemima’s do-rag was replaced by a plaid headband. Eventually the headdress was dropped altogether. A 1989 rebrand made her look like someone who shops at Macy’s: Coifed hair. Pearl earrings. Red lipstick. At various points, the company turned for help to consultants like Caroline Jones, who ran the nation’s top black ad agency, and who told the company: “White people may have long forgotten the slaves of old, but no Black person can.” PepsiCo, which acquired Quaker Oats in 2001, has now realized that demammification is not the same as destigmatization. Now, this next story is long, so bear with me. The writer. Alexandra Petri from WaPo, has written a tongue in cheek adaptation of the Trojan Horse, likening it to the coronavirus. �Firstly from Vice President Pence: “In recent days, the media has taken to sounding the alarm bells over a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus infections. Such panic is overblown. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and the courage and compassion of the American people, our public health system is far stronger than it was four months ago, and we are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.” In recent days, Cassandra has taken to sounding the alarm bells over a “second wave” of Greek attack that will soon come sweeping over us like the wrath of Poseidon and leave our city in ruins. Such panic is overblown. (Although, technically, “panic” is fear induced by the god Pan, so really this is not even panic at all. But whatever it is, it is overblown.) Thanks to the leadership of King Priam and the courage and compassion of the Trojan people, our walled city is far stronger and even less pregnable than it was nine years ago, and we have won the fight against the Greeks. And if you doubt that, just look at this enormous and beautifully constructed wooden horse they have left for us, which is definitely not hollow and will absolutely not be filled with handpicked soldiers ready to pour out and devastate our city. The point is: The war has been a great success. And I can’t think of anyone better to have led us through it than King Priam. Yes, we have had losses, but ultimately we were victorious. That is what this horse means. We should seize it and be grateful. Now is the time to bring in the horse and commemorate this achievement. We have defeated this visible enemy, which was also sometimes invisible because the gods are tricky. Look, we can test the horse, if you like, but I think testing just makes it more likely you will find out information that makes you unhappy, and that is the last thing we need in our moment of triumph. But sure, have Helen walk around the horse calling out in the voices of the Greeks’ loved ones, just in case! Knock yourself out! I am sure the worst is over. This is a time of celebration, and I think we can all sleep soundly in our beds. And I, for one, will sleep better once we get that horse inside. Congratulations, people of Troy. I remember this famous story in which the wooden horse was hollow and inside was a group of soldiers who climbed out during the night, opened the gates of Troy, and the Greeks sacked Troy. Here’s something pretty to cheer us all up. ��This rose was in terrible shape about 2 years ago, and I thought we might have to dig it out and plant something new. We cut it back hard and even with frost burnt leaves, look at its gorgeousness. By the way, I once attended Garden Club with my mother-in-law (in Australia) and the speaker was talking about dealing with ailing deciduous trees. She recommended hitting the tree with a pice of wood, 2 or 3 times. She explained that this would signal to the tree that it was under attack and it would grow new leaves to protect itself. We have a sick maple tree out the front that I think Craig should smack and see what happens. It might help, and as we called the city arborist 2 years ago and he’s never come by, I think we should do it. Oliver. ��Inside a tunnel at daycare. Yesterday during our FaceTime, Craig started playing ‘Girl From Ipanema’ on the piano and Oliver started rocking back and forth in time to the music. Grandad (Craig) is extremely excited and envisions a wonderful music career ahead of Oliver. Hmmm. Another day we drove from Brandon to Wells-next-the-Sea. No it really is called that and its because there are (or were) many spring wells situated nearby. It has been a seaport since the 14th century. The beach which is huge, is subject to the ever-changing tides, and they use an old war siren to warn beach goers of incoming beach floodings. The siren sounds about 5-10 minutes before the tide takes over the beach and allows everyone to vacate the area safely. ����I have to say that I was nervous the whole time we were out there. You park and then walk along a dyke/track to get out there. I talked to the park ranger while Craig walked way out to the channel. The ranger described just how fast the tide comes in and I was really nervous until Craig came back. The top photo is of the bathing sheds and the other photos are of the vastness of the tidal flats. More adventures tomorrow. So remember: the virus is still with us and being careful is our new way of life going forward. It may not be what we want, but it is what life is now. As always, stay safe and be well. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-22_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-103 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-22 Title A name given to the resource Day 103 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/16f682929e63ee07d6012eed8f012554.pdf fd0cd9eb563c050c122cf5dd911682cb PDF Text Text Day 102 by windoworks Yesterday was the first day of summer, the midsummer solstice and the longest day of the year. It was also hot! Today is cooler with a chance of thunderstorms. It is also Fathers Day. Happy, happy Fathers Day to all fathers everywhere. Happy Fathers Day to Craig from Zoe and Oliver. �And Happy Fathers Day from Zar and Alva. Here is Craig in the south of France at Roquefixade - which I will talk about at the end of our present European journey. �And although it isn’t Fathers Day in Australia, here’s Oliver and his Dad, Christian. Meanwhile, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at trump’s rally, the stadium was at least half empty, and I’ve seen the photos that prove it (although I also saw his inauguration photos which showed a small crowd and trump �has denied that ever since). So how did this happen when they ran out of tickets? Well, all you had to do was go online, register for the event and add your phone number. All across the States and in places like South Korea, thousands of younger people did just that! They flim flammed the Flim Flam Man himself! Online its called rolling. Of course he blamed the protesters for keeping his fans out but the Tulsa police said No, there were no protesters outside the stadium (and I’ve seen the photo that proves that). He blamed the media for exaggerating the virus threat - and honestly, what a relief that a lot of his followers did believe the media. And here’s a thought - maybe a lot of his followers are ill or a loved one is ill. The virus doesn’t discriminate. Then there’s this: As coronavirus cases surge in the U.S. South and West, health experts in countries with falling case numbers are watching with a growing sense of alarm and disbelief, with many wondering why virusstricken U.S. states continue to reopen and why the advice of scientists is often ignored. China’s actions over the past week stand in stark contrast to those of the United States. In the wake of a new cluster of more than 150 new cases that emerged in Beijing, authorities sealed off neighborhoods, launched a mass testing campaign and imposed travel restrictions. Meanwhile, President Trump maintains that the United States will not shut down a second time, although a surge in cases has persuaded governors in some states, including Arizona, to back off their opposition to mandatory face coverings in public. Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, recently said that forms of social distancing may have to remain in place into 2022. He presented some of his research to a White House group in the early stages of the U.S. outbreak but said “I think they have cherry-picked models that at each point looked the most rosy, and fundamentally not engaged with the magnitude of the problem.” Isn’t this the old ‘head in the sand’ practice? I am sure that you can tell my political leanings from this blogpost. I would like to say that I have never viewed the Democratic Candidate for President, Joe Biden, as anything other than a capable, empathetic man who , as President, will surround himself with educated, capable, hard working people who will work with the best interests of the citizens and the country. I have heard him criticized as being old and speaking slowly. He is older, thats true. He is, in fact, 7 years older than me and I don’t view that as a problem. He does appear slower in speech too and that is because he is a lifelong stutterer. I would never have guessed that because I have never heard him stutter, but I have seen him pause before continuing to speak. Don’t you remember President Obama pausing to think when speaking? It never seemed a problem to me. �Lately, when I watch Joe Biden speak, it reduces me to tears. It reminds me of a time when we had a President who cared about us, the citizens of the United States. That’s what I long to have again. So I hope that this upcoming election in November will oust the orange idiot from the White House and will install a man that listens to the people. Here’s an uh oh moment: MLB will temporarily close all spring training sites in Florida and Arizona, reports say By late Friday evening, USA Today and the Athletic had reported that Major League Baseball will temporarily close all spring training sites in Florida and Arizona for cleaning and will not allow players or staff members to return without first passing a coronavirustest. On what might have been the bleakest day of an exceedingly bleak spring for MLB, the owners effectively halted negotiations with the players’ union over the economic terms of the 2020 season — and that didn’t even constitute the worst news on a day that also saw the novel coronavirus pandemic assert its ultimate dominion over the entire endeavor. What surprises me is that there is an assumption that we can disregard the virus. Restaurant owners say they’ve received little guidance on how best to manage the situation. To their pleasant surprise, customers returned quickly. But so too did the virus: Several restaurants in Phoenix, Houston, and elsewhere reopened only to have to close again because their employees tested positive for COVID-19. And this: Face mask requirements are taking hold across the country as states throughout the South and West continue to report record highs in new daily coronavirus cases. Officials in some of the biggest cities in Arizona and Florida have ordered people to wear masks in public, and California’s governor has mandated them statewide. On Friday, nine Texas mayors wrote a letter to the states’ residents, urging them to wear masks as the number of hospital patients swells. Speaking of face masks, yesterday, after my failure to obtain some grocery items online, we drove to a local grocery store (where some months ago I had a major anxiety attack). Craig masked up and went in, armed with a list. On his return, he reported a major change: arrows in the aisles and masks on everyone, workers and customers alike. When out walking I am beginning to see people masked or carrying their mask, ready to put it on if needed. This makes me happy. ���These are the last 3 examples of racism for us all to recognize and change. I hope these have made you reflect, as we all strive to be a true anti-racist. Here are 2 photos from far flung places: ��From my friend Auli in Finland. She posted this photo to wish all her friends happy midsummer day. This photo is from our son Zar. It is of Auckland Harbor. ��And one more of Oliver, because Oliver. I accidentally took this photo while we were FaceTiming. Every morning Zoe FaceTimes us, usually as she is feeding Oliver his breakfast. I usually make faces at him and sometimes he laughs at me between bites. In other exciting news he has 5 teeth now with a 6th on the way. I bet his mouth is sore. Our next outing from Brandon was to Sutton Hoo. Sutton Hoo is the burial site of two early medieval cemeteries from the 66th and 7th centuries. One cemetery contained an undisturbed ship-burial. It is supposed that Raewald, the ruler of EastAngles was buried in the ship. The Sutton Hoo cemeteries are actually burial mounds. There is a very good visitors center and display, and you can walk around the grounds yourself. �����From the top: me sitting on an old log which had been intricately carved during medieval times into a seat. You can sit here and look toward the coast. Next: in the visitors center there was an area where you could try on medieval clothing and Craig put a replica of the famous Sutton Hoo helmet on. Next: this is the real Sutton Hoo helmet which along with all the other treasures found in the ship-burial are presently housed in the British Museum. I have seen this helmet in the BM and it is breathtakingly beautiful. Next: what the King’s ship-burial looked like inside under the grave mound. Lastly: there were quite a number of other burial mounds like the one above. Most of these are still undisturbed. Stay safe and be well. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-21_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-102 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-21 Title A name given to the resource Day 102 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/799c49fb7fbeddf8596d7685633bd2e1.pdf 71c8f2931410c06fdfa894a666b80fc8 PDF Text Text Day 101 by windoworks This is a morning of conflicting emotions. In spite of everything, trump is going ahead with the first of his new campaign rallies in Tulsa Oklahoma. In Tulsa — where President Trump plans to hold a campaign rally Saturday — cases hit a new high on Friday. The state’s Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal of a lawsuit Friday seeking to block the president from holding the event, which local officials and residents fear could worsen the spread of the coronavirus in the city. Reports online have shown his followers camping out in long lines for 2 days in order to get a good seat inside. They have no intention of wearing a mask, they have brought small children and family members in the older at risk bracket. They are excited and eager for the experience. What none of these people are considering is the capacity of the ICU in their local hospitals. As they don’t believe in the existence of the virus, they aren’t concerned about the consequences. �On Thursday, Gov Whitmer extended the State of Emergency for Michigan to July 16 and possibly longer. What does that tell us? This gives the governor the powers to issue emergency orders to close businesses, suspend evictions and take other steps. She has been significantly silent about putting the rest of the state into Level 5 which has much less restrictions. But it hasn’t been a great week for trump. Facebook and Twitter both pushed back against Trump’s use of inflammatory material yesterday. Facebook removed advertisements by the Trump campaign that prominently featured a red triangle that �the Nazis used to classify Communist political prisoners during World War II. The ad used it in connection with antifa, a loose collective of anti-fascist protesters. And yesterday, the Attorney-General (who is also not having his best week) announced the stepping down of US Attorney Geoffrey Berman and replacing him with Jay Clayton, a business man with NO legal experience noted anywhere I could find. Berman replied No, that’s not legal. And besides, I haven’t finished my investigation yet. I know from overseas friends and family that entire countries are watching events in the US with their mouths hanging open. It is quite something to be the butt of another country’s jokes and also arousing pity. And to have people from very far away say: we are so worried about you. I don’t think that was ever even on my ‘never in my lifetime’ bucket list. At our Enrichment Committee zoom meeting yesterday, one of the women remarked that she had read that the virus would continue into 2022 and that this was our new normal looking ahead. And we all agreed that it comes down to each of us deciding what we are comfortable with. Another woman said she couldn’t imagine dining in a restaurant, she just couldn’t contemplate doing it. Here’s a really cheery note (not); The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the U.S. death toll could rise to as high as 145,000 by July 11. At least 117,000 have already died. Just to put that in perspective, July 11 is 3 weeks away - that’s 9000 deaths a week and more than 12,00 deaths a day. In Kent County our stats for yesterday were: 4,179 cases and 119 deaths. The Kent County graph is starting to gradually angle up again after beginning to plateau. The next two Black Lives Matter discussion points: ��Here is a photo of the sidewalk near our house. All the names of POC killed. ��So now we need an Oliver photo and because I’m feeling angry and sad, here’s three: ����Top: Uncle Asher has come to stay! Middle: She did what? (You hear the best gossip at the daycare painting table). Bottom: who knew swings were a thing, and why haven’t I been in one before - and how about pushing me higher? I saw online that the closing day for the Somerleyton Hall was on our next day at the end of September when we were living in Brandon. The Hall is owned by Hugh Crossley, the 4th Baron Somerleyton. It is a large estate and includes the village of Somerleyton. We drove around a long hedged road to find the entrance. The Hall also has a tea house with excellent food, a yew hedge maze (don’t ask, I hate mazes), an historic greenhouse and much, much more. You can tour the house - just the ground floor - as well as the grounds. �������This wasn’t so much of a house as a business. It costs an enormous amount of money to keep an estate of this size in the black. The days of 30-50 staff members are long gone and the present Baron is more of a business manager for the estate. We were lucky with a beautiful day and there weren’t crowds of tourists. You weren’t allowed to take photos inside the house though. Top: I’ve always wanted a driveway like that. Next: Somerleyton Hall. Next: a gate through to the manicured grounds. Next: I love a big vegetable garden. Next: the formal garden. Next: Craig in front of the Hall. Last: me in the pergola. Equipment for the day: mask, hand sanitizer and 6 foot ruler. Check. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-20_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-101 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-20 Title A name given to the resource Day 101 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/db520f75720a7757776abbd943729074.pdf 9d60152c7dfc1f3b5411fa2625776f80 PDF Text Text Day 100. by windoworks So here we are, 100 days. (Silence while I think about that). Earlier this year - during the pandemic - Britain celebrated the 75th anniversary of VE Day. This is the day that marks the formal acceptance by the Allies of WW2 of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces, on May 8 1945 and this marked the end of WW2 in Europe. This year it was celebrated in a socially distant manner and it featured Dame Vera Lynn. She was a popular singer who entertained the troops through the war and her songs became a hallmark of hope to the public throughout the war. Dame Vera Lynn died yesterday - she was 103 years old. Here are the lyrics to one of her songs which remains relevant today: We'll meet again Don't know where Don't know when But I know we'll meet again some sunny day Keep smiling through Just like you always do 'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away So will you please say hello To the folks that I know Tell them I won't be long They'll be happy to know That as you saw me go I was singing this song We'll meet again Don't know where Don't know when But I know we'll meet again some sunny day… Today is Juneteenth. Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth; (also known as Freedom Day,Jubilee Day, and Liberation Day) is an unofficial American holiday and an official Texasstate holiday, celebrated annually on the 19th of June in the United Statesto commemorate Union army general Gordon Granger announcing federal orders in the city of Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, proclaiming that all slaves in Texas were now free.Although the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them almost two and a half years earlier and the American Civil War had largely ended with the defeat of �the Confederate States in April, Texas was the most remote of the slave states, with a low presence of Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow and inconsistent. This year, there are moves to have it made a National Holiday and today and tomorrow there are a number of celebrations here in Grand Rapids. In any other year I would attend these celebrations and enjoy them - but not this year. Hopefully next year. Yesterday brought some new things. First, I had applied to become a member of Imperfect Foods, a food delivery site I found online. They wrote back to me and said, sorry we’re full but we’ve put you on the waiting list. Last week they let me know I was off the waiting list and I could begin ordering. Like many other food delivery services, they offer boxes that you can amend. I had opted for fruit and vegetables but I took 2 items out and added some other grocery items. Yesterday morning this big box of groceries arrived. It was a box of surprises and delights. Imperfect Foods are items that are mislabeled or blemished and don’t cost as much as the perfect specimens in the store. They even asked me to reuse the box in a responsible way. The second new thing was that although my neighbor Amy and I had been talking either over the fence or out the front on the sidewalk, yesterday I invited her to sit at the other end of our front porch on our porch swing, and we talked for about 30 minutes - about nothing and everything. It was wonderful. The third thing was fireflies. Fireflies signal the start of summer for me and last night there were lots of them. Also yesterday: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's attempt to dismantle the program protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, a reprieve for nearly 650,000 recipients known as “dreamers.” We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies,” Roberts wrote. He added: “We address only whether the [Department of Homeland Security] complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action. Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients. That dual failure raises doubts about whether the agency appreciated the scope of its discretion or exercised that discretion in a reasonable manner.” This marks the second landmark decision in a week by SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States). The first one was : The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a bombshell ruling Monday that effectively makes it illegal for businesses across the nation to fire employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. In the �6-3 decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay or transgender employees from employment discrimination, giving the LGBTQ rights movement another big victory from the nation’s highest court. SCOTUS hears arguments based on the Constitution, the rules and Amendments by which we are all supposed to live. The present Supreme Court has been seen as predominantly right leaning, but these 2 rulings lean away from the right and are based on constitutional law. trump then tweeted that the Supreme Court didn’t seem to like him which brought on some of the funniest responses I have read. And an update on the ‘do masks make difference’ question: A hair stylist in Missouri was diagnosed with covid-19 in late May, and she ended up directly exposing 84 customerswho had sat just inches from her face for up to 30 minutes each. She had symptoms, but wore a face mask; salons were one of the few places where people were required to wear them. Because of that, health officials say,none of her customers was infected. The result appears to be one of the clearest realworld examples of the ability of masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. This morning I am adding the first of these: ���Two more tomorrow. So, a hundred days of cooking 3 meals a day; of shopping on the internet; of wiping down all things delivered to the house; of talking every day via FaceBook to Zoe and Oliver; of reading and copying every interesting item for later use; of watching the seasons change through the TV room window; of watching every new series available on TV and one hundred days of writing this blogpost every morning. Brandon: the next outing (I think, or the days might be slightly askew) we visited Cromer. This is a coastal town. It is famous for the Cromer crab which tourists devour by the bucketful. I am allergic to crab so my �lunch didn’t include it. Cromer is also noted for its Lifeboat Station, situated at the end of the pier. There has been a lifeboat in operation at Cromer for two centuries. �����From the top: me walking along the pier. Me standing on the beach. The huge lifeboat. The ramp it goes down to the water which is the same ramp the lifeboat has to be winched up again and lastly, the obligatory photo of me sitting on the beach. To all my friends, family and readers: keep smiling through. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-19_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-100 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-19 Title A name given to the resource Day 100 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5a2fa0bf8c7c8e7e274fd3b9bf787abb.pdf 7bcb42c5a39272a862f88b7362bb2391 PDF Text Text Day 99. by windoworks First of all - nearly 100 days. 100 days! I remember when I thought 70 days was ridiculous. The year is passing in extraordinary circumstances. This morning is one of those times where I don’t know where to start. There can be the tendency to be weighed down by the constant anxiety, anger and negativity swirling around us. We are still 10 weeks (by my calculation) away fro Grand Valley State University opening and it seems to be going full steam ahead. Here’s part of an interesting and possibly alarming article: Many university leaders aren’t sure how well on-campus living and in-person classes will work during this pandemic. Some acknowledge it may not work at all. It will require radical changes to the normal campus experience, like canceling many activities, rotating which students can return (to keep dorms from being too full) and continuing to hold classes online (to protect professors). This approach is likely to frustrate students — and it still might not prevent new coronavirus outbreaks. Nearly all distinctive parts of a campus experience, including parties, meals and extracurriculars, revolve around close social contact, often indoors. So what explains the surge of “We’re open!” announcements? Competitive pressure, in part. Many colleges will face serious financial problems if they lose a year of tuition and other revenue. Now professors and administrators have begun publicly criticizing reopening plans: “My suspicion,” Susan Dynarski, a University of Michigan economist, wrote on Twitter, is that “colleges are holding out hope of in-person classes in order to keep up enrollments.” She added: “If they tell the difficult truth now, many students will decide to take a year off,” which “will send college finances into a tailspin.” Here’s the last 2 photos from downtown that Craig took. ��The mask or not to mask debate continues apace. My friend Rich said it perfectly - its all about respect, that is respecting my right to stay safe and well as opposed to your right to freedom to choose. Freedom to choose means freedom to choose to make me sick. And if you’re still not sure, I offer this: �It’s the second row from the top that catches my attention, because there’s me on the right, masked, and still at a high risk. And here’s what I have discovered. If you are out walking in the sunshine, you can have the mask tied around your neck and if someone comes near you - voila! You just pull it up over your mouth and nose! If there is no one near you the entire time you are walking, then you don’t need to pull it up. But inside anywhere except your own home - WEAR THAT DAMN MASK! Or, don’t visit stores, bars, hair salons, nail salons - order online and learn to live with long, unruly hair. I heard that all US airlines have been lax about insisting on masks and have now been shamed into insisting passengers wear a mask or don’t board the plane. They had to be shamed into this! Really at this point, I’m speechless. �And here’s one of the reasons for this laxity in general: The Trump administration has largely stopped treating the coronavirus as a crisis, with the president saying in an interview Wednesday night that it was “fading away.” The White House’s task force now meets just twice a week. Experts like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx speak to the president less often. The country’s designated “testing czar” has returned to his old job. With federal leadership receding and cases climbing in many places, state officials have been left to figure out how to handle the situation on their own. This saying dates from the 1600s, and it is as true today as it was then: The fish rots from the head. What does this mean? It comes from the idea that after a fish is caught and killed, it first begins to spoil at the head. Nowadays it is used to describe the idea that leadership is the root cause of an organizations failure and demise. It is true whether that organization is a country or a company. I think we have the perfect example here with our president and his minions and sadly, I think the rot has already begun to spread down. Reopening isn't going well in many places. Data indicate that the country has yet to quash the first wave of the virus — let alone a second one. Florida, Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma are among approximately a dozen states seeing a surge in cases and hospitalizations. From Phoenix to Myrtle Beach, Houston to Orlando, restaurants are closing again; this time, it’s not because owners fear that someone in their midst might catch the coronavirus — it’s because they know that they already have. And because we know that pandemics come with other catastrophes such as floods - now we have fires. Wildfires are rampaging across parts of the Desert Southwest and California, where an active start to the summer fire season is underway as some states in the region are seeing a spike in coronavirus cases. Continued dry, hot and windy weather is forecast in the vicinity of the Bush Fire raging northeast of Phoenix, which nearly doubled in size Monday night into early Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning it became the seventh-largest fire in Arizona history. On Tuesday, Arizona hit a new high for daily new cases, reporting 2,392 positive tests. This was the 11th day this month that the state set a new case high, according to a Washington Post analysis. The number of covid-19 hospitalizations in Arizona has increased by 81 percent since Memorial Day, with 1,506 people now hospitalized. Inpatient beds across the state are at 80 percent capacity. And because, its Andrew Cuomo: Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring every local government — in collaboration with community members — to redesign the state's more than 500 police forces by April 2021 or risk losing state funding. �So enough chitchat, do it now or we’ll take your funding away. That’s one way of starting a meaningful conversation. I am putting this Oliver photo here because so far its been a tough read: ��Yasss, that great big TV which I just have to tip my head back so far to see. And I have to hold on to the cupboard door to stop myself from falling backwards and hitting my head on one of my toys (which I have done before, so I know it hurts). Yesterday we went walking at Fairplains Cemetery because there were 2 other people there, far, far away. Everyone else was dead (I can’t believe I typed that). From New Zealand, the Church of the Good Shepherd at Tekapo, midwinter. �One of our next excursions while living in Brandon, was to Knetishall Heath. This is both a biological Site of Special Interest and a nature reserve. It’s an area where wild ponies and cattle graze. ����So first we had our picnic lunch and then we walked along the trails. The ponies just stood in the way and we ended up edging cautiously around them. We saw several groups of ponies, all in gorgeous condition. They eat the wild grasses and keep the trails clear. What an amazing experience! Another sunny warm day. Keep smiling. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-18_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-99 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-18 Title A name given to the resource Day 99 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/40d9b4af04c3655ec3dc3972bfebc859.pdf 83010182c89a2140467c4e73db93bfe9 PDF Text Text Day 98 by windoworks Today marks 14 weeks since we began staying at home. Never in my wildest dreams. This pandemic has thrown us all out of our ruts. You know, that place where you feel most comfortable, your daily routine, your fast held beliefs, your assurance that you know your place in the world and you are sure of everyone else’s too. And along comes this cataclysmic event and nothing is familiar. You are surrounded by uncertainty, anxiety, grief and anger and the great unknown. I think that’s the hardest part: the great unknown. It is a time of great introspection. We all have a lot of time to think about our lives and about how we live them and should we make changes? I watch the great mass of people stirring, awakening and standing up and demanding to be heard. And demanding that as we are now outside our rut, in the extreme uncomfortable, now is the time to look at ourselves and begin to think. In my life there have been a number of ‘thrown out of the rut’ moments. They were always awful and they have always led to a powerful, positive change. I live in hope that after everything resolves we will all be living as our better selves. So to lighten the mood (I do try not to climb on my soapbox too often), here’s what Craig spent most of yesterday afternoon doing: ��Because when he said to me that he wanted to repaint the back of the house, I said: why white? And we compromised on white on the bottom half and red on the top. Now all we have to do is decide on which red. And no, this wasn’t one of my projects. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said, “I understand how people must be very tired of this at this point. But the virus doesn’t care that we’re tired. The virus is still out there. And this: • British clinical trials found that dexamethasone, a widely available steroid, reduced the death rate for covid-19 patients with severe lung damage. It’s the first time that a drug has appeared to increase the odds of survival. • A group of Tulsa residents and business owners is suing to prevent President Trump from holding a large indoor campaign rally there on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma city’s mayor, G.T. Bynum (R), says he won’t use his emergency powers to block the event even though he has concerns about it. • Australia will probably keep its borders closed through the start of 2021, according to a government minister. • Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández said late Tuesday that he has tested positive for the �coronavirus but was suffering only mild symptoms and would continue in his job. He said two of his aides and his wife, Ana García, have also tested positive • New Zealand announced changes to the country’s quarantine policy Wednesday, following the revelation that two women, who traveled from Britain, were given special permission to visit a dying relative despite the fact that one of them was experiencing covid-19 symptoms. They came into contact with at least 320 people. • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday that the state will not shut down again, despite hitting a record high of 2,783 new cases in 24 hours. At this point I feel we need a Oliver photo, because babies. ����I gave you a triple dose to make you smile. We have begun walking in the mornings. Yesterday we drove out to Ravine Park (my choice) and walked along the track by the Grand River. We saw a big turtle sunning himself on a log but he jumped into the water before Craig could get a photo. ����And yes, that is a snake sunning itself on a log in the water. As always, walking by the water always lowers my anxiety levels and it was quiet and green and the bird sounds and the croaking frog made it a wonderful treat for the day. Yes, we’re still in Brandon. I had insisted that we should make as many day excursions as possible and in going through the photos, we certainly saw a lot. One day we drove to Covehithe Beach and Nature Reserve. This beach lies on the North Sea and to get to it you have to walk alongside farmers fields. ����This is the favorite sort of beach for me - wild and empty. You can see the weather was wild too. There’s the obligatory photo of me sitting on the beach and then there’s the pig farm we walked past, both going to the beach and going back to our car. Tomorrow more adventures. Two days ago, I was bringing the hummingbird feeder inside to refill it (they had drunk it dry!) when a hummingbird flew around me as if to say - hurry up! I have babies to feed. They drink from the feeder all day long and I love watching them. I also love watching the pair of woodpeckers (who really like seed blocks) and the pair of cardinals and the different finches that appear from time to time. And one day a few weeks ago, an Oriole kept trying to drink from the hummingbird feeder. I wonder how the bears are coping in Yosemite with the sudden influx of humans? Chin up, buttercup. I’ll speak to you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-17_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-98 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-17 Title A name given to the resource Day 98 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a32bbd4576ef4c008d47c413d425c871.pdf 2f3b0a2f7fa02177ef739f0c76b8cf52 PDF Text Text Day 97 by windoworks This pandemic is changing our lives and although it would be more than enough by itself, we have other earth shattering events happening all around the world. There is so much distress and anger that small successes get overlooked. Yesterday they released a group of platypuses back into their natural habitat in Canberra Australia. The bushfires (remember them?) burnt the area around their pond home so badly that they had to be rescued, treated and housed at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney. The zoo opened a wildlife refuge and rehabilitation center to cope with many of the injured and displaced animals from the fires. Here’s a video link. I don’t usually put links in but this is one I felt strongly about posting. You have to click on the link and then click on the video which will take you to a twitter post. Watch it all the way to the end. It’s hard to watch, its shocking and mostly, it make me think hard. My friend Fred posted it and I am reposting it from his newsletter.https://www.upworthy.com/woman-puts-protests-into-historicalcontext And here’s a poem that my friend Merrilyn sent me: And people stayed at home And read books And listened And they rested And did exercises And made art and played And learned new ways of being And stopped and listened More deeply Someone meditated, someone prayed Someone met their shadow And people began to think differently And people healed. And in the absence of people who Lived in ignorant ways Dangerous, meaningless and heartless, The earth also began to heal And when the danger ended and People found themselves They grieved for the dead And made new choices �And dreamed of new visions And created new ways of living And completely healed the earth Just as they were healed. And speaking of art, here is some of the most inspiring artworks from downtown Grand Rapids. ���And here’s an interesting article: �LaDonna Norman, who is organizing a movement to defund the Grand Rapids Police Department, explained the movement in the streets is inspired by decades of discrimination and abuse the black community has faced. Norman spoke of modern-day redlining and other ways that the black community is treated differently, and she believes more aggressive police tactics are used on black people and in black neighborhoods. In Grand Rapids, protesters took to the streets on May 30 to demand changes to policing and issues of equality. But the scene in the city’s downtown area devolved into a riot late that evening and about 100 businesses were damaged, seven police cars were burned and several businesses were looted. The chaos caused an estimated $2.4 million in damage, according to city officials. Defunding the Grand Rapids Police Department would mean reducing its budget, she said, which accounts for more than $56 million in expenditures from the city’s general fund. Norman said the money could be better spent on community relations and resources such as rehabilitation, reentry, and counseling for mental illness, for example. For years we’ve been harassed and brutalized and I think despite all the efforts to hold police accountable, they have continued to act violently toward the black community without accountability and without resolution," Norman said. Meanwhile in Atlanta: Medical examiners in Atlanta say the death of Rayshard Brooks is a homicide. Bodycam video released by the Atlanta police department shows Brooks calmly and politely responding to police. Brooks, who is black, grabbed a taser from police and pointed it at an officer while running away. The officer who shot Brooks twice in the back has been fired. A second officer nearby has been placed on administrative duty. Atlanta’s police chief has resigned. And yesterday in the Supreme Court: Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the Supreme Court’s four liberals this morning to rule that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex,” protects gay and transgender employees. Last night I joined a webinar with over a thousand other Michigander women, while our governor, attorney general, federal senators and congresswomen (and many others) spoke about Joe Biden and supporting his run for President. Governor Whitmer was wearing her “That Woman from Michigan” tshirt and she encouraged us all to be that woman. I want a t-shirt that says: Proud to be one of Those Women from Michigan. I loved listening to Dana Nessel, our Attorney General. She said when she was running, that she would be prepared to take the administration to court if necessary. What she didn’t expect was that as the AG she would be taking them to court almost every day! Yesterday we walked in Aquinas College and went through the forest where the Stations of the Cross are. It was cool, quiet and green. �I don’t remember where this came from, but listen up people: �We hate to break it to you, but the surge in new coronavirus cases reported around the country isn’t the second wave of the virus. We’re still in the first one. Prominent forecasters are predicting a slow, steady accumulation of additional deaths between now and Oct. 1. What’s actually scarier? A true second wave of COVID-19 infections could still show up later in this year. Growing evidence shows the coronavirus will likely spread more easily as the weather turns cold. And I had to print this - because Andrew Cuomo: Some governors are threatening to shut their states back down as covid-19 cases and hospitalizations climb. Mask-less New Yorkers gathered shoulder-to-shoulder outside bars and restaurants over the weekend as if they had entirely forgotten about social distancing. “Don’t make me come down there …” New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) tweeted in response to a video of one gathering. Here’s another photo of Oliver: �This one came with the words: What? Is this not how everyone eats? The Sunday Ferry Days celebration in Brandon. There was a lot to do and see and I have a very sweet and amusing video of Craig being taught to step by Nick but I can’t seem to add videos to this blog, so you’ll just have to imagine it. ����From the top: the bridge over the Little Ouse River which replaced the ferry. Next, Nick teaching a group of children stepping. Then 2 photos of a play called Imaginary Menagerie. It wasn’t as comfortable sitting on those hay bales as you might think. Tomorrow there will be more excursions from Brandon. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I am remembering them. So, to all of you across the world - stay safe, stay well and smile. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-16_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-97 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-16 Title A name given to the resource Day 97 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ef959fc85a5208fded9279bb64ddcfe2.pdf 0361b76b92534c453511058a04189069 PDF Text Text Day 96 by windoworks Should we go out? Should we stay home? Should we visit stores? Should we continue to order online? Are our state figures leveling or are they rising again? In some ways it was easier 14 weeks ago when we began this staying in place. At that time it felt like outside was the enemy and of course, it was the tail end of winter. Now it is warm and sunny, everyone is gardening and sitting on their front porches and chatting at a safe distance to their neighbors. But some have thrown caution to the winds and are attending protests (commendable, but with a mask please), others are just ignoring signs and going inside stores as if it was June 2019. Everything has been canceled, including all 4th of July celebrations, and we Americans love a public holiday and all the parades and fun runs and food booths that accompany them. All gone for this year - and who knows about next year? ArtPrize is canceled and perhaps that’s the end of that venture. It was interesting, sometimes exciting, sometimes disappointing, always overcrowded and occasionally irritating. It’s founder, Nick DeVos, just wanted to start people talking about constitutes art - and we certainly argued about that! Everyone became an art critic. The cynics among us say that ArtPrize was begun as a way to bring people downtown, and it certainly did. It also brought visitors from other states and some overseas artists in the first few years. Our neighbors are having their house painted. It’s going to be a bright blue shade. It’s a bold statement and it makes me think about the color of our house - which has Craig groaning. And no, this isn’t another of my ‘projects’, its one Craig has been talking about. He’s thinking of painting part of the back wall of the house and that might be a good spot to try a different color on the top half of the wall. Yesterday Craig harvested the 2 rows of lettuce - they were just about to bolt, I think. So we gave 3 big bags to our neighbors and kept a big bag for ourselves. Then he planted more lettuce seeds, red stalk radish micro greens and some smooth leaf spinach seeds. We’ll see how those go. And like everyone else in our neighborhood, we began cleaning out the basement, completely cleaned out and rearranged the garage and put some ‘treasures’ out on the curb for free. This has been happening all over Eastown as people rid themselves of items they’ll never use again. Our other neighbor, TJ, the builder, is run off his feet and has had to turn some jobs down. This all comes from being stuck inside your house and thinking things like ‘I hate this kitchen’. Usually you never notice the flaws in your house until you’re there inside for 14 weeks straight. And yes, I have an area I would love to change - but that’ll keep for another year or so. �An ongoing discussion: To fix policing, we must first recognize how much we have come to over-rely on law enforcement. We turn to the police in situations where years of experience and common sense tell us that their involvement is unnecessary, and can make things worse. We ask police to take accident reports, respond to people who have overdosed and arrest, rather than cite, people who might have intentionally or not passed a counterfeit $20 bill. We call police to roust homeless people from corners and doorsteps, resolve verbal squabbles between family members and strangers alike, and arrest children for behavior that once would have been handled as a school disciplinary issue. Here are 8 policies that may curtail police violence under the hashtag; #8cantwait BAN CHOKEHOLDS & STRANGLEHOLDS Allowing officers to choke or strangle civilians results in the unnecessary death or serious injury of civilians. Both chokeholds and all other neck restraints must be banned in all cases. REQUIRE DE-ESCALATION Require officers to de-escalate situations, where possible, by communicating with subjects, maintaining distance, and otherwise eliminating the need to use force. REQUIRE WARNING BEFORE SHOOTING Require officers to give a verbal warning in all situations before using deadly force. REQUIRES EXHAUST ALL ALTERNATIVES BEFORE SHOOTING Require officers to exhaust all other alternatives, including non-force and less lethal force options, prior to resorting to deadly force. DUTY TO INTERVENE Require officers to intervene and stop excessive force used by other officers and report these incidents immediately to a supervisor. BAN SHOOTING AT MOVING VEHICLES Ban officers from shooting at moving vehicles in all cases, which is regarded as a particularly dangerous and ineffective tactic. While some departments may restrict shooting at vehicles to particular situations, these loopholes allow for police to continue killing in situations that are all too common. 62 people were killed by police last year in these situations. This must be categorically banned. REQUIRE USE OF FORCE CONTINUUM Establish a Force Continuum that restricts the most severe types of force to the most extreme situations and creates clear policy restrictions on the use of each police weapon and tactic. REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE REPORTING Require officers to report each time they use force or threaten to use force against civilians. �Comprehensive reporting includes requiring officers to report whenever they point a firearm at someone, in addition to all other types of force. Yesterday we went to Tassell Park to check out its suitability for the proposed Women’s City Club picnic lunch while socially distancing in mid July. It was a cool but gorgeous day and the park is lovely. ��The park is next to the Thornapple River and has a working dam. The water was high, fast and very brown. Tassell Park had a number of statues and Craig liked this one. �He and Murphy walked past the community gardens again and look at the progress! ��And again in Brandon. One weekend, with a lot of fanfare and shopkeepers telling us we had to come along, Brandon held its annual Ferry Days festival. On Saturday night it kicked off with a folk concert at one of the local pubs next to the Little Ouse River. We walked down and ate dinner at the pub and then went into the back room for the concert. It was great fun. We were introduced as special American visitors staying in the town (which elicited a lot of Why Brandon questions from the locals). It turned out that the main band was a group of 3 famous folk musicians and the Brandon Folk Club was very proud to have booked them. They played a number of instruments and one of them sang. ���From the top: the leader of the group, Nick Hart, singing. Next, the trio playing and finally Nick introduced us to Stepping, which is like tap dancing but simpler. Tomorrow we will look at Sunday - the main Ferry Day celebration and all the fun. This morning there is a serious note of alarm sounding in the press. Cases are beginning to rise again in a larger number of states. Hospital wards are beginning to fill up again. My neighbor tells me that Michigan numbers are beginning to rise. In research it appeared we had 59.000 cases on Friday and 65,000 cases this morning. I cannot confirm that rise and the figures always vary from different state and county sources. Beijing has locked down an area around a live market due to a new hot spot outbreak and is testing everyone in the area. It gets a bit depressing sometimes, doesn’t it? So, stay safe and I’ll see you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-15_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-96 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-15 Title A name given to the resource Day 96 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/516d7b0e63de138b87f2de23d8a97102.pdf ab1af67f5edc72b7ec52b1a014414786 PDF Text Text Day 95 by windoworks First, I have to correct something I wrote yesterday. The paint Oliver was playing with is not banana flavored but it might be edible. It’s certainly not toxic. Now that I’ve cleared that up, this morning I am back to trying to decide what to include in today’s post. First up, negligence and self interest at their absolute best: Trump fans seeking tickets to his rally in Tulsa next week must acknowledge a disclaimer that they won't sue the campaign if they get sick. “By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.” and others associated with the event liable, states a notice on the rally's registration page. The president has repeatedly disparaged his own administration's anti-contagion recommendations, and said he wants big crowds at his events despite the health risks. The schools reopening debate continues with schools and colleges unsure of future resurgences. When can America’s schools safely reopen? That is the question on the minds of millions of parents, caregivers and yes, even kids. It was also the subject of Thursday's Congressional hearing before the Senate’s Education Committee. And, wouldn’t you know, the answer to the question was, “It’s complicated.” First of all, reopening schools will be expensive. Lots of schools will struggle to provide students with masks, gloves and sanitizer, hire cleaning staff and nurses, conduct testing and contact tracing, and plan for socially distant classrooms. Yes, you heard that, right: some school districts will likely see a mix of remote and in-person learning, so wrap your heads around more homeschooling. All summer camps have been canceled which is an integral part of summer life for some families. In Grand Rapids the Public Museum posted this: Virtual Camp Curious kicks off on Monday! Camps are offered throughout the summer with one day and multi-day options. Choose from a variety of camp offerings for kids ages pre-K through ninth grade, starting as low as $20. Campers will investigate, learn and play through the use of common household items, observations of organisms in their neighborhood, and the GRPM’s digital Collections. New camps this year include Survivors and Time Travelers. Learn about plant and animal adaptations, and explore ancient civilizations. My neighbors across the road are both school teachers and they reported that the sudden switch to online classes was not a success. In fact some districts in Kent County gave up online teaching efforts and simply said that the summer vacation would start early this year. It is all very well for institutions to set in place �all the rules, restrictions, routines etc., but I wonder how many parents will feel comfortable when the first day back arrives. So some big questions. This article was long and I have cut it down significantly but it answers some questions that we all have. From the Alabama Political Reporter newspaper: Dr David Thrasher. Montgomery-area pulmonologist and the head of pulmonology at Jackson Hospital. COVID-19 originated in China, most likely in November or December of 2019. COVID-19 is just another instance in the long history of the so-called zoonoses-diseases that jump from animals to humans. The domestication of the horse led to the virus responsible for the common cold in humans as well as the Spanish Flu. The domestication of chickens gave humans chickenpox, shingles and various strains of the bird flu. Pigs were the source of influenza, measles and smallpox. Tuberculosis emerged from cattle. I get frustrated and actually mad when I hear people say that COVID-19 is no more deadly or dangerous than the seasonal flu. These statements clearly come from people who’ve never treated patients in an intensive care unit with COVID-19 patients. I’ve heard this from physicians as well as laypeople. I have treated every seasonal flu episode since 1983. This is not close to seasonal flu. Masks: This isn’t Republican versus Democrat or Auburn versus Alabama. We are all on the same team. Wearing a mask helps protect your neighbor. It doesn’t make you a criminal. It doesn’t make you a bank robber. It simply helps protect your neighbor. Some people tell me I don’t like to wear a mask because it’s hot. Believe me, if you don’t like wearing a mask, you are really not going to like my ventilator! When will it be over? The short answer is when a vaccine is available. And this news story: In pretty amazing medical news, doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago announced Thursday that they've performed the first successful double-lung transplant on a COVID-19 patient in the United States. The lungs of a woman in her 20s became so damaged by COVID-19 that she could not survive without her blood being oxygenated outside her body on an ECMO machine. Following the procedure’s success, doctors are evaluating five other patients to determine whether they are candidates for a lung transplant So to lighten the mood, this photo is from the Fiskars Mill area in Finland where my friend Auli and her husband Juhani went out for a day trip which included a very nice looking lunch (from the other photos posted). ��Yesterday we drove downtown to walk around the GVSU campus and cross over the Blue Bridge. Many of the particle board covers over the doors and windows of shops etc had been removed and business was slowly starting up again. Here I am on the Blue Bridge. The river has risen again but most notable is its chocolate brown color. The 3 main hotels downtown are still completely boarded shut, with the Amway Grand having one side door access open. I wonder how hotels will survive? As I write this, there are 2 more hotels almost finished construction downtown. There was talk of building a second convention center as Grand Rapids has become a very popular convention/conference destination. I’m not sure what will happen with that. The city is actively discussing ‘social spaces’ for downtown and perhaps some neighborhoods. I think it involves closing part of some streets to allow outside performance spaces and dining areas. The plan is to make them temporary and then if they work well, convert them to permanent spaces. I like this idea. Here’s something Craig discovered near our house on one of his walks yesterday with Murphy. ���A help yourself library, food and game spot! Also yesterday I noticed this: ��The first rose of the season despite the hard frost which burnt some of the leaves. Oliver: it was a big weekend for Oliver. Firstly on Saturday morning he visited his fathers house for the first time while mum had her hair cut. Here he is playing with Christian’s dogs. �Then on Sunday Christian took Oliver to Ebenezer on the outskirts of Sydney for a family birthday celebration. Here’s Oliver with his cousins on his fathers side. �I think he had a lovely time being cuddled by everyone. Back to Brandon. On our way home from Dunwich Heath and Sizemore B we came across this ruin of Leiston Abbey. It was originally built in 1183 and was a Canons Regular (White canons) rule. I really don’t �understand those distinctions so you can look this up for yourself. In 1977 it was purchased to become the home of Pro Corda Trust, a center for the training and education of chamber musicians. The center was closed but we wandered around the ruins. ���Most early evenings in Brandon, Craig would cross the road from our cottage, walk down an alley and come out on Gashouse Drove . I think Gashouse comes a building that used to be a storage for gas products but has been converted to a private dwelling now. A drove describes the medieval path that leads from Brandon to Santon Downham and they would drive cattle or sheep to the trading port on the river at Santon Downham. ��There were houses on one side at the start and horse farms on the other. He always stopped to say hello to the horses. Thats it for today. See you tomorrow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-14_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-95 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-14 Title A name given to the resource Day 95 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3b73a33d8d52ce13c653fef9e2e680d0.pdf 15c42fe1c8899ae7dfe4c0f376833509 PDF Text Text Day 94. by windoworks When I first began this Pandemic Diary I wrote about my feelings because, this was going to be over soon, right? After a few days I added the daily flashback feature. In the beginning I referred to friends and family by their initials in posts and it became more and more clumsy and confusing. Then my neighbor asked me to just put names in and so that change was made. Next, I added photos sent to me by friends from around the world. I added information about both my sons companies during the pandemic,and then I had to learn how to delete that information from those posts. Next, I decided to turn the flashback section into a vacation record instead of random photos. I began reading and researching and thinking ‘I wonder if my readers will find this interesting?’ At first I included all names and positions in quoted articles until my daughter told me that was long ad unwieldy. So I began to paraphrase and if I couldn’t remember the source I italicized the quote. Readers found that so much easier that now I italicize anything that isn’t my own words. Craig has observed that the posts are gradually getting longer, and they are. One friend said she skips over the Stats while another friend said they’re always interesting. Every day I decide what will be interesting and what will be overkill. My fact file increases and decreases every few days. Recently my friend Merrilyn sent me a blogpost by an American author. The post she sent me was about how the author writes her books. Writing is a whole life event for me. Before the pandemic I was continuing with my autobiography. I have written short stories and a novella and I tinker with the novella from time to time. But I love writing the blogpost. Before the pandemic, I mostly used it as a travel diary and an armchair travel experience for some friends who can no longer travel themselves. Occasionally I would write a piece if I was fired up about something. In the first few weeks of writing this diary, I refused to use the president’s name, citing the White House or the administration instead. Now I do use his name, but he will never deserve a capital letter from me, ever. Now here’s a question. How much longer will I write it? Well, I’m sending it to the Pandemic Archives at Grand Valley State University, so I think perhaps I should continue until we are ‘out of the woods’, but I can’t imagine when that will be. So keep reading, dear readers. I so appreciate you. The Auburn Readers Bookclub collected a really nice sum of money which we are donating to St Cecelia’s School of Music in Stephanie Burr’s name. It is enough to pay for a student for one year, I believe and I know Stephanie would be proud. This article sent to me by Zoe: �What has happened to statues – rolled into harbours, set aflame on their plinths, defaced with graffiti, hung with signs – is merely the visible form of what historians, buried in archives, wrestling with raw material, have been quietly doing to the myths of the past for decades, uncovering and tapping into computers – documenting a more complete account. The time for a public reckoning with the ongoing legacy of slavery, the horrors of colonial expansion, and the fact that we have not considered violence against people of colour, or women, to be of particular note, has come. We need to stop thinking about history as a kind of binary “positive” or “negative", as either nice or bad, but as something that reflects all of the wild chaos, dark violence, and glorious triumphs of humanity; the story of all of us. We could remove statues from plinths and place them at our height, or lower. We could place other figures around them, of the slaves they traded or controlled; show the massacres, the conflicts, the long hidden stories. We could create virtual reality resets, where you might look at a monument and its surrounds through the eyes of a slave, or soldier, a worker, or a maid. We could collect offensive statues and cluster them in museums where their stories would be fully told from myriad perspectives. Or we could grind them to dust and mix them with concrete, placing them on paths we walk on to a place, a country, where we not only accept the truth, but welcome it. Julie Baird, Sydney Morning Herald. And to show you the acrimony and dysfunction between the federal government and the states: • Trump renewed his threat to take federal action against demonstrators in a tweet to Washington State officials demanding that they crack down on protests in Seattle. “Take back your city NOW,” Trump wrote in a tweet directed at Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) and Gov. Jay Inslee (D). “If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game.” Durkan replied: “Go back to your bunker.” And this: • Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious diseases at the Association of Public Health Laboratories, said the federal government is not even providing the kind of routine guidance it normally gives in screening for flu and other outbreaks. “The states are on their own,” she said. “There has been no coordination.” I think we all knew that some weeks ago. In New Zealand my son and his wife have flown to Queenstown in the South Island for a few days vacation. In Melbourne my youngest son has gone to the countryside with friends, also for a short vacation. It’s hard for me to imagine doing that. The last risk assessment point: Keep taking pandemic precautions �Already some people in many communities have stopped wearing masks, suspended social distancing and returned to their pre-pandemic socializing. Time will tell if case counts start to rise as a result, but in the coming months you would be wise to adopt the following habits. Keep a mask handy. Wear a mask in enclosed spaces, when you shop or go to the office and anytime you are in close contact with people outside your household. Practice social distancing — staying six feet apart — when you are with people who live outside your household. Keep social activities outdoors. Wash hands frequently, and be mindful about touching public surfaces (elevator buttons, hand rails, subway poles, and other high-touch areas) Adopt stricter quarantine practices if you or someone in your circle is at higher risk. And just to emphasize this point: Hospitalizations for coronavirus cases have been on the rise in at least nine states since Memorial Day: Texas, North and South Carolina, California, Oregon, Arkansas, Mississippi, Utah and Arizona. More than a dozen states, plus Puerto Rico, are recording their highest averages of new cases since the pandemic began. And the total number of new cases also continues to increase worldwide. Experts say this is not just because testing has become more widespread. As states continue to push ahead with reopening, these are flashing red lights that we are not out of the woods, the danger of a second wave remains high and bringing folks back to work – while necessary for economic recovery – is fraught. Americans may be moving on, but the virus is not. One crucial caveat is that the virus will outlast the summer — everywhere. During the 1918-19 flu, transmission rates fell in the warmer months, only to soar again in the fall. “People thought it was over,” as Apoorva Mandavilli, a science reporter at The Times, said, “and stopped taking precautions.” And just to lighten the mood: Attention, bears of Yosemite National Park! You’ve apparently been taking advantage of having the run of the place, but the tourists are coming back. After shutting down in March, the California park plans to reopen on Thursday — with restrictions, of course. Before you worry about encountering some free solo climbers, bear friends, note that only about half the average number of June visitors will be allowed in, each car must make an online reservation and park shuttles won’t be running. Apparently the park rangers are waiting with baited breath to see what happens. I have more Oliver photos to choose from. ��Painting at daycare. Note the concentration and the yellow paint suspiciously around his mouth. That’s because it was banana flavored. I can’t quite wrap my head around banana flavored paint. Today’s flashback. Still on the day we visited Dunwich Beach and Heath, on our way home we drove into the parking lot at Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station. Firstly, I was surprised that we could drive into the parking lot. Sizewell B is a pressurized water reactor - the only commercial one in the UK. If you wish to read more about Sizewell A,B and C, I recommend Wikipedia. After the first technical sentence, my eyes glazed over. ����From the top: the view of Sizemore B across Dunwich Heath; me standing next to spent nuclear fuel rods; how the reactor works; and the view of the reactor from the parking lot. I was really surprised to learn that we could go inside a visitors center and have a guided tour. Of course we weren’t allowed into the reactor area and our guide was really sweet and very reassuring but honestly, I felt so much calmer after we drove out of the parking lot. I’m sure it was completely safe and again, I’m glad I did it, and I never have to do it again. There is one more stop on our way home and we’ll talk about that tomorrow. Remember - it isn’t over yet, even though the sun is shining and the birds are singing. It’s still out there and perhaps its just waiting for us to be careless. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-13_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-94 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-13 Title A name given to the resource Day 94 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8b5b52d7b67f1d3629941fd2e361ba7a.pdf 60dcab5a244c324018b4e487ce207f78 PDF Text Text Day 93. by windoworks On next Monday (June 15) the hair and nail salons are allowed to open. Among the many ‘I’m not doing that again’ decisions I have made are - no more hair dye (I’m prepared to embrace the grey) and no more nail polish. I am prepared to return to my nail salon but no more nail polish. It’s too hard to manage for myself. As I type this my nails are the shortest they have been for years! So, I contacted the hair salon and the new hair stylist that Ben recommended (after he decided to retire from hairdressing), texted me back and we managed to set up a hair appointment for me. She is letting me come in early in the morning when there will be less clients there. So here are he conditions for my visit: The salon will no longer have a waiting area. When you arrive at the salon for your appointment, please call the salon or text me directly. When the client scheduled before you has exited the building we will call or text you to come in for your appointment. This will allow me to properly sanitize my station and tools between each appointment. Please wear a facemask into the salon. I will be wearing one while I work with you and ask that you wear one as I bring you to my station and/or when you are walking through the salon. If you forget your mask don’t stress, the salon will have disposable masks available for you. Additional Safety Measures. We have reorganized our stylist stations. At your next appointment you will notice quite a bit more space between each station. This is to ensure that all of our guests are able to maintain a safe distance from each other while they are with us. We have also added partitions between the shampoo bowls for your safety. All stylists and employees will have a temperature check daily upon arrival to the salon. If you yourself are not feeling well, please reschedule your appointment for a later date. Price Changes. The state of Michigan is requiring some specific changes to prevent the spread of Covid 19. To be compliant, we are spending money on items we never expected we would need. From building partitions to purchasing thermometers, HEPA filters, additional supplies, staff hours, and PPE…it’s all adding up. In order to keep things running smoothly, the salon will need to increase prices slightly. Please expect to pay $5 more per adult service. As ever, we appreciate your understanding and compassion! So that sounds exciting doesn’t it? Yesterday we ordered cheese (from The Cheese Lady - yum!) and reeds for Craig’s saxophone, all online. The cheese is in the cooler outside the store, and you call for your order at the music store. In both cases, the doors are locked. You call and they bring your purchases out to you. And also yesterday, I purchased 2 Charles Wysocki 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles online. I can pick them both up at Barnes & Noble at Rivertown Crossing Mall. Again, I wait in the car (which I describe on the phone) �and the assistant will bring them out to me. We drove past Trader Joe’s on the way to the music store and people were still lined up 6 feet apart, wearing masks and waiting to be admitted. This is the new routine. As you exit your car anywhere, you get out your mask and put it on. It’s becoming the same as putting your gloves and hat on in winter. It’s not comfortable wearing a mask, but its the right thing to do. There are still 130,000 houses in Michigan without power. There are an extraordinary number of really big trees down in streets around us and so far there is no sign of any cleanup. Another big concern is rising water levels in other dams across Michigan which may be in the same state of disrepair as the 2 near Midland were. Yesterday we had the first of our ‘proper’ virtual programs for the Women’s City Club. Grand Rapids’ Mayor Rosalynn Bliss talked to us via Zoom for almost an hour. We had submitted some questions and she answered most, and added a great deal about what was happening locally, statewide and nationally with COVID-19 and racism. She talked a great deal and it was a tribute to her that I never zoned out once. I also feel a great deal more informed. On Wednesday, the U.S. reached another dire landmark in its fight against COVID-19 after surpassing 2 million confirmed cases around the country. New cases are rising in at least 20 states, even as restrictions on daily life continue to ease across the country. The U.S. total represents more than 25% of the confirmed cases worldwide. More than a dozen states continue to show new highs in the number of coronavirus cases or hospitalizations weeks after beginning to reopen. The spikes provide disturbing data points in the ongoing tug of war between the economic costs of restrictions and the human cost of lifting them. Worse times are ahead. The preponderance of evidence indicates community transmission is increasing. We should be concerned about the rising numbers in some states like Arizona and Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina. These states have big outbreaks right now. This morning Florida is reporting a significant increase of cases overnight. It’s not a second wave as some people are saying. Most states never really got rid of the first wave. And in the “You couldn’t make this stuff up“ category: • A Maine facility that produces tests for Abbott Labs to detect the novel coronavirus has become the site of a viral outbreak. �• Tesla employees in California revealed that several of their colleagues tested positive for the coronavirus following chief executive Elon Musk’s reopening of the company’s main production facility last month in defiance of government public health orders. • Members of the D.C. National Guard who were deployed last week in response to the protests over George Floyd’s killing have tested positive, but a spokeswoman refuses to reveal how many troops have the virus. Two members of the Nebraska National Guard who were activated last week in Lincoln, Neb., also tested positive. I love that there’s a face palm emoji. I have begun making bread and bread rolls. Admittedly I use an almond flour packet, but the online bread delivery system seems to have broken down somehow, so I thoughtI had better start baking. I also try to use all fruit and vegetables and not throw anything out. I made gluten free macaroni cheese recently and we used up the leftovers by frying them in portions which was surprisingly delicious. We have cooked 3 meals a day since early March. It’s not that I don’t want to eat a take out meal, it just seems that I am more comfortable with homemade. Now truthfully, we do buy treats from Rise, our favorite gluten free bakery, and gf cupcakes from Cakabakery. But Cakabakery is only open 2 days a week and I always forget until the open day is over. Today’s risk assessment: 4. Keep higher risk activities as short as possible Brief exposure: Brief encounters, particularly those outside — like passing someone on the sidewalk or a runner who huffs and puffs past your picnic — are unlikely to make you sick. Face-to-face contact: Wear a mask, and keep close conversations short. We don’t know the level of exposure required to make you sick, but estimates range from a few hundred to 1,000 copies of the virus. In theory, you might reach the higher estimate after just five minutes of close conversation, given that a person might expel 200 viral particles a minute through speech. When health officials perform contact tracing, they typically look for people with whom you’ve spent at least 15 minutes in close contact. Indoor exposure: In an enclosed space, like an office, at a birthday party, in a restaurant or in a church, you can still become infected from a person across the room if you share the same air for an extended period of time. There’s no proven time limit that is safest, but based on contact tracing guidelines and the average rate at which we expel viral particles — through breathing, speaking and coughing — it’s best to keep indoor activities, like shopping or haircuts, to less than an hour. Even shorter is better. �As you make decisions, consider the volume of air space (open space is safer than a small meeting room), the number of people in the space (fewer is better) and how much time everyone is together (keep it brief). Okay, perhaps I’ll just get my hair cut. ��Just an Oliver fix for the day. And a note to make you laugh: at daycare they told Zoe that he babbles all day and the staff said to each other: OMG, imagine when he starts actually talking! That’s a true Benjamin. The next big day in Brandon. First we drove to the coast to Dunwich Heath and Beach which is a National Trust property. I was particularly taken with the beautiful heather on the cliffs. ������From the top: another of my sitting on the beach photos; Craig paddling (braver than me); eating our picnic lunch and that’s Sizemore B nuclear power station in the distance; the gorgeous heather and me sitting in one of those giant beach chairs - it was dammed difficult to get out of! This wasn’t the end of our day - we visited 2 other places on our way home but I’ll post them tomorrow. So, the rain has gone, the weather is cooler, the sun is shining and the wind has dropped. Stay healthy, stay safe and stay brave. We can do it! � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-12_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-93 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-12 Title A name given to the resource Day 93 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/857e4bc675988562b9ab0ee7bd13fc91.pdf 047f4aa891e3a42817568bff8f059ea0 PDF Text Text Day 92. by windoworks Another morning. Yesterday we drove to Meijer Gardens to check out how careful they had been in reopening the gardens themselves. I sat in the car while Craig reconnoitered. He came back impressed with what was in place. ��This is their formal notice. I think in all that careful verbiage one phrase popped out at me: Visit at your own risk. So thats their cover against being sued by someone who tests positive. And here’s the notice from a popular local brewery; So this is our life now. In New Zealand where life has literally returned to normal, Air New Zealand, which is operating mostly as a domestic airline, immediately released the middle seats in all planes and people flocked to buy tickets to vacation destinations within New Zealand. The borders are still not open and that may continue for some time. As I sit here typing, it is almost unimaginable to me to be able to return to a ‘normal’ life like that. �However, also in New Zealand, apparently 2 big companies with downtown office buildings have found that there is no need for their staff to return to work in the office premises. Both companies have decided to work online from home going forward. In Melbourne and Sydney, both of our children are continuing to work from home and feel that in the future they may work in the office for one or two days a week, but nothing has been decided yet. Zoe manages to work well, even with Oliver playing on the floor in the background. Sidewalk chalk art remains popular in our area. Here are some thinking (and talking) points: • Cops,” the long-running reality show from the Paramount Network that glorified police, was canceled in the face of protests. The show’s 33rd season was scheduled to premiere on June 15. (NYT) • The movie “Gone with the Wind” has been pulled from HBO Max. The network said that the 1939 cinematic classic, set partly on a plantation during and after the Civil War, is a “product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society.” (WSJ) • NFL stars Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins urged Clemson University to drop the name of slave �owner John C. Calhoun from its Honors College. (Des Bieler) • The founder of CrossFit “retired” under pressure after a firestorm over his flippant comments about Floyd. Greg Glassman told staff on a Zoom call that, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd." (Des Bieler and Jena McGregor) • Kennedy Mitchum, a Missouri woman, successfully prodded Merriam-Webster to change the definition of racism. The dictionary defined racism as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race,” a definition she said was too simple and didn’t mention that racism “is a system of oppression for a certain group of people.” After a few back and forth emails, dictionary editor Alex Chambers said that a revised entry is being drafted. (KMOV4) • Confederate flags are a familiar sight at NASCAR events, but that could soon change. Bubba Wallace, the only black driver in the sport, wants a ban on the flag at tracks. (AP) Today’s reentering the world safely point: 3. Manage your exposure budget Risk is cumulative. Going forward, you’ll need to make trade-offs, choosing activities that are most important to you (like seeing an aging parent) and skipping things that might matter less (an office goingaway party). Think about managing virus risk just as you might manage a diet: If you want dessert, eat a little less for dinner. During a pandemic, every member of the household should manage their own exposure budget. (Think Weight Watchers points for virus risk.) You spend very few budget points for low-risk choices like a oncea-week grocery trip or exercising outdoors. You spend more budget points when you attend an indoor dinner party, get a haircut or go to the office. You blow your budget completely if you spend time in a crowd. Moving into a long-term management phase, we have to start thinking like this. Don’t take risks where it’s not needed, and make trade-offs that are congruent with your larger health needs and priorities. If seeing your grandchild in the park means, to balance this, you can only go to the supermarket every other week, maybe that’s a trade-off you’re willing to make for your mental health and well-being. After we left Meijer Gardens and began to drive home, the storm that had been threatening for some time arrived and we drove home in torrential rain and strong winds. You could not see 3 feet in front of the car. It was quite scary and the gutters were completely overwhelmed so we kept driving through torrents of water racing down the side of the road. When we got home it had eased off but the flooding between the garage and the house was so deep, I took off my sandals and walked barefooted into the house. �About an hour or so later, it got so dark we had to switch on the lights and then the rain and wind swirled around the house, lashing all the windows. In some spots in Grand Rapids, friends reported that it was like a mini tornado. Afterwards we found out this had happened to our neighbor Alsiha’s garage, 2 doors up. ��That’s a tree sized branch just waiting to fall the rest of the way. I imagine I’ll hear the sounds of chainsaws some time soon. At the designated pick up time of 3:30pm, Craig went to fetch our order from Harvest Health. Unfortunately they had lost power, so we will have to try again later today. An enormous number of houses lost power across Michigan in the afternoon, somewhere around 300,000. Our lights flickered once but this time we were lucky. This morning there are still well over 100,000 without power. Some more cruise ship adjustments: Buffets are on pause. Passengers must use hand-washing stations or hand sanitizers as they enter restaurants onboard. It's possible they'll only be able to dine with their traveling companions at assigned tables with assigned servers. Those servers will serve them items like condiments and bread, or they'll be presented in single-serve packaging. Passengers will receive single-use paper menus. Ships may institute multiple seating times, emphasize outdoor dining, or open more venues to minimize the number of passengers dining at once. Self-service buffets will be suspended, or manned by PPE-outfitted servers transferring food from behind transmission barriers to passengers’ plates. Self-service coffee and snack bars may be removed—though room service hours and menu selections likely will be expanded as a result. Staterooms will also get new safeguards Interactive televisions and digital apps may replace printed daily programs. Throw pillows and bedspreads could be eliminated, as well as welcome and turndown amenities. Cruise lines will likely place masks, gloves, multi-purpose disinfecting wipes, and hand sanitizer bottles in staterooms, and disposable covers could be seen on high-use items, like television remote controls. Inside cabins, which are interior and do not have windows or balconies, could initially stay unoccupied on sailings. For those of you wondering how our vegetable garden is performing, here is a photo from yesterday. �In the 3rd week in Brandon we visited Wicken Fen. This is (wait for it), a 254.5 hectare biological Site of Special Interest, a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. A large part of it is owned and managed by the National Trust. it includes fenland, farmland, marsh and reed beds and we saw it all. A fen is a low and marshy or frequently flooded area of land and Wicken Fen is one of only 4 wild fens which still survive in the enormous Great Fen Basin of East Anglia. 99% of all the other fens have been made into farm land. It is managed in much the same way it always was, for example, the sedge (water reed) is harvested every year and sold for thatching. The first recorded sedge harvest at Wicken Fen was in 1414. I cannot even begin to describe all the birds, butterflies, dragonflies, swans etc that we saw. We walked around some of the trails and then we bought tickets to ride in a small boat with a guide on the recently cleared canals in the Fen. I loved the whole experience. �������I apologize for so many photos but between us Craig and I had about 15 photos which shows you how much we loved the place. So, from the top: walking through the grassland; a restored windmill used to irrigate nearby farms,; me in one of the bird hides (the British are big on birdwatching); Craig walking on another part of the trail; my new favorites - a bug hotel; on the part of the canal that had been given its annual dredging; and on the part of the canal which was still waiting to be dredged. Stats: as I haven’t posted these for a while: the US has 2.04 million cases (up 19,958 since yesterday) and 115K deaths. Michigan has 64,998 cases and 5,943 deaths. Kent County has 3,998 cases and 107 deaths. Some ares are trending down and some areas are continuing to rise. Thats it for today. The weather is cooler and less humid. Remember: its not over yet. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-11_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-92 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-11 Title A name given to the resource Day 92 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng