17 24 538 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1cabca4f12641b10caa81164dc4c3d7a.pdf 1fbd044ffefdb58cbbd1d33b042cbc87 PDF Text Text Day 86. by windoworks Stats in Kent County. Cases - 3,853 and 95 deaths. Governor Whitmer referred to Grand Rapids earlier this week as still an active area. In state rankings for COVID-19, some weeks ago Michigan ranked 4th but this week it ranks 26th. Well done, us! Although Gov. Whitmer lifted the Stay At Home order, people don’t seem to be rushing out. In fact there is a personal resistance issue for many people including me. It’s not over. Cases are spiking again in places across America. Here in Grand Rapids, we wonder what will happen in another week, which makes it 2 weeks from the first protest and subsequent riot downtown. All that shouting, jostling, running (and panting), coughing and sneezing. For the first time some notable people are beginning to speak out about trump and his behavior. Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us,” Jim Mattis retired 4 star general, said in his statement. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.” And from President Barack Obama: In his first public remarks since Floyd’s death, former president Barack Obama emphasized the need for local police departments to implement reforms proposed by a task force he appointed after Michael Brown was shot by a white police office in Ferguson, Mo., six years ago. “To bring about real change, we have to both highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable, but we also have to translate that into practical solutions and laws,” Obama said during a virtual town hall hosted by his nonprofit, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. “And every step of progress in this country, every expansion of freedom, every expression of our deepest ideals has been won through efforts that made the status quo uncomfortable” In virus news: One question, answered: What does it mean do be a COVID-19 “long-hauler”? Science writer Ed Yong explains: I wrote about COVID-19 long-haulers—the thousands of people who’ve been struggling with months of debilitating symptoms. Most of them haven’t been hospitalized, so their cases technically count as “mild.” But their lives have nonetheless been flattened by rolling waves of symptoms, including weeks of fever, delirium, and crushing fatigue. Many have faced disbelief from friends and medical professionals because �they don’t fit the typical profile of the disease. Many have doubted themselves, been gaslit and dismissed, been told that it’s all in their heads. But they are a crucial and overlooked part of the pandemic narrative. But here’s a new development. Drive-in movie theaters - hands up if you remember them? When we first moved to the suburbs in Sydney with the birth of our daughter Zoe, we rented a house literally less than a block from a drive-in movie theater. We loved it. We could actually go to the movies with small children asleep in the back seat of our car. I even loved the toasted cheese sandwiches available at the snack store. At first, you had to hang the speaker box on the passenger side window but as time went by, you just tuned into the right wavelength on the car radio. For obvious reasons they’re making a comeback but not just for movies. They’re developing into music venues, concert venues etc. Would we all go to a large auditorium with spaced seating to watch a ballet, an opera, a rock concert or a Broadway show? Mmm. Maybe not. Would I go to see the same show on a stage at a drive-in, sitting safely in my own car? Absolutely. Yesterday we drove out to the Meijer Trail near 64th street. As we were driving, Craig remarked that it was probably too hot for walking and I agreed. As we neared 64th we could see lots of flashing lights and a commotion on one side of the road. As we drove slowly past, I saw a man lying on the road with a fire fighter giving him chest compressions. I think he was a motor cyclist who might have collided with a black truck. I have never seen anyone being resuscitated before except on tv. It was very disturbing. On our way home we stopped at Harvest Health, one of my favorite grocery stores with organic and diet restrictions foods etc. I had made an order online and we had come to pay and pick up curbside. While we waited, a young masked woman came out of the store and carefully wiped down the handles and the glass. Shortly after that, when Craig had paid over the phone, a young masked and gloved man came out of the store, pushing a cart with our groceries. We were so impressed that we might actually go inside the store next week to shop ourselves. And speaking of that: While staying home is still the safest option, we’ll need to build structures that allow for relief from quarantine fatigue. The key to responsibly reopening your life is understanding what makes you and those around you more or less safe at any given moment. (No memory of where that quote came from - its been in my file for some time). No photos of Oliver from yesterday but here’s one I don’t think I’ve posted before: ��This is Oliver with his Great Uncle Drew, in the grocery store. He’s wearing his koala hat. Still in Brandon. Next we visited King’s Lynn. It was built on the banks of the Great Ouse. It became a port town, and was England’s most important port during the Middle Ages. It had an Open Day and we went along. The first thing we saw was this medieval crumhorn quartet accompanied by a drummer. This set the tone for the day. These musicians were wonderful. ���Morris dancers. This is a form of English folk dance. They wear bell pads on their shins and wield sticks, swords and handkerchiefs. Some groups wear straw hats with ribbons and flowers on them. The earliest mention of Morris dancers is 1448, with a payment slip to the Morris dancers of the London Goldsmiths’ Company. We watched about 3 or 4 teams demonstrating different styles of Morris dancing. One team had women dancing as well. As they dance, the bells on their knee pads jingle. ���Brass and stone tombstones inside St Margarets Cathedral (I think this is where we saw them). In the middle of the market square there was an underground air raid shelter (King’s Lynn was bombed in both world wars). You lined up to go down, and then they let about 20 of us in at one time. It was dark and hot and a rabbit warren of tunnels. At one point our guide turned all the lights off so we were standing in the dark, underground! I guess when the bombs fall you feel safer down there. ��A dancing display inside the Town Hall. These ladies and men were wearing (perhaps) Georgian dresses, dancing the gavotte. They dragged me up to dance. It was hot and so much harder than you might imagine. I tried hard not to make a fool of myself. ���Towards the end of the afternoon we climbed on the old fashioned and very uncomfortable bus and drove around the town. Then we got out and drove our car out as near to the mouth of the Great Ouse as we could get. Another exhausting, hot but really entertaining day. So, another day. Use it 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_2020-06-05_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-86 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 2020-06-05 Title A name given to the resource Day 86 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/1258065f7b96ee0f97f6ce2e0e50ec73.pdf e90bd5767dae636b9118e4fcb783dc38 PDF Text Text Day 85. by windoworks One of the consequences of the coronavirus is that there will be no funeral for Stephanie, one of the founding members of our block’s book club. After reading her obituary, I realized what an integral part of the Grand Rapids music/theater scene she was. She would walk past our house most weekday afternoons on her way to the little house 4 doors down from us that she used as her music studio. She taught piano there. Some days when the windows were open you could hear the music being played. At book club nights, she nearly always loved the book choice and she always had a funny story to tell. She was the originator of my favorite line regarding camping: oh no thank you. I like hotels because I always like to be 7 steps from the bed to the bathroom. Goodbye Stephanie. I’m glad I knew you. The week continues. There are continuing protests around the country and around the world. The 3 other officers complicit in George Floyd’s death have been charged. Derek Chauvin’s initial charge has been changed to second degree murder. I don’t understand murder charges but I imagine second degree is more serious than third degree - and first degree must be the most serious of all. This is our Governor’s reaction to all this: The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor were a result of hundreds of years of inequity and institutional racism. I am horrified, heartbroken, and taking action. Today, I requested that the Michigan Commission of Law Enforcement Standards provide guidance to law enforcement agencies on continuing education, including diversity and implicit bias training, and urging law enforcement agencies to implement duty to intervene polices. I also called on our Legislature to act on Senator Irwin’s bill, SB 945. Under this bill, incoming law enforcement officers would be required by law to go through training on implicit bias, de-escalation techniques, and mental health screenings. These are steps in the right direction, but until Black mothers can share the same set of concerns as White mothers when their children leave their homes, we have work to do. All Michiganders have the right to be treated with dignity and respect by law enforcement, and I’m determined to see it through. And here’s an answer to a question you might have had, from NPR (National Public Radio): Will the protests spread COVID-19? The answer is yes, Robinson Meyer reports—experts anticipate an uptick in cases within two weeks. He explains why: The virus seems to spread the most when people yell (such as to chant a slogan), sneeze (to expel pepper �spray), or cough (after inhaling tear gas). It is transmitted most efficiently in crowds and large gatherings, and research has found that just a few contagious people can infect hundreds of susceptible people around them. The virus can spread especially easily in small, cramped places, such as police vans and jails. And this information: From Alan Burdick, a science editor for NYT Unlike previous SARS viruses, which tended to settle deeper in the respiratory system, this one tends to settle in the upper respiratory system — in your nose and throat. That means that it tends to spread with your voice, in addition to coughs and sneezes. And when you look at where a lot of the major superspreader events have occurred, it’s places like churches where folks are singing. It’s meatpacking plants where people have to talk really loud. It’s sports arenas. It’s call centers. And I realized, holy cow, this is a virus that is ideally adapted to human conversation. And lastly, here’s a list of what we don’t know - yet: How many people have been infected. The amount of virus it takes to make you sick. Why some people get so much sicker than others. The role of children in spreading the virus. When or where the new coronavirus started spreading. How long you’ll be immune after infection. Okay, deep breath. So yesterday, after I had attempted to pull the covers up over my head and never get out of bed again, I told Craig I would like to drive out to Lake Michigan and look at the water. So, armed with coffee and snacks, we set out along Leonard through the lush green countryside to Grand Haven. When we got there, there was a ship sailing out through the channel to the lake and as it sailed, a huge thick fog came rolling in. ��And then we drove on to Noto’s and parked there to look at the water. �It’s hard to see the fog but after a few minutes, the lighthouse and walkway (in the distance) disappeared completely from view. Then we drove home for lunch and I felt better. Two other photos for your consideration: �This is a photo of the National Guard on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. ��And I’ll just leave this here. So, Oliver: ��Oliver is holding a rainbow wall or window hanging, made by my talented niece, Elle. She lives in Cornwall, England and she made many of these rainbows, sold them and then donated 124 pounds to the National Health Service which they gave her a certificate for! My neighbors and I have bought some and are waiting for them to arrive. She also made this one which I bought a month ago and it hangs on the TV room wall. ��She is also an awesome potter and I’d love to buy some mugs or such but it’s hard to send breakable items through the mail. Check out her Instagram page: completeanduttercraft. Brandon flashback: Thetford had a day to celebrate all things Thetford, called the Thetford Open Day, and we went along. ��This is Thomas Paine who was born in Thetford in 1737. He migrated to the British American Colonies in 1774 and he participated in the American Revolution. He wrote a powerful pamphlet called Common Sense which helped to energize the revolution. He then became involved in the French Revolution. During these years he wrote The Age of Reason, which proved popular at the time - and you can read more about him and his writings online. The base of the plinth next to Craig had many of his more famous quotes written on it. ���In the top photo is a steam tractor. There was a tractor museum and this was one of 2 working models. In the second photo, Craig is sitting at Captain Mannering’s desk. This is an English comedy series set during the Second World War and is about the everyday life in Thetford and the escapades of the voluntary Home Guard. It’s called Dad’s Army and you can still find in on Netflix I think. We did not know that Thetford was used for the outdoor scenes. This last photo is inside a military museum in Thetford and after we wandered around and looked at all the rooms in this centuries old house, we stopped in the front room and listened to an expert in weapons from both WWI and WWII. Very interesting day all round! Remember: mask up! � 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_2020-06-04_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-85 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 2020-06-04 Title A name given to the resource Day 85 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/0e9acedb11efe77fde1c97881cfee9ef.pdf 63ee6fdaf8ab7d626ca2f84c2f652241 PDF Text Text Day 84 by windoworks 84 days of eating home cooked food. 84 days of reinventing leftovers. 84 days of learning to order everything online. 84 days of only walking in less populated places. 84 days of wearing a mask outside. 84 days of not remembering what day of the week it was. 84 days of watching the seasons turn from winter’s tail end to spring to almost officially summer. 84 days of reading posts from NPR, WaPo, NYT. 84 days of unexpected delights, days of despair and an increasing dependency on video chats. 84 days of ‘its not the same, but its something’. Today marks 12 weeks of isolating. And while Gov Whitmer says we can go outside and we can gather in groups of 100 if we’re careful, I don’t really see a change on my block. We’re all too careful, cautious and still uncomfortable. In England, where my niece Elle is back at work with just 3 people in her office, there are some lifting of restrictions. On the weekend, she and her partner Terry went to a nearby beach and enjoyed the day without the usual overload of tourists. ��This is Portmeor, near St Ives. Yesterday the city commission here voted to lift the curfew but retain the state of emergency until June 16. As of yesterday, you still can’t drive along Fulton St, which makes travel difficult as the freeway entrance on Lake Michigan is currently closed for repairs. �This is the Police Dept building and on the corner of that building is the Secretary of State’s downtown office. �This is the clothing store kitty corner to the Police Dept. For our walk yesterday we went back to the ravine park next to the GVSU Allendale campus. ��The woods there are gorgeous. We had to walk slowly, because Craig is restricted to gentle walking for the next few weeks until his leg heals. The ravine is deep and beautiful with a heavy tree cover. Notice my hands in my pockets - that’s to stop me touching the handrails like I did on our last walk. It’s so easy to forget! Probably there’s no virus on handrails, but you never know! �This is the same river scene that we photographed last week, but look how much the water has gone down and what a deep brown, muddy color. And obviously this is the park to walk in for mothers with prams. There was a surprising number of them. When Gov Whitmer opened up some more businesses this week, here’s the list that are still closed: Amusement parks Arcades Bingo halls Body art facilities Bowling alleys Casinos licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board Climbing facilities (indoor) Dance areas (indoor) Exercise facilities (indoor) Exercise studios (indoor) Fitness centers (indoor) Gymnasiums (indoor) �Hair salons Massage businesses Millionaire Parties licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board Nail salons Personal care services that involve close contact of persons Piercing services Racetracks licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board Recreation centers (indoor) Skating rinks Sports facilities (indoor) Tanning salons Tattoo parlors Theaters, cinemas, and performance venues (indoor) Traditional spas Trampoline parks Still no hair salons which is okay because that’s something I’m still not comfortable with. So yesterday was also a hair cutting day. I cut Craig’s with the hair clippers and he helped me trim mine with the hair salon scissors. Craig wanted to use the clippers on me but I’m still not there yet. An Oliver photo: ��Notice how he puts his left leg out in front and then tucks his right leg back and sits on his right foot. Every day. Today’s flashback: Norwich. From the late Middle Ages (1300-1500) until the Industrial Revolution (1750 onwards), Norwich was the second largest city in England after London. �This is Norwich Cathedral Gatehouse. ��Inside the cathedral with a closeup of the altar. �Me walking in the cloisters. These are covered walkways that the monks used. Hence a ’cloistered’ life. Also in Norwich was a Norman castle which had been restored and turned into a museum. �����The top photo is inside the Norman castle, refurbished as a museum and very well done. The second photo is of a window or arrow slit. The next photo is of a garderobe, that is a castle toilet. These were also excellent places to have a private conversation. They emptied inside the castle walls and out into the moat below. Some years before, we visited Warwick Castle (just out of London) and I remember looking down the chute in one of the garderobes there. The wind that whistled up was freezing. I don’ t imagine you sat for long especially in winter. A beautiful stained glass window in he castle and the last photo is of the market place. It was founded in the 11th century and has been in operation for over 900 years. It generally operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays but now its open Monday to Saturdays. Kent County Stats: 3,777 cases and 93 deaths. Still gradually rising. So stay safe, wear your mask and wash your hands. � 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_2020-06-03_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-84 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 2020-06-03 Title A name given to the resource Day 84 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/0b2d36069cec1fb9f2ac25820183e8b3.pdf 5e09b4851c4c26bd1cd3fefe0560f079 PDF Text Text Day 83 by windoworks Yesterday, at her three times a week press conference, Governor Whitmer said: I am lifting the Stay At Home order effective immediately. She then repeated it for people like me who thought they must have misheard. I sat there on the couch and thought: what does this mean? And then I thought, perhaps it means that it is up to each of us to decide how we are going to interact with the wider world. She did say, wear a mask, keep 6 feet apart outside the house and don’t stop washing your hands. At this point I thought it might be interesting to look back at some milestones in my blogpost: 1. March 11: Last night Governor Whitmer declared a State of Emergency with 2 confirmed cases in Michigan (only two - what did she already know?) 2. March 22: Australia and New Zealand close down. 3. March 24: Gov Whitmer established Stay Home Stay Safe. Michigan has 1,791 cases and 24 deaths. 4. April 2 (9 days later): State of Emergency extended 4 more weeks. Michigan cases: a one day jump from 7500 to 9934 and deaths: 337. In Kent County: 119 cases and 2 deaths (increasing). 5. Today June 2 we have 3,748 confirmed cases and 89 deaths (1 month later). So looking forward here’s some thoughts from the New York Times: Here are some things we think we know about coronavirus: We’ll have to live with this for a long time. You should be wearing a mask. American public health infrastructure needs an update. Responding to the virus is extraordinarily expensive. We have a long way to go to fix virus testing. We can’t count on herd immunity to keep us healthy. The virus produces more symptoms than expected. We can worry a bit less about infection from surfaces. We can also worry less about a mutating virus. We can’t count on warm weather to defeat the virus. The bottom line: Wear a mask, keep your distance. When the time comes in the fall, get a flu shot, to protect yourself from one respiratory disease you can avoid and to help keep emergency rooms and urgent care from being overwhelmed. Hope for a treatment, a cure, a vaccine. Be patient. We have to pace ourselves. If there’s such a thing as a disease marathon, this is it. �Meanwhile in Washington D.C. where the White House turned its lights out on Sunday night and that may have been the night that trump hid in the bunker underneath, this happened yesterday: In Washington, police officers used tear gas and flash grenades to clear a path through a peaceful protest so President Trump could visit a nearby Episcopal church, St. John’s, where he posed for photos holding a Bible. An Episcopal bishop in Washington said she was “outraged” that he used the church “as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.” Trump also warned he would order the military into cities if local officials could not control their streets. When Governor Whitmer spoke yesterday at the press conference, she was visibly angry about the video conversation she had had earlier that day with trump and all the other state governors, in which trump threatened to send in the military to control state streets. I personally find that prospect terrifying. We would truly be a military state and trump would be the Dictator. We already have the National Guard here in Grand Rapids and it is somewhat unnerving to see the guards and their armored vehicles blocking the main access street to downtown. It is hard to comprehend this state of affairs when it is another beautiful sunny day and we can converse with our neighbors over back fences and from porch fronts. This has become our new normal. Yesterday we took Murphy Brown out to the groomers as her coat was a mess. It continues to be so uncomfortable when we encounter business owners who don’t wear masks. There is something reassuring about seeing people wearing masks. It tells me they are doing their best. The groomers and staff didn’t wear masks - but of course Craig did - and their assurances that no one had been sick simply indicated that they didn’t know or understand asymptomatic positivity. From the Hew York Times: About 35 percent of infected people have no symptoms at all, so if they are out and about, they could unknowingly infect other people. We won’t be taking Mis Murphy back for another trim for about 5 weeks, and her daycare days are effectively over for the foreseeable future. With everything else going on, a neighbor we have known since we moved here (17 years) had developed kidney disease about 2 years ago and had been on dialysis three days a week. Yesterday, she died which was sudden and shocked us all. A sad day and a feeling of helplessness. We can’t hug her husband and I’m not sure about a funeral. My neighbor Lea who is an Environmental Educator at middle school and who helped us (I mean Craig) build the rain garden between their house and ours, captured this photo of a dragonfly in the rain garden. �In our vegetable garden we have lettuces, broccoli seedlings, garlic, strawberries and some herbs. Seeds are also sprouting in the meadow patch too. I don’t think there’s any sign of the tomato seedlings. Of course all gardening activities are now on hold due to Craig’s injured (and painful) leg. The obligatory Oliver photo. Here he is painting, with interested bystanders, at daycare. As Zoe noted: he seems to be the painting leader. ��Today’s flashback: the next day we visited Grime’s Graves. This is a large Neolithic flint mining complex in Norfolk about 5 miles north east of Brandon. It was worked between 2,600 and 2,300BCE but it might have continued in to the Bronze and Iron Ages. Flint was cheaper than metals and was used for making polished stone axes. The whole area covers 91 acres and has at least 433 shafts dug into the natural chalk to reach the seams of flint. They found flint from Grime’s Graves in France and parts of Northern Europe, mined and exported in the Neolithic era. That makes you think, doesn’t it? How did it get there? ����In the top 2 photos, Craig crawled through the mining gallery on his hands and knees which was impressive and determined as he is not keen on small tight spaces. The guide told me that I shouldn’t go down and I agreed with him. They dug down to the flint seam and then they dug out the flint by hand and sent it back up in reed baskets to the surface. In the third photo, this is the ladder Craig climbed down. The original ladder was probably wooden. In the last photo, I am pointing at the hollows surrounding me which were all shafts that had collapsed over time. This was an amazing experience, almost as exciting as the cave paintings we had seen at Lascaux 2 (the duplicate of the real Lascaux). I imagined all the flint miners and knappers living and working in the area. If there’s such a thing as a disease marathon, this is it. I’ll just close with that today. � 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_2020-06-02_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-83 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 2020-06-02 Title A name given to the resource Day 83 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/83c4051debd720e5ba7c53501bcaa98e.pdf 526481b215825d3f1b9202ef845a09a0 PDF Text Text Day 82. by windoworks Along with everything else, spring allergies have arrived. I sneeze an average of 12 times in a row just after breakfast and it reminds me of my father. Every morning after breakfast, he would suddenly push his chair out from the table, turn sideways, whip out his big handkerchief and sneeze violently, sometimes as many as 20 times. His eyes would water, his nose would swell and redden - and here I am, looking exactly the same. I am also learning to be an historian and Craig tells me that I should always acknowledge my sources. I have collected pieces for weeks now in a file and for some I have no idea which publication they came from. So, I will put all words that are not mine in italics going forward, and acknowledge the source if I know it. To begin with, from the International Big History Association: The story of the big bang is that no matter where you come from or who you are, the origins of everything are the same for every location and person. Whoever comes from America, Africa, China, or another galaxy all share the same ultimate origin. The story of LUCA is that the Last Universal Common Ancestor, from about 3.8 billion years ago, seems to have been the common ancestor for every currently living being on Earth. The best evidence we have now suggests that primates evolved into hominins and then into humans in Africa. It was in Africa where we became bipedal, and developed opposable thumbs and the size and complexity of our brains. It was in Africa where we developed the abilities to speak, have symbolic thought, fashion tools, and so much else. And all of us humans are descendants of these Africans. All of us currently living outside of Africa have ancestors who emigrated from there. There are other meanings of big history as well, but one is that ultimately, all of us share a number of key origins. We all come out of the same story. Whoever the they is, they come from the same place as we do. They live in the same homeland as we do. They have our same ancestors. We need to sit around the same table and tell each other our mutual family stories, the stories of where we came from, the stories of our common origins. We’ll need to tell other stories too. How other galaxies are flying off away from us and out of our view. Of descendants of LUCA who became so different from each other. Of human cultures that developed after we emigrated from Africa and for a long time lost contact with each other. Of slavery, and genocide, and lynchings, and videos of murder. But we’ll tell those stories not to increase division, but to draw on our common origins. To push back against the divisions and hostilities and tribalism, and be part of a greater �complexity than before. To use our memory of a deep common past to imagine and build a common future. Yesterday was a day of stark contrasts. I spent the morning watching the SpaceX Dragon dock with the International Space Station in real time. Imagine watching something like that as it was happening. And then I watched a video post from Governor Whitmer and Lieutenant-Governor Gilchrist acknowledging the pain and anger and promising to work together with every Michigander to begin to address and recognize the problems in our society. Next there was a press conference with Mayor Bliss, Police Chief Payne and the Fire Chief Lehman. They thanked the hundreds of Grand Rapidians who had appeared downtown as early as 5 am yesterday morning, with brooms and buckets, gloves and masks, and spent all morning hammering up particle board over EVERY shop and office window on Monroe, scrubbed graffiti off everything, and swept up piles and piles of shattered glass - among other tasks. Restaurants and cafes with boarded up windows opened up their kitchens and fed the volunteers. There are reports that the second wave of protesters on Saturday night were bussed in and paid to riot. The police have arrested a number of people from photos on FaceBook. It always amazes me how people assume they are behaving in a vacuum - there are cameras everywhere! Luckily, no one was injured. Possessions and property can always be repaired and replaced, but people can’t. At the Mayors’s press conference she announced a curfew from 7pm to 5am for Sunday and Monday nights. Anyone outside for no reason can be fined and jailed. She also called in the National Guard. There were about 4,500 people downtown on Saturday night - more than the crowd of protesters in Detroit. So after lunch, we drove downtown. Some of the streets were blocked off but as we drove along Monroe below Monroe Mall and Rosa Park Circle, I took these photos. They’re not great but you can see all the boarded up storefronts. ����Then we came home and began putting everything back in the kitchen which Craig had repainted al weekend long. It does look beautiful. ���And just as Craig was putting some things back on the walls, he looked out the window and saw Murphy was in the garden itself, drinking from the bird bath. So he raced outside, flew down the back stairs, missed the bottom step and fell and badly strained his right leg quadriceps muscles, or one of them (there’s four). So after 2 ibuprofen capsules, some icing of the leg and a cup of tea and chocolate (because pain relief, hot tea and chocolate helps everything) I decided he should have someone qualified look at it. I drove him to nearby Blodgett Hospital, where he stayed and I drove home. This week they do allow one other person to wait with the patient, but I wasn’t really comfortable going inside a hospital at this time. Less than an hour later I picked him up and brought him home. The nurse had injected him on his right hip with an anti inflammatory and we had a quiet night - just like every other night for 83 days now. This morning he will call the Orthopedic Surgeon they recommended to get it checked again. I’m 70 years old. I’ve never lived anywhere where there was a riot before, never lived in a city under a curfew or where they called in the National Guard. I remain astonished, disturbed, distressed, saddened and mostly helpless. Words and feelings of sorrow are not enough but its all I have at this time. To end, the days flashback: we visited Bury St Edmunds, a market town, with a famous cathedral, St Edmundsbury Cathedral. The town itself was built in 1080 but they have found Roman coins and evidence of Bronze Age activity. We wandered through the Main Street and then through a gate into the church gardens. ��The monastery was founded here in 633 and in 903 became the burial place of King Edmund the Martyr. The gardens were beautiful. It was late afternoon on a lovely day. More Brandon adventures tomorrow. Another difficult post to write. I take great comfort from the words from Big History posted above. Wherever you are and whoever you are, we are all related. Isn’t that the best place to begin from? � 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_2020-06-01_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-82 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 2020-06-01 Title A name given to the resource Day 82 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/cb1951200a65399880c917ffe2d3a7ae.pdf 41e7ca63179b78b1c318ab058993a99f PDF Text Text Day 81 by windoworks And I thought yesterday was the hardest day. In the late afternoon, one of our high school graduates on our block and her 3 friends, dressed in black (as instructed) drove downtown to attend the silent demonstration organized there. About 8pm they all came back and Craig and I thought no more about it. No, we didn’t smell the smoke. This morning my FaceBook feed and the local news stations are all full of this: I guess it doesn't hit home until it HITS HOME!! They totally destroyed Downtown Grand Rapids. They broke into banks, the GR Arts museum, destroyed the WOOD TV news center on Monroe Center, hotels, jewelry stores, restaurants, destroyed the courthouse and police station, Secretary of State Bulding, burned police cars and much more. I thought living downtown was a luxury until we had to keep looters from breaking our glass doors and running into our building. They broke into the resturant (Sundance) and bank (West MI. Community Bank) in our building. It's 4 am and it still not over!!! ���Apparently most of downtown has been affected in some way. There are reports that these ‘protestors’ (like every other city affected in the US) are not part of the demonstrations but others with a different agenda. It is chaos and confusion, anger and dismay. We live pretty close to downtown and I wonder what tonight will bring? In 1967, there were riots here in Grand Rapids. Again it was anger and frustration by the black community. I have friends who talk about the looting and fighting along Wealthy Street which is at the south end of our block. In 53 years, I wonder how much has really changed? I see that many FB friends are saying they will go downtown this morning and help with the cleanup. As well as the graffitied walls, there are many windows knocked out, police cars and other parked cars burnt out. Some news outlets are predicting a summer of violence. Why did I think Grand Rapids would be unaffected? I am surely not that naive. People keep screaming about their constitutional rights and yet hardly any of them have read the constitution. Craig and I have because we had to, to become citizens. And this seems a calculated attempt to override the justifiable anger of the persons of color and turn demonstrations into chaos so the real issues are not heard. That is the worst bit. And all the while, the virus is still here, still active, still killing people. Health officials are investigating the potential spread of the coronavirus in central Missouri after a person who attended some of the crowded pool parties at the Lake of the Ozarks over Memorial Day weekend tested positive for the virus. The Camden County Health Department said in a statement Friday it was working with health officials in the area to inform “mass numbers of unknown people” about the person’s diagnosis. Mass numbers! Mass numbers! Listen up people! it isn’t over. All the scientists and the doctors and the researchers are all still formulating theories and ideas and offering predictions and possibilities and probabilities, but when you get right down to it, we’re still here, stuck in the We don’t really know zone. I have never heard some many eminent people say: we don’t really know, but we think,,, In an alternative universe, Craig began painting the kitchen yesterday. This was the second of my projects �There will be photos tomorrow of the finished room. And can I say, its really hard to organize lunch when the kitchen’s being repainted. Yesterday at about 3:30pm I watched the SpaceX rocket Dragon lift off into space and begin its journey to the International Space Station with 2 astronauts inside. As I write I think they’re about 2 hours from docking with the Space Station. It was nerve wracking and exhilarating watching it launch. It went straight up very fast and took 9 minutes to reach beyond Earths atmosphere. You could tell when they reached zero gravity because their feet floated up. It reminded me of the day that they landed on the moon for the first time in 1969. That was my first year teaching and my class and I listened to the broadcast over the speakers at school. I remember looking at the moon that night and like everyone else thinking: there are men up there. What astonished me about yesterday’s launch was that the booster rocket landed safely back on earth - reusable! Wow! And not to overload you but in the Wait, what now? Section: An infection of the blood vessels would explain many of the weird tendencies of the novel coronavirus, like the high rates of blood clots. Endothelial cells help regulate clot formation by sending out proteins that turn the coagulation system on or off. The cells also help ensure that blood flows smoothly and �doesn’t get caught on any rough edges on the blood vessel walls. Finally, infection of the blood vessels may be how the virus travels through the body and infects other organs — something that’s atypical of respiratory infections. Endothelial cells connect the entire circulation [system], 60,000 miles worth of blood vessels throughout our body. Is this one way that Covid-19 can impact the brain, the heart, the Covid toe? Does SARS-CoV-2 traffic itself through the endothelial cells or get into the bloodstream this way? We don’t know the answer to that. So apparently it begins as a respiratory disease but then develops into a blood infection. At least I think that’s what the article said. Here’s the daily Oliver photo to lift our spirits. ��Such lovely smiles! So, today’s flashback: about 7 miles from Brandon is the bigger town of Thetford. Just on the outskirts of Thetford itself is the remains of Thetford Priory. This was a Clunaic monastic house (creating art and caring for the poor). It was founded in 1103 and was dedicated to Our Lady (the Virgin Mary). In the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was closed in 1540 and was one of the last to be dissolved. It is reputed to be haunted and although its a lovely place to wander around on a sunny day, I wouldn’t want to be there at night. ����In the top photo I am walking across the open area. The site was huge and now I don’t remember what every part of the ruins were. However in the second photo I am gazing up at the impressive gatehouse which gives you an idea of the wealth and influence of the priory. In the third photo Craig is reading the plaque at the other entrance to the site and in the last photo, this was the Prior’s house and also accommodation for visitors. If you had money and were traveling in England, monasteries were often safe places to stay overnight, especially if you gave them a little money to cover your stay. Although the visitors rooms (cells) were plain and the beds hard, they didn’t have bedbugs and the food was often better than inns. And travelers felt safer inside the walls with the gate securely locked. Henry VIII viewed monasteries and nunneries as places of wealth to loot for his royal coffers and didn’t consider the relationship between the towns and farms surrounding these religious houses - but that’s a history discussion for another day. Here’s hoping that wherever you are in the world, that you are safe, healthy and heroic. 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_2020-05-31_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-81 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 2020-05-31 Title A name given to the resource Day 81 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/7e713b8a393477cfbcb5871feec84ead.pdf 3cfa0d04dcf95d3f6f707abc3e785b9d PDF Text Text Day 80. by windoworks I can’t even. In the midst of this life altering global pandemic, when entire continents have been brought to their knees, when compassion for your fellow man and deep understanding of the distress and fear we are all experiencing - right across the world, RIGHT ACROSS THE WORLD (yes, I know I’m shouting), this, this was the moment to carry on as normal and smirk into the camera and be filmed while kneeling on another human being’s neck. And it would be something if this was the first time an atrocious act like this had happened and we were all shocked and protested loudly and it never happened again because we all knew better, but no, its normal. It’s not even the new normal, its the same old, same old normal. It’s this strong belief that somehow, the color of my skin matters. You're really smart, for a black person" - I was told once. "Don't worry, she's probably so curious because she's never seen a black boy before" - I was told by a neighbor when I was around 9 years old, about her granddaughter, who was an infant. "If you weren't a black boy, I'd kick the shit out of you" - I was told once when I was 10 or 11 and hadn't delivered the newspaper to my customer's satisfaction. "You speak really well for being, you know, black" - I've been told more than once. "Do your parents know, that he's… (black)" - past girlfriends have been asked. "You're the whitest black person I know" - I've been told as if being adorned with a medal of achievement. "You're not really black, you're really a white man trapped in a black man's body" - I've been told, almost as a term of endearment. "Hey James, can you teach me ebonics?" - I've been asked by co-workers who are now pastors. "Nigger" - I've been called this more than once. These are the words said to the kind, gentle man who lives 2 doors down from me, who adores his wife and daughter (who thinks the little path through the curb garden Craig built, was put there just for her and she walks through it every day) and who is excited for his new daughter, coming in the fall. When I �read this post on FaceBook this morning, it broke my heart. I thought about giving you all the quick lesson in how skin color developed (you can’t help but learn these things when you live with a Big Historian) but I’m not writing my blog to educate. I’m writing this blog to record history as it is happening and is seen through my eyes. We need to do better. From Eric Payne, Grand Rapids Chief of Police: “I want everyone to know I share your concerns, I feel your frustrations and I hear you. Our department’s thoughts and prayers are with the people of Minneapolis and everyone in our community and across the country who are impacted by the events there. We share your anger over the death of Mr. Floyd and we offer our sincere condolences to his family. Our hearts are with community members who are hurting, angry and afraid. We stand with our fellow officers around the country who serve with honor and integrity in asking that our communities do not allow this tragedy to define our profession. While I typically do not comment on an incident in another jurisdiction, I believe this situation needs to be addressed by law enforcement leaders across the country. We must hold all of our employees to the highest of personal and professional standards”. Today I have moved the Oliver photo up. ��Look, you can even see his 2 bottom teeth! The last 2 risk assessments: Going camping: Low risk As far as summer activities go, this is least risky from a virus perspective. You're outdoors and isolated. But, if you're going with a group, be sure you can trust your fellow campers. Have they been socialdistancing and following the guidelines? If not, they could be asymptomatic spreaders of the virus. What alters risk? Of course, risks can creep in, depending on the particulars. Are you camping in an isolated outdoor location with your family? This is the lower risk scenario. It's more dangerous if you're at a crowded campground with a shared restroom and communal picnic areas. Sleeping in tents together with others [not in your household] can certainly be a setup for transmission. Bottom line: The activity itself is low-risk, but the people that you'll be in close contact with during the trip could increase the hazard. Exercising outdoors: Low risk Unless you're playing group sports, exercising outdoors is a good way to burn off steam while staying socially distant. Our experts agree that sports such as golf and tennis are safer than contact sports such as basketball and football. Its probably better to avoid contact sports until we have a better sense of transmission risk. And running? If you're not on a crowded path where people are brushing past each other, that's a great form of exercise right now. What alters risk? The more people involved in the activity, the higher the risk. It's possible to spread the virus when you're in close proximity to others — even if you're asymptomatic — so it's best to wear a mask if you can't stay socially-distanced. The risk depends on the sport. A game like basketball is tricky. You're touching the ball and you're going to be breathing in each other's faces, so perhaps playing only with people in your household is better. Tennis carries a much lower risk because you're far apart on either side. That's definite social distancing. Herd Immunity: this is a term I found confusing but this is a good explanation. London, Madrid and other cities around the world have only a small fraction of the coronavirus cases needed to achieve herd immunity, according to new studies. Experts believe herd immunity — after which new infections will no longer cause large outbreaks — is reached when between 60 percent and 80 percent of the population has contracted the virus. Even New York, the city with the world’s highest known infection rate, is barely a third of the way there, according to the studies. Well that’s concerning. Plus herd immunity is when we don’t have to worry about the virus any more. �Here’s my friend, Merrilyn’s book, Bear Hunt. There is interest from the West Australian State library’s COVID-19 collection and she’s talking to her local library about putting it in the children’s reading room. How exciting! Our walk yesterday. The birdsong and frog croaks were wonderful. ���One of our first day excursions was to Sandringham House in Norfolk. We drove there just after I had fallen down the stairs so I was in a bit of pain for most of the day. Sandringham is the private home of Queen Elizabeth II and it is surrounded by gorgeous gardens and parkland. The Queen spends about 2 months each winter there and it is at a small desk in one of the drawing rooms that she broadcasts her annual Christmas message. She first opened the house and the grounds to the public during the summer months in 1977, so we were able to tour the grounds and the house. There’s also a large tearoom there where we had lunch. ���Parts of today’s post were hard to write. I put a lot in and then took a lot out. It has been 11 and a half weeks of coping, trying to stay safe and healthy and trying to remain cheerful and tamp down the daily anxiety. And now there is the added overwhelming anger and grief across this nation, my adopted home. The terrible question of: how can this keep happening? We have to be so much better. � 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_2020-05-30_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-80 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 2020-05-30 Title A name given to the resource Day 80 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/7cc1418568e266b511cab786d4f1aa1b.pdf bd534e178248e2524f77a70a8f50ef0c PDF Text Text Day 79 by windoworks Well I thought it would be exciting to get to Day 70 and now here we are, barreling down the hill towards Day 100. Unbelievable. I was talking to my counselor yesterday during my now weekly session and at the end we were trying to organize the next session. She has changed her schedule recently so her husband can have some dedicated work-from-home time too. She then offered me a weekly spot for June and I jumped at it before someone else took it. This is a sign of how deeply distressed we all are and how hard it is to cope. She is working a full load! As my neighbor said yesterday: its gotten old now. I thought about the riots that are happening in big cities but especially Minneapolis, but you can read more than enough online. For me, its an example of: every action has a reaction - and many actions have consequences. What I find hard to understand is how something is recorded and the resulting consequence does not fit the action - it falls very short. I do understand that there is one rule for people like me: white, older, privileged, educated. I don’t have the same born to it privilege of a white male (but thats a soapbox for another day). There is another rule for seemly everyone else, depending on the color of your skin. Two things that stay in my mind: every female alive now and every female born any time in the future share the Mitochondrial Eve gene - the matrilineal ancestor. I am related to all these other females through this gene. And I will always be related. The other thing is something a Futurist (look it up) said in a lecture I attended: If we all stand outside at night and join hands with our neighbors, across the world, and gaze up at the stars - how can hate exist? From my trove of notes, ideas, reports etc. Filmmaker Taika Waititi is ambling his way through Roald Dahl's classic novel, James And The Giant Peach, chapter by chapter on YouTube to raise money for COVID-19 relief. This week, he's getting help from Meryl Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch who play the parts of James' miserable, mean aunts. Cate Blanchett and Eddie Redmayne play the magical insects who help James out. each week there are different actors helping. I have only watched Episode One so far but I highly recommend it for everyone, not just children. And on an eewwww note: Rats are growing increasingly aggressive in their hunt for food as restaurants across the US remain shuttered to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned. With many restaurants now only open for takeout services, the bins that used to be filled with �scraps and refuse the rodents once feasted on are much emptier - and they are getting desperate. I think I read that they have begun eating each other to survive. Today’s risk assessments: Going shopping at a mall: Risk varies How risky this is depends on what kind of mall it is, how crowded it is, and how much time you spend there. Crowds with high density lead to substantial increase in risk. The major mitigating factor is that people don't mingle in a single place for long. What alters risk? Outdoor malls are preferable to indoor ones. And empty malls are better than crowded ones. Avoid the food court and go with purpose, not leisure. As much as you may like retail therapy, you should browse online before you go. Know what you're going to pick up or try on. Wear your mask. Go in, look at it. Make your decision and get out. Be alert while you're there to avoid close contact. Maintain your space and try to go at off peak hours.Bring hand sanitizer, and use it frequently, especially if you touch any shared surfaces like handrails or elevator buttons. Going dancing at a bar or nightclub: High risk There is consensus among the experts that going to a club is a very high-risk activity. Crowds, ultra-close contact, singing, sweating, and inhibition-loosening alcohol are a potent cocktail of risk factors. When drinking, people become less compliant with rules, and they may breathe heavier from the dancing — which means more virus is being shed. If there's an infected person in the mix, the virus can spread easily. This is a very high risk situation for an outbreak. Don't go to bars or clubs right now. What alters risk? Nothing makes this a good idea right now. If you want to dance, have a dance party at home with the people in your intimate circle. If it's a small outdoor gathering, dancing under the stars — six feet apart — would be much less risky, too. Tomorrow the last 2 risk assessments: going camping and exercising outdoors. ��I love this photo of Oliver. Here he is, enchanted by the noise and action of the washer - he thinks its better than TV! In Oliver news: the Hand, Foot and Mouth virus seems to be on the wane and he’s eating again. Today’s flashback: after our wonderful week in London, we picked up our leased car and drove north east to the town of Brandon where we had rented a cottage for 5 weeks, beginning in September. What we had rented turned out to be a tiny 2 story flint cottage on a main road out of the town. We were 2 doors up from one of the local pubs and one block over from the horse farms. When I say tiny, I mean tiny. The galley kitchen, living room and bathroom were downstairs and up the narrow twisty stairs was 2 bedrooms, one single and one double. If I left the bedroom curtains open in the early morning, the people upstairs in the double decker buses could see me sitting up in bed. If we left the front door open, people walking past would say hello to us as we were sitting on the couch. I am cured of tiny house living forever. Our flint cottage. Looks quite big, doesn’t it? �Here’s our car parked in front. Now, the cottage looks smaller. It’s built from flint, and Brandon was established as a flint knapper center. The whole area of Suffolk (the county) was a flint industry area for thousands of years from the Neolithic Era. Flint is mined underground and then knapped to produce stone tools etc., and the flat faced stones for building as above. �This is the town sign and you can see flint knappers at work. ��Craig took this photo of the stairs after I fell down them, bruising my back. You can see what I mean by twisty and narrow. And this is the Little Ouse River at the bottom of the Main Street. Many people asked us why Brandon? And we replied, because it seemed central to many other places we wanted to visit. Tomorrow I’ll show you our first week’s adventures, Stay safe, stay healthy, stay brave. � 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_2020-05-29_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-79 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 2020-05-29 Title A name given to the resource Day 79 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/4795162ead284d952e077271685c6301.pdf e7668af725745c881cee15f801c58632 PDF Text Text Day 78. by windoworks It’s a ‘give me a minute’ morning................ okay. Where are we now? In Kent County the average of new cases is holding steady at about 30 a day for the last 3 days, but our deaths are still climbing. This is a result of the cases diagnosed 2-3 weeks ago. I always find that the hardest thing to understand. We won’t know what our actions will result in, for 2-3 weeks. On the national scale, people are beginning to ask “when will it be over?” According to historians, pandemics typically have two types of endings: the medical, which occurs when the incidence and death rates plummet, and the social, when the epidemic of fear about the disease wanes. So when they ask that question they really mean, the social end. More and more, scientists feel that the virus will persist in much the same way that other viruses such as the seasonal flu persists. There’s much discussion of herd immunity which I don’t really understand, there’s even more discussion of a viable vaccine. And this is perhaps the disheartening part: even if the vaccine was perfected and made available tomorrow, could we all afford it? Would there be enough pieces of equipment necessary to vaccinate? (rubber bits etc). How many anti-vaxxers wouldn’t have it? Would there be enough doses for everyone? Even more disturbing, not only were we poorly placed and unprepared for this pandemic, researchers and scientists are saying we should begin preparing for the next pandemic. The next one? But here’s something I hadn’t thought about: as people start returning to work after weeks of sheltering at home, local officials are starting to worry about a return to clogged traffic. Some of that traffic may be from motorists who previously took public transit, but are too apprehensive to do so now. Eve Strother, a lawyer in Boston, says she won't be getting on the T anytime soon because she’s worried about being close to people who refuse to wear masks or follow social distancing guidelines. I really understand that and if GVSU resumes face-to-face classes in the fall, Craig will be driving out to class and back. The Enrichment Committee for the Women’s City Club have begun the big task of switching the next 4 weeks Thursday programs to virtual ones. As a committee we had weekly programs in place for the rest of 2020 and the first 3 months of 2021 - I’m a great believer in planning ahead. From working a year out, we can now only plan a month in advance. We have had discussions of possible parking lot coffee meetings with each car at least 6 feet apart but although we are eager to meet up again, we are uncomfortable at the thought of possible risks. This week on my block we discussed a possible backyard meeting of the book club, but again, that word ‘uncomfortable’ was voiced by some members, including me. I think it is the perfect word. It’s not �aggressive or rude, but it explains your feelings perfectly. I don’t know how long we might all feel uncomfortable. In Australia and New Zealand, life is opening up again, if carefully. In the next few days PM Ardern in NZ may allow gatherings of 100 people as there is no one in hospital with the virus! Unimaginable. In Sydney Australia, 2 high schools were suddenly closed again after 1 student tested positive in each school. In both countries they have a cellphone app which you turn on when enter a premises. This app notifies you if you’ve been in contact with someone who’s positive. In Italy they are opening up museums, but with limited numbers and you have to wear a necklace which vibrates if you are standing too close to someone else. What a clever idea! It’s the same principle as the alarm that sounds when you get too close to the artwork. And remember, this is Italy where they literally locked everyone in their home for weeks, and everyone complied. And to cheer themselves up they leant out their windows and doors and sang to each other. Antidepressants or Tolkien? Look this quiz up online. It’s fun and surprisingly hard and I read all the Tolkien books, and a lot of antidepressant names closely resemble elven names in particular. Risk assessments of today: Staying at a hotel: Low to medium risk The consensus is that staying at a hotel is relatively low risk, especially once you're in your room. It's best to limit your time in the common areas such as the lobby, gym, restaurant and the elevator, where the risk of exposure is higher. What alters risk? Bring disinfecting wipes to wipe down the TV remote and other common surfaces. You might also want to remove the bedspread since it may not be cleaned after every guest. Ask about the hotel's cleaning policies, as many have new COVID-19 protocols. Beware of the elevators. Use the knuckle of your little or ring finger to press the buttons. Other suggestions: Order room service rather than eating at the restaurant, avoid the exercise room, and wear a face covering in public spaces. Getting a haircut: Medium to high risk A haircut involves close contact and breathing, that is extended for several minutes. This is the primary mode of transmission. And cloth masks certainly are not perfect for this. This is one of the highest-risk scenarios on this list, because there's no way to keep six feet from someone cutting your hair. All it takes is one asymptomatic but infected worker and suddenly many customers are at high risk of infection. (To remind you, this happened this week in Springfield, Missouri and 140 people were at risk and had to be tested). What alters risk? The risk is not terribly high if both you and your haircutter wear masks, and COVID-19 is not very prevalent in your area. Look for a salon or barbershop that has (and enforces) policies to protect its employees, like wearing protective gear and sanitizing hands, because by protecting their �employees, they're protecting you. And make sure that your barber or stylist is all business as stopping to chat at close distance is something we all love doing with our barbers normally but this is not the time for it. Tomorrow we’ll look at going shopping at a mall and going dancing at a bar or nightclub. Just so you know, today’s risk assessments were numbers 9 & 10. There are 14 altogether, so we have only 4 left to learn about. An Oliver photo. He hasn’t been a happy little boy lately and although he is grumpy, he still tries to be cheerful. Two days ago he grumbled when Zoe turned her phone around so he was looking at the back of the phone instead of us. He tried to look behind the phone and protested until she turned it back again and then he gave us a big, beautific smile. ��Favorite purple blocks. Maybe its the shape? ��Sitting on the front porch and eating dinner. Still in London. Today these are photos of different days during the week. ��Inside the Imperial War Museum which was Bedlam Hospital at one time. Bethlehem Hospital opened in 1330 and was a psychiatric asylum, It relocated 3 times since then and this building was one of those moves. It’s nickname was Bedlam (a shortening of the name) and that word is now part of the English language meaning: uproar and confusion, referring to the noise inside such an establishment. This is an impressive museum which aims to study the history of modern warfare and wartime experience. Two experiences the visitor can have are the Blitz experience and the WWI trench experience, both excellent. I have to say the cafe inside had exceptional food with many gluten free choices. The London Eye Ferris wheel. We didn’t go on it this time but we had on a previous visit. It moves extremely slowly and gives you a fantastic view of London especially if its a sunny day. �An old horse trough left over from horse and carriage days, now used as a raised garden bed. ��This just caught my eye. I can’t even remember where it was in London. The Thames River with a kayaker. ��About to cross the Millennium Pedestrian Bridge. St Pauls Cathedral is behind us and ahead on the South Bank you can see the facade of the Tate Modern Gallery. We were on our way to dinner before attending a performance of A Midsummer Nights Dream at the Globe Theatre. I’ve written about this performance before. It was a highlight of the London visit for me. This is inside the Globe, waiting for the play to begin. Although the theatre is an exact replica, the atmosphere ims remarkably modern. In Shakespeare’s day there would have been more interest in the food for sale, assignations and business deals than the play - which is why he always had a song and dance number at the end, so that disgruntled patrons didn’t stone the actors or burn down the wooden playhouse. “If we shadows have offended, think on this and all is mended. That you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear” So, no offense - its just a story. On another memorable night we had dinner at an Ottolenghi restaurant just off Regent Street. This had been on my wishlist and we ate, sitting at a communal table and the food was the chefs choice. It was absolutely delicious and fun, right up to moment standing outside on Regent Street when Craig said: my lips and throat are a little numb. After a small panic attack on my part, we went back to the hotel using �the Underground and by the time we reached our room, the numbness had subsided. No more trout (or salmon) for Craig! The 3 W’s: Wear a mask, Wait 6 feet apart and Wash your hands. It’s not even somewhat over. � 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_2020-05-28_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-78 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 2020-05-28 Title A name given to the resource Day 78 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/91b359fd1f8bfddd741906c3d2f8a10d.pdf b0fed4264572c3ad4712fc7f8159baf1 PDF Text Text Day 77. by windoworks Today marks 11 weeks since we began staying in our bubble. The Craig, me and Murphy bubble. So what have I learned? In the first few weeks I had a lot of difficulty sleeping. I would wake up at about 3am and lie there worrying. Then I stopped waking up and began dreaming disturbing dreams instead. That still happens occasionally. I tried grocery shopping, first wearing gloves and then with no gloves but wearing a mask. I only ever shopped in person about 5 times before my anxiety level became so extreme I couldn’t go into any store. I have a friend who has to brave a shop excursion every so often and I see from his FaceBook posts that not everyone is wearing a mask, and it is upsetting. Yesterday, on our daily drive to calm me down (Craig says: we’ll just keep driving until your anxiety levels come down, and usually they do), we stopped at a little pop up farm stall where Craig got out to see if they had tomatoes. Big tomatoes are hard to come by through Instacart, cherry tomatoes are all they offer mostly. As he stood there 6 feet back and masked, waiting his turn, the woman in front of him, no mask, breathing over the produce, leant across the booth to write with her finger on the assistant’s cellphone. The assistant (a high school graduate), then used her finger to close the transaction. And there we are. No understanding by either person of how the virus is transmitted. The assistant’s very next action was to pull her mask down, touching her face. Yes, he did buy the tomatoes, with cash and waiving the change, and we did wash them carefully once we got home. We wash or spray and wipe all the groceries that are delivered, all online deliveries and the mail each day. I have no real idea how long the virus survives on such items or even how much there is on an object. We work on the ‘better safe than sorry’ principle. It helps me sleep at night. Stats: Michigan: 54,365 cases and 5,223 deaths. Kent County: 3,420 cases and 72 deaths. We are still increasing here in Kent County. Craig is receiving daily emails from Grand Valley, endlessly discussing what classes will or will not look like, online or face-to-face but reduced in time and students, or maybe a mix of both (hybrid teaching). I believe that through all this planning, they, like everyone else, have no idea of what will happen next. And here’s an interesting development: A new USA Today/Ipsos poll shows that “1 in 5 teachers say they are unlikely to go back to school if their classrooms reopen in the fall, a potential massive wave of resignations.” The majority of teachers are women. They have not lost their love of teaching; they are understandably afraid. And they are not alone. �“A separate poll of parents with at least one child in grades K-12 finds that 6 in 10 say they would be likely to pursue at-home learning options instead of sending back their children this fall.” So what does this mean for universities and community colleges? I wonder. And here’s a really interesting development under the ‘what now?’ category: Most surprising was evidence that the lungs of people attacked by the SARS-CoV-2 virus grew new blood vessels. “The lungs from patients with covid-19 had significant new vessel growth,” the researchers wrote, a discovery they described as “unexpected.” Speculation states that may have been an attempt by the lungs to pass more oxygen to hypoxic tissue and that may be one of the things that gets people better. By the way, this discovery was made by autopsy, in case you wondered. Here are 5 things to keep from this lockdown experience: 1. Keep zooming, walking and biking, especially the exercise and fresh air part. 2. Keep making grocery lists. This encourages us to use food thoughtfully and not waste it as we might have done before. Craig and I have become really adept as using up leftovers. 3. Make meat the exception, not the rule. This is a hard one, but all forecasts point to meat scarcities in a couple of months due to the devastating numbers of meat packers who have tested positive right across the country - The number of Tyson Foods employees with covid-19 has exploded from less than 1,600 a month ago to more than 7,000 today, according to a Washington Post analysis. Meat companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on protective gear, paid leave and ventilation systems. Despite the safety precautions, the industry has still seen a significant surge in cases, showing how difficult it is to get back to normal, even in essential fields such as food processing. 4. Keep avoiding needless spending. Not so much impulse buying especially online. The hardest thing about online shopping is finding exactly what you’re looking for. So far I haven’t made many mistakes. 5. Trust science. Hugely, hugely important. Did I go to college for all those years, do the research and continue to keep up on new developments in my field? No, I didn’t. Instead I trust scientists who did - just like I trust pilots to fly a jumbo jet safely, or a dentist to fix my teeth, or a plumber or an electrician - you get the picture. So yesterday we drove out to Grand Valley, through the campus and into the Grand Ravine County Park behind GVSU. Craig often walks there at lunchtime on school days, but it was the first time I’d been there. �It was a gorgeous but hot day so I stayed in the car in the a/c but Craig got out and took some photos of the Grand River. The river is very high and there is significant flooding along the length of the river which begins on the East side of Michigan and flows right across and empties into Lake Michigan at Grand Haven. It is the longest river in Michigan. Look at the trees on the far bank, submerged to the foliage. Today’s risk factors: Letting a friend use your bathroom: Low risk Landon doesn't think it's a big risk: "What happens in the bathroom is going to be sucked out of the bathroom ventilation and you can clean all the hard surfaces really easily." Miller agrees: "You can run the fan, leave the door open after (so air flows), and clean the bathroom later. And if you use the bathroom after they do, just wash your hands." What alters risk? It's possible that your friend is infected but asymptomatic, says Janowski. "It would be reasonable to decontaminate the bathroom after a friend uses it, including cleaning the high touch surfaces of the door, toilet, and sink." �Going to a vacation house with another family: Low risk Experts said that if both families have been quarantining and limiting their exposure to others, this is pretty safe. "If one family is very active or parents have higher exposure jobs, then the risk increases," Miller says. Landon thinks this arrangement could be a good idea, especially if the house is "in the woods where you're not going to have a lot of contact with other people," she says. What alters risk? Landon suggests talking with the other family beforehand, to make sure you share the same expectations for the precautions everyone will take in the two weeks before arrival and while you're there. Ensure that no one has signs of illness — if they do, they need to stay home. Miller recommends cleaning the major surfaces in the house on arrival. "And the more that people can reduce exposure in the days leading up to the trip, the better," he adds. Tomorrow we’ll look at staying at a hotel and getting a haircut. I just put this in because its a beautiful photo of Auckland New Zealand at sunset looking across the bays to downtown. Thanks Zar. ��Oliver, in the kitchen with his favorite kitchen toy - a whisk. Apparently you comb your hair with it. Today’s flashback: Hampton Court. �����The top photo: the entrance to Hampton Court. It was built in 1515 for Cardinal Wolsey, who was a favorite of Henry VIII. In 1529, when the Cardinal began to fall from favor, he gave his palace to Henry, hoping to get back in Henry’s good graces - sadly, it didn’t work. Henry loved Hampton Court and extended it to house all his retinue. Hampton Court and St James’ Palace are the only two surviving palaces that Henry owned. Since we last visited, I think the palace had been further restored and we had a lovely day there. The portrait in the second photo is of Henry himself. It’s large and it is hung, halfway up a staircase and he gazes imperiously down at you as you walk up. In the third photo, we came into the Great Hall just as a play was happening in which Thomas Culpepper was being arrested for having an affair with Queen Catherine Howard, Henry’s fifth wife. At that time Henry was 49 years old, obese, glutinous and self indulgent. Catherine was 17 years old. She lasted 1 year or so before falling from grace, being stripped of her title and subsequently beheaded. It is said that her ghost runs screaming down the corridor towards Henry’s chambers some nights at Hampton Court, begging for forgiveness. As I’ve never been there at night, I can’t say if that’s true. �The fourth photo is of the palace kitchen. How many years has the smoke caked on the wall above the main fireplace? The last photo is of the huge walled kitchen garden, still producing fruit and vegetables for the cafe inside the palace. I had a long talk to a gardener and with the excellent lunch we ate in the cafe, that all made for a wonderful day - and the weather was perfect. So remember, act as though you have COVID-19, but keep on 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_2020-05-27_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-77 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 2020-05-27 Title A name given to the resource Day 77 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/6936c10974a4575d674d92718e732682.pdf b596555aa43fc798335277d40d52a750 PDF Text Text Day 76. by windoworks It’s 7:30 in the morning and Craig has taken Murphy for a walk before the heat of the day strikes. She is booked in to Wash and Wags next Monday for some daycare time before a proper bath and a much needed haircut. In the meantime she is suffering in the heat. Yesterday it reached the upper 80s and today the temperature will reach 91F (30-31C). Thank goodness Craig put the a/c in the bedroom and another one in the living room. At least we are sleeping okay. Yesterday a friend sent me a link to a NYT article about Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Included was a link to the first online video she made on the day they announced the lockdown. From the article: Pandemics are often described as crises of communication, when leaders must persuade entire populations to suspend their lives because of an invisible threat. Watching Ms. Ardern on Facebook, her favored conduit, is a lesson in rhetorical blending: epidemiology brightened with empathy, law leavened with mom jokes. And it has been strikingly effective. Ms. Ardern helped coax New Zealanders — “our team of five million,” she says — to buy into a lockdown so severe that even retrieving a lost cricket ball from a neighbor’s yard was banned. Now the country, despite some early struggles with contact tracing, has very nearly stamped out the virus, exiting isolation with just 21 deaths and a few dozen active cases. PM Arden’s advice: act as though you have COVID-19. How simple is that! New Zealand breeds tough, independent women who seem to rise to the top more easily than in other countries. Perhaps it is that isolation at the bottom of the world. And its not just women, but people in all kinds of occupations: Ernest Rutherford (nuclear physics); Helen Clark (first female prime minister); Hone Heke (first Maori Chief to sign the Treaty of Waitangi); Sir Edmund Hillary (first person to scale Mt Everest); Katherine Mansfield (most famous NZ author); Dr Truby King (best known for the Plunket Society focusing on the health and nutrition of babies); Kate Sheppard (figurehead of the suffragette movement); Jonah Lomu (a rugby all time legend); Sir Peter Jackson (I’m just putting Lord of the Rings here); Sir Colin Meads ( Player of the Century). You can see with 2 rugby players in this list that NZ has a strong affinity with sport. As a teenager I remember attending international rugby games - I saw the British Lions, the South African Springboks and the French Roosters play the New Zealand All Blacks. I wonder how many names you recognized. Stats: Kent County had a total of 3,385 cases yesterday and 68 deaths. The US deaths have risen to almost 100,000 and the experts are saying this may be underreported - there may be as many as 130,000. �With a freeing up of different levels in different states, here’s one concern: experts in Tennessee are also concerned about people from other states beginning to flock to Nashville and Memphis on summer vacations. If a surge happens, the tricky part will be putting the toothpaste back in the tube by shutting down again - as one expert noted. Today there are many stories of people flocking to pools and beaches with some states providing self distancing props and some not bothering. In some states, police and sheriffs were brought in to help address the ensuing chaotic situation. And when did wearing a mask become an infringement on my rights? In a state that set itself up as a guinea pig experiment: Meanwhile in Missouri 140 clients at a hair salon in Missouri have now potentially been exposed to COVID-19 after a second hairstylist at the location tested positive for the coronavirus. On Friday, the city of Springfield said 91 people had been exposed to the coronavirus after a stylist worked for eight days while showing symptoms. Among the 91 were 84 clients and seven employees. Now, 56 more clients have been “potentially directly exposed,” the city said Saturday, explaining that the second stylist at the Great Clips salon tested positive and worked five days while “experiencing very mild symptoms.” As Springfield health officials continue to trace the contacts of the stylists, the city is grappling with other workers at client-facing jobs testing positive for COVID-19, including at a Walmart, a gym, and a Dollar General. Not visiting Missouri any time soon. Today’s risk assessment: An outdoor celebration such as a wedding with more than 10 guests: Medium to high risk Family-oriented celebrations are usually a summer tradition, but they come with a lot of risk right now. Many weddings have been postponed, and with good reason. "Outdoors reduces the risk, but as people are celebrating and drinking, it seems like they may not social distance as readily," says Abraar Karan, the Harvard physician. "These types of events end up being large crowds where people are having extended face to face conversations." The larger the guest list, the greater the potential that one of them is infected, says Kimberly Powers, the UNC epidemiologist. What alters risk? The danger varies greatly depending on the size of the gathering and how closely people gather. If you are considering hosting a celebration, make it a small one, with mostly local guests. "Bringing people from other communities," is high risk, says Landon at the University of Chicago. "If people have to travel by car, by plane from other places, you're really asking for it." And really think twice about inviting your relatives, particularly older family members or those with underlying conditions. People may feel pressure to attend, even though it's hazardous to their health — �and even more so if you emphasize that you're going to try to make it safe, says Landon. One of the largest clusters of deaths from the virus in Chicago occurred after a funeral in which one of the attendees spread it to many of his family members. Using a public restroom: Low to medium risk Restrooms have been designed to prevent disease transmission, says Landon: "There are all sorts of things that you can catch from other people's poop, and you almost never do because they're set up with all hard surfaces that can be cleaned." The risk depends on the number of local COVID-19 cases and how clean the bathroom is, says Janowski at Washington University, noting that a bathroom involves multiple high-touch surfaces. There isn't yet sufficient data to know if there's risk from toilet flushes aerosolizing the virus. Landon says that other viruses, like norovirus, can be aerosolized by flushing, but norovirus doesn't often spread that way as long as bathrooms are cleaned. The CDC says it's "unclear whether the virus found in feces may be capable of causing COVID-19." What alters risk: Miller says the main risk comes from restrooms that are small, busy, and poorly ventilated — like "those restrooms in a gas station off the highway where the restroom is outside." Choose a bathroom that looks clean and is well stocked with supplies like paper towels, soap and toilet paper. Avoid bunching up in a line to use the toilet or staying there long, if you're within six feet of others. Wash your hands after you go, and sanitize them if you need to touch any surfaces after that. Tomorrow we look at letting a friend use your bathroom and going to a vacation house with another family. I hope you’re finding these risk assessments as useful as I am. And in totally unrelated news: when you wake up hungry and there's nothing to eat, the most sensible thing to do is acquire snacks. In this, bumblebees are no different from humans. If they wake early from hibernation to find a scarcity of pollen, the insects have a cunning way to force plants to flower. Using their mandibles and proboscises, bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) chew holes in plant leaves, causing them to bloom weeks earlier than they usually would, in turn supplying the bees with food. How clever. And even though they’re fat, they fly because of the way they move their wings and other complicated aerodynamics. While I’m on the subject: have you ever noticed how much a large airplane resembles a duck coming in to land? Nose up, wings turned up and wheels down like splayed feet? All thats missing is the splash as the duck hits the water. New Oliver developments: still suffering from Hand, Foot and Mouth but the regular dosing of baby painkillers is helping, along with some big daytime naps. And.... one of his top teeth has pushed through! ��A new hat from Uncle Asher. Yesterday on a walk, Craig and Murphy came across this: ��A big branch had snapped off and fallen across several parked cars. �More chalk art. �Another view of the back garden. And today: London! We stayed in London for a week before heading out to our month long rental in the countryside. London was, of course, its usual interesting self. ��Trafalgar Square. ��This is a Mews which is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them. Nowadays the carriage houses and stables underneath are all converted into apartments. ��The Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. This was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Victoria reigned for 63+ years, only beaten now by Queen Elizabeth II who has currently reigned for 67 years. ��This is the coronation portrait of Elizabeth I. She never thought she would survive long enough to reach the throne but she ruled, fairly and prosperously, for 45 years. She never married because she wanted to rule in her own right and so left no heir. She established Protestantism in England and defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. She had a terrible temper which she inherited from her father Henry VIII. More London tomorrow. One last thought for the day: As New Yorkers fled their apartments in recent weeks, many abandoned house plants outside their apartment buildings. In response, plant caretakers of all kinds, from good Samaritans to hired professionals, are dealing with the remnants: One plant enthusiast — who chose not to leave the city out of concern for his 60 plants — is adopting some of the plants that people have left behind on the curb. So remember - act as though you have COVID-19. � 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_2020-05-26_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-76 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 2020-05-26 Title A name given to the resource Dy 76 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/866a34e1881ff832afdc8f20d0d24f90.pdf 17152ff82529768e15ed904d7d6c1bfe PDF Text Text Day 75 by windoworks Every day I do research. I read all kinds of articles and stories and I watch many different programs, video clips etc on tv and online. It’s as if I have to know and this morning I found this quote online: I feel better when I’m informed. That’s my ironic happy place, just knowing what’s going on. It’s stressful, terrifying, horrifying and heartbreaking, but I just need to know. And that describes me perfectly during this pandemic: I feel better when I’m informed. So in a long expected event, the pandemic has begun moving from the big urban hotspots and like patchwork, is appearing in rural areas across America. To epidemiologists and physicians, this checkerboard spread was all very predictable. It was never a question of whether the virus would hit rural America, but when. Many of these communities are isolated and hard to reach. They were largely spared from the disease shutting down their states — until, suddenly, they weren’t. Rural counties now have some of the highest rates of covid-19 cases and deaths in the country, topping even the hardest-hit New York City boroughs and signaling a new phase of the pandemic — one of halting, scattered outbreaks that could devastate still more of America’s most vulnerable towns as states lift stay-at-home orders. Here in Kent County, the numbers continue to slowly rise. In April we had a small number of cases (its hard to read the Kent County graph exactly) probably about 20 or so and the count of confirmed cases yesterday was 3.359. The large majority of these are here in Grand Rapids. Dr London says we are doing a lot more testing and we have the capability to do a lot more. In some places in the world, you just have to be 18 years or older and you can walk in for a test anytime. Not here. Here you still have to be okayed by a doctor or a hospital. If we have almost 3 and a half thousand confirmed cases with limited testing - how many do we really have? As I write this it is Memorial Day Weekend Monday. Usually there are parades, concerts, picnics, camping out - the list is endless. This year most of our block has stayed home (its hard to tell if people don’t come outside). We have had careful backyard gatherings, spaced sidewalk parties, and another paddling pool has appeared in a front yard complete with parent lifeguards. It’s not the usual Memorial Day Weekend, but its the best we can do. Yesterday afternoon, after two intensive days, Craig finished painting the main bathroom. When looking at the photos, bear in mind that the previous owners of the house had painted the upper walls a deep charcoal grey. After 17+ years, I felt it was time for a change and Craig obliged me. ���I really like it - and look, the curtain is back on the window! It was an exhausting job and yesterday the temperature reached 83F (26-27C) so Craig needs a week off before repainting the kitchen. To continue the risk factor for summer gatherings, today we read about church services and beaches and pools. 3. Attending a religious service indoors: High risk Worship services involve people from different households coming together indoors, for an extended time. "All of the ingredients are there for the potential for a lot of people becoming infected in the short amount of time," says Kimberly Powers, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She points to outbreaks linked to churches: In one, 35 out of 92 people who attended a service at a rural Arkansas church developed COVID-19. Singing — whether from the pews or the choir — is high risk, several experts noted, citing a study of a choir practice in Washington state where over half of attendees became infected. What alters risk: If people are appropriately socially distanced, wear masks and avoid singing, it may reduce the risk, Karan says. Also avoid any shared worship items like hymnals, Janowski adds.Risk goes down if places of worship adapt, Guzman-Cottrill says. "My parish began having in-person services last week," she says. The church had advance sign-ups to limit attendance to 25 people. Attendees were required to be healthy, wear face coverings and sit at least six feet apart. 4 . Spending the day at a popular beach or pool: Low risk As long as you can stay socially distanced, this could be a pretty safe activity, our experts say. The water itself is not a risk. "The sheer volume of water will dilute out the virus, making the water a highly unlikely source of infection," says Janowski. What alters risk? The key question is how close are you to others? "Can you ensure that you can stay six feet [or more] from anyone outside of your designated family?" asks Rebecca Katz, director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center. Watch out for crowds at entry points and bathrooms. Maintain social distance both on land and in the water.Landon says her biggest worry about pools and beaches is kids. At pools, "they make friends with everyone," she says. "If you want to be able to see grandma for Sunday lunch, because that's what's really important to your family, then you don't want your kids running around with other people's kids." She says a beach is better than a pool in terms of space. Go early in the morning or late afternoon when crowds are lower, and look for beaches that mark off spots for people to set up their areas. Tomorrow: weddings and public restrooms. And here’s an unusual way of showing appreciation: Here in Colorado, at 8 p.m., everybody opens their doors and windows or steps into their backyard, and kids and adults, they howl like wolves. That’s our way of recognizing all the health-care workers. �After a very sleepless night for Zoe, with Oliver waking and getting very upset at regular intervals (he has little sores or blisters in his mouth), yesterday was a slow sleepy day with naps cuddled next to mummy and also a little musical entertainment. West Side Story was the day’s choice. Here’s hoping to a slow recovery. ���Because music always makes us feel better. So after a month, Berlin drew to a close. I loved Berlin and I didn’t really expect to. Why? I can hear you asking. I’m not sure but I did fall in love with it. Neither of us speak German and our landlord didn’t speak English but his partner did. It was only towards the end of our stay that we found out that he ran the business and she was a forensic pathologist! We never did have a chance to ask her about her job. When the taxi arrived to take us to the airport for our flight to London, they came outside to say farewell and gave us both little gifts. We were astonished, it was so sweet. I would go back and stay again tomorrow (but not right now). Grocery shopping was an interesting experience and the women behind the checkout counters recognized us and always kindly helped us. Eating out was exciting - you were never quite sure what you were going to get. The Hauptbahnhof had a wonderful sushi train restaurant that we loved. (Sushi train restaurants are big in Australia). The food comes by on different colored plates - cheap to expensive. You take the plate off the train as it passes and at the end of the meal the waiter adds up the plates and thats what you pay. We did an enormous amount of walking. I think I lost a few pounds and I did feel fitter. The only downside was that all tv was in German except fo the BBC news which got tiresome quickly (they repeat the same stories over and over). We figured out how to link Craig’s laptop to the tv and we just watched movies on Netflix. ��Napoleon’s Hat in the History Museum. His hat! Extensive wolf sculpture which suddenly appeared outside the Hauptbahnhof one day and then just as suddenly disappeared about a week later. I didn’t show you photos from the Reichstag as I already did in an earlier post. �And this is it. Our last night in Berlin, waiting at our table at a restaurant near our apartment. It was hot and we chose to sit outside with the traffic whizzing by. It was sad and exciting. London was our next stop. Stay safe and healthy - it isn’t 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_2020-05-25_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-75 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 2020-05-25 Title A name given to the resource Day 75 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/0946aeafe5ed8062da31408d284cf8c0.pdf c1771409d26921d259939faaa35fbcb5 PDF Text Text Day 74. by windoworks 75 days! That includes the first post which didn’t have a number. And congratulations, Reader, if you stayed with me the whole time. So on Friday morning this happened: One day after loosening social and business restrictions, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday afternoon extended the state’s stay-at-home order to curb the coronavirus pandemic through June 12. She also extended the state of emergency that enables the executive orders, including the stay-at-home order, through June 19, citing a recent Court of Claims ruling that determined she has the power to do so without the Legislature’s approval. Both orders, which she first made in March, were set to expire next Thursday. “While the data shows that we are making progress, we are not out of the woods yet,” So, another 21 days, and who knows what will happen then? The state of emergency is extended to June 19, one week later, so we could be at home for 28 more days. While I grumble, two things are true: (1) I’m not going out in crowded public places any time soon and (2) I think she’s doing a brilliant job. Stats: yesterday Kent County recorded an increase of 77 new cases to bring us to a total of 3,308 and 2 new deaths to a total of 67. If you look out the window it looks perfectly normal. It’s early on Sunday morning, so there’s not too many people out and about. The weather has turned and the warmer weather of summer is here. Yesterday as I was sitting on my porch swing, a tiny cottonwood fluff sailed past me. The fluff is part of the seed produced by the female trees. Male cottonwood trees don’t produce fluff covered seeds. Unfortunately, I seem to be allergic to the fluff and at this time of the year it gathers in huge drifts on roads, sidewalks etc. it is a short but intensive onslaught and is the first real sign that summer is approaching. I also find ragweed hard to cope with, but that’s a story for the fall. It’s Memorial Day Weekend and across the US, people have flocked to the beaches. Some beaches are trying to enforce social distancing and some states seem to have given up. It’s a bit nerve wracking waiting for 2 weeks to see if this causes a surge or not. All 50 states have begun reopening to some extent and all 50 still have active virus counts. It’s hard to close an entire country down as New Zealand did. It certainly helps if you are 2 small islands in the middle of the ocean. But while New Zealand is reopening for citizens, the ports and airports are not open to overseas visitors. Because here’s the thing - you can pretty much control or eradicate the virus in your country, but the moment you allow overseas visitors, you might be letting the virus in again, and thats virgin territory for COVID-19. Whenever I think about this I remember the ad for Mucinex (I think), where the disgusting little green bacteria people move in to clean sinuses and take up residence. Remember that? I found some explanations for what is high, medium or low risk activities for summer. There’s quite a few, so I will add 2 a day for your interest. Here goes: �1. A BYOB backyard gathering with one other household: Low to medium risk Meeting in a spacious outdoor area with only a small group isn't too risky. But our experts say that safety here depends on who you invite and what their behaviors have been. "If you have a gathering with one other household that [has] followed social distancing, this would be a low-risk activity," says Dr. Judith Guzman-Cottrill, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Oregon Health & Science University. What alters risk? To lower risk, avoid sharing food, drinks or utensils — make it a BYO everything party. Dr. Andrew Janowski, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Washington University in St. Louis, notes the food itself isn't the risk, but touching shared dishes or utensils could be. Watch out for drinking, says Dr. Abraar Karan, a physician and public health researcher at Harvard Medical School, as it can make people sloppy about social distancing. It also increases the odds that people will want to use your bathroom. "Once you move into the house with others, the risk profile goes up," he says. 2: Eating indoors at a restaurant: Medium to high risk Indoor dining "is still amongst the riskier things you can do," Landon warns. The trouble is, says Miller, "people tend to linger in restaurants. So even if spacing is okay, the duration of exposure is longer." Also, he says, talking "appears to lead to some release of the virus." Karan notes that one outbreak in Guangzhou, China took place in a restaurant with no windows and poor ventilation, and the air conditioning appears to have blown droplets between tables. What alters risk? Janowski says the risk level depends on how well the restaurant has adapted for the pandemic. Eateries should reduce and space out seating, require servers to wear masks, and offer easy access to hand-washing stations. They should also provide single-use options for condiments so you don't have to touch shared ones, says Janowski. And they should close all self-serve areas like soda fountains or buffet tables. If you do go to a restaurant, look for outdoor seating. Landon says she would only go with members of her household, because "I don't want to have to take my mask off in the close proximity of a bunch of other people." And here is a sign of how frustrating it can be dealing with the public: �Oh dear! And here’s another document but completely unrelated, just to make you laugh: �I’m trying to imagine a turnip shepherd. Nope! Today is Day Two of the Great Bathroom Repainting. Two things have become apparent: (1) everything I normally use is on top of the chest of drawers in the spare room and I only remember that when I’m IN the bathroom and (2) painting necessitated the taking down of the bathroom curtain which means one house behind us can look in and see me sitting on the toilet. Hmmm. Well, Craig’s doing a beautiful job and we’re on track to have it all finished and furnishings etc restored by this evening. I really don’t mind, I’d just like the curtain back on the window. Later next week, Craig will repaint the kitchen. I’m excited but I have no idea how hard it will be to produce food during the painting. Our trees are slowly opening their leaves and the back garden is very pretty. The clematis on the arch are growing happily but after our long, confusing phone conversation with the gardener at the garden center, the first beautiful blossom is pink and not white as promised. I console myself that it is gorgeous, both plants are healthy and they will float like pink stars in the sky. Stop laughing Mary Alice, I can hear you. ��An Oliver update. Yesterday when we FaceTimed with Zoe and Oliver he was very grumpy which we all attributed to overtiredness due to daycare. It turns out that he has Hand, Foot and Mouth virus ( also due to daycare). It’s extremely contagious and he’s off daycare for a week. I have no memory of Zoe getting it as a child, so she may catch it from him as well. I am embarrassed to say that my frequent answer to questions like these, seems always to be: I don’t remember, which is very frustrating for Zoe. Anyway, here’s a photo from a happier day. ��Mmmm. Egg. Good to play with as well as eat. A new adventure in Berlin. One day we booked to go on a day trip on a boat on the Mugglesee. This is a lake in the eastern suburbs of Berlin. It has an area of 2.9 square miles. So we boarded the boat at lunchtime and then we were off for about 3 and a half hours cruising up the lake. It was hot and sunny and the commentary was in German only so we had to rely on other kind bilingual passengers who occasionally translated for us. Apart from the opportunity to sit up in the broiling sun on the top deck, there was the other opportunity of eating and drinking for the entire trip. We sailed along large expanses of lake, as well as some canals. We saw lots of water birds, kayakers, canoeists and at least one other tourist boat. ����We had to sail along the river to get to the lake and then we got off at a different wharf to catch a bus back home. We got off at Kopenick which has a tower of interest, but we found a welcome cafe for tea and a snack. The trip home was long and arduous, probably because I was tired and sunburnt but the boat trip was worth it! Tomorrow then. � 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_2020-05-24_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-74 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 2020-05-24 Title A name given to the resource Day 74 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/ccfab6134b66229a7e9cf81fe3e25999.pdf 428c289079dc1c5b40631c13e4e9aba5 PDF Text Text Day 73. by windoworks Well, here we are again then. So last week I broke down and decided I had to try to trim my hair. Now this is a lot harder than you’d think. I tried to mimic my hairdresser’s methods and I did quite well with the sideburns and my bangs (fringe). Then, after much agonizing and careful instruction, I let Craig trim the very back of my hair at the neckline. Very stressful but I think he did a good job and overall I don’t feel shaggy anymore. Of course, the grey streaks keep creeping forward and I can’t do much about that. When I finally do get to a hairdresser, I think I’ll have them dye my hair silver, so if we’re confined again, I’ll just have to keep it trimmed. So where are we? The US has 1.64M cases and coming up on 100,000 deaths (rising as predicted). So here’s what we find hard to understand. The disease progresses slowly. May’s declining cases are the result of April’s physical distancing, and the consequences of May’s reopenings won’t be felt until June at the earliest. This long gap between actions and their consequences makes it easy to learn the wrong lessons. The pandemic is shaped by many factors. Social distancing matters, but so do testing capacity, population density, age structure, wealth, societal collectivism, and luck. … No single factor can explain differences across nations or regions. The disease spreads unevenly. “Super-spreader events,” which are rare but pivotal, become especially important when cases dip. … If a state reopens and sees no immediate spike in cases, is that because it was justified, because insufficient time has passed, because other things went right, or because unlucky super-spreader events haven’t yet happened? In a patchwork, these questions will be asked millions of times over, and many answers will be wrong. So to lighten the mood, here’s social distancing done well on a French beach. Now thats clever! �And in news from far down at the other end of the world: New Zealand has come up with a creative way to boost tourism: a four-day work week to encourage domestic travel. While the decision on whether to institute a shorter work week will be between employer and employee, Ardern encouraged businesses to think about this option, "because it certainly would help tourism all around the country." Packing our bags now. Ever since this isolation began (and we’re in the 11th week now), the children on the other side of the road from us, in 3 houses, have played and played and played. Some days they built forts on one front lawn, some days they race up and down the sidewalk in wagons, on windy days they have run up the middle of the street with kites and recently, there must be a pool up in one of the backyards as small children have appeared with swim suits, bare feet and towels. Every evening a parent will walk along the block collecting child size deck chairs, blankets, and an assortment of tricycles, wagons and such, and then its all over for another day. All the smaller children will remember of this time, will be that it was an endless summer of playing and that makes my heart glad. Yesterday Craig harvested the last of the red radish micro greens and I washed them, trimmed them and then bagged them up. We have shared them with 3 other neighbors and everyone has enjoyed them. As �John said when I told him this was the last: we’ll just look forward to next spring then. (I’m smiling as I type this, what a lovely memory from such a difficult time). My sister-in-law, Kym, who lives in Canberra, Australia, sent me a link this morning to her choir doing a virtual performance of “Your Song”. As she said, it made her realize what this virus has robbed us all of. I can’t put the video on this blog (some things are just beyond me) but it was lovely to see her face among the other choir members. Sadly, choir rehearsals are one of those most risky events because of all the air expelled and then taken in again. In Midland where the flooding was dreadful, here is a photo taken before the water began to recede: Both dams that collapsed are privately owned by the same man and both didn’t pass inspection. Sadly he didn’t bother to fix the problems - but I guess he’ll have to now, and pay compensation. I debated about this next photo. When he decided to visit a Ford plant the other day, trump refused to wear a mask, mainly because he didn’t want a photo taken. In one part of the plant, masks were obligatory and so he agreed. Someone managed this shot, much to his chagrin. �See, its not that bad with a mask! The last of the notes from popular tourist destinations overseas; Venice: It’s a good thing, we don’t want to go back to how things were before. Overtourism was the norm, but it wasn’t normal, the city was overwhelmed, it was like a transumanza. We had to deal with tourists at every waking hour, everything revolved around them. I live in Cannareggio, one of the less touristy neighborhoods, and even here Venetians were outnumbered. I used to have breakfast at the local cafe every morning, and it would be four locals and ten tourists from the bed-and-breakfasts nearby, that’s how my days began. Around St. Mark, it was really all hit-and-run tourism, people staying here one of two days, always in a hurry, with eight minutes to eat lunch. Prague: You just see the beauty of the city. I read this also somewhere on social media: People were commenting that they notice different details in the city now. For me, Prague seems greener, and I would say its beauty really came out. For example, I was looking down from Petrin Hill, and I had the feeling that Prague itself, that the buildings and everything just look brighter. I don’t even know how to describe it. �Galápagos Islands; This is the Galápagos we dreamed of. People are waking up to the revival of the islands, having a cap on tourists. We are already surviving without any activity. Every day, you have the freezer truck with the fishermen, giving away fish. Whoever can afford to pay, pays. What beauty have you seen revealed where you live? Today’s Oliver treat: ��I think I remember when that brown hoodie was purchased. Oh and the new top tooth is almost here! Today’s flashback. This is a mix of food and sightseeing. ��Potsdamer Platz. This area was totally destroyed during the Second World War and was then bisected by the Wall. Now it is a busy building site with this impressive atrium in the middle. ��There are cafes and shops all around and you can sit in the middle, drink coffee and watch people passing by. This is KaDeWe in the dining hall area on the 6th floor. KaDeWe is short for Kaufhaus des Westens (Department Store of the West). This is the second largest department store in Europe after Harrods. You ride up on the escalators through floors of expensive and exclusive clothes, shoes, hats, jewelry, makeup etc. and reach this floor with many different food stations and speciality counters. The range of cuisines is impressive and at each station, it is cooked in front of you. We had several delicious lunches there - this time it was excellent Chinese food. ��This is the remnants of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church completed in 1906. It was badly bombed in 1943. It is a famous landmark in Berlin and has been nicknamed “The Hollow Tooth”. Every Christmas they hold an extensive Christmas Market around the church and in December 2016, 4 months after we left Berlin, the Christmas Market was devastated by a big truck driven by a terrorist, through the shoppers, killing 11 people and wounding more than 70. Since then, extensive anti terror security measures have been put in place around the church. ���Under the remaining part of the church is this room with these amazing murals. Have a wonderful, safe, healthy Memorial Day weekend. � 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_2020-05-23_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-73 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 2020-05-23 Title A name given to the resource Day 73 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/0e6296a8f51da7b0cc6d08ace4d50de6.pdf 58f137288aba10a8437105fc21f96748 PDF Text Text Day 72. by windoworks I don’t know where to begin. Yesterday Governor Whitmer said we could have gatherings of 10 or less (but masked and still 6 feet apart), and all retail could open but smaller stores could only have 10 customers inside at one time. Also, stores should use an appointment schedule. I was overwhelmed. I had just gotten used to being inside or safely outside, masked and well away from others and it felt like this would be my life from now on and oh! It’s changing again. I read about American Eagle Outfitters which seems to be the gold standard for pandemic times shopping. They seem to have thought of almost everything, even down to the clothes that a customer tries on and rejects. These go in a bin to be steam cleaned before being returned to the shelves. No more lingering or browsing - just straight in with your wish list, purchase (stringent precautions there) and straight out again. It might be more fun online. Michigan anti-lockdown activists extended their protests on Wednesday by orchestrating a barber shop on the state capitol lawn. Few people wore masks, no one took temperatures, and little social distancing was seen. Seven barbers were ticketed for disorderly conduct for refusing to stop. I believe the tickets were $1000 apiece. This morning I watched Madeleine Albright (first female Secretary of State who served under Bill Clinton). She spoke from her home and she looked much the same as she always has, 83 years old now and timeless. She likened this pandemic to being a child in London during the Second World War. She said that the people never knew where the bombs were going to land next! And then she said something that warmed my heart: the countries that have managed this pandemic best are all those countries with a female leader. Perhaps its our ability to multitask. Yesterday I discussed offices reopening. Today, lets look at hotels. Seven out of 10 hotel rooms in the U.S. remain empty, according to the research firm STR. And that's the hotels that are actually open. Guests will see that some of the items in the room that could likely be fingerprinted by previous guests — magazines, notepads, pens — those items have been removed from the room. And there's likely to be more. The hotel-room phone has probably seen its last days because of the coronavirus. And what about that most divisive object in the hotel room? The death of the minibar is probably finally here. The remote control will likely be encased in a plastic bag or envelope with a sticker to indicate that it has been sanitized. I’m not sure how I feel about staying in a hotel, certainly not right now. Yesterday Meijer Garden cancelled its annual summer concert series which usually runs from late June to late August. It is a very popular series (which incidentally, Craig and I have never been to) featuring big �name popular artists. It’s held in their amphitheater and is usually only canceled if the weather is bad. All the regular festivals and events for this year in Grand Rapids have been canceled at this time except the rejuvenated ArtPrize held in September/Octover. But this year, the art will be in windows or outside, and after a year off, most large venues such as museums and churches have chosen not to be involved anyway. Speaking of museums: From a UNESCO spokesman on World Museums. There are 95,000 museums in the world and approximately 98% are currently closed. They anticipate that 13% or 1 in 8 will not reopen for financial reasons. Of 200+ countries in the world, only 20 do not have a minister for culture – the US is one of the 20. Well there’s something to think about. The flooding in Michigan has had other consequences. Yesterday in Muskegon (remember we drove there in torrential rain the other day to look at the lake?) a flood surge powered a new course through the dunes at Pioneer Park and left this destruction: ��As I look at the long range weather forecast, we have 6 days straight from Sunday 24 through to Friday 29 with a 30-50% chance of thunderstorms and the average temperature ranging from 78 - 88F (24 - 29C). We’re putting the a/c in the bedroom window today! And the next two quotes from far flung popular tourist sites around the world; 5. After being confined indoors, it’s natural that you see things with fresh eyes. UsuallyBarcelona lives at night, but now when the sun sets, it already seems super late. The city and the air are cleaner. There seems to be a different light or somehow more light. 6. I have taken a real secret pleasure rediscovering the beautiful buildings and having the streets to myself. All the locals I passed were smiling too. I have the impression of having found a quality-oflife closer to what I desire, meaning more local interaction and less pure consumption. Real life has returned to this corner of Pariswith families and children who play in the street, and getting to know my own neighbors Two photos courtesy of Zar in New Zealand: �Shop dummies to allow proper spacing at tables inside a restaurant. And small glasshouses for safe isolated dining. Of course, now its Oliver photo time. ��Oliver in the kitchen with his favorite toys: Tupperware! And so to Berlin once more. One day we caught the train to Charlottenburg. Charlottenburg Palace was built at the end of the 17th century by Frederich I, Elector of Brandenburg for his wife Sophie Charlotte. You know that the area we call Germany today was in fact a collection of independent states and the only thing that linked them together was that they all spoke the German language. These states were divided by religion - some were Catholic and some were Protestant. These religious differences (among others) led to constant warring among these states. And remember, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was so named because it led to the city state of Brandenburg. It was a gorgeous day. We went through several rooms in the palace that were open to the public. It was constructed in the baroque style. ���In the top photo Craig took this shot in the Ballroom. In the middle photo, I am in the Green Room, and the bottom photo shows part of the silver service And then we went out into the grounds which were huge and gorgeous. Imagine how many gardeners this takes! ���The top photo is looking out at the grounds. These were also designed in the baroque style by a gardener influenced by Andre Le Notre, who designed the gardens at Versailles. I tried to find out how big they are and all I can say is big, but not as big as Versailles. In the bottom photo I am looking back at the palace which was undergoing extensive renovation. It was another hot day. So thats it for today. As Dr London says: stay positive, stay heroic and stay healthy. � 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_2020-05-22_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-72 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 2020-05-22 Title A name given to the resource Day 72 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/a502577eb16a1755a9dbfb62fe081052.pdf c8426610c5777c30ece81969456197b0 PDF Text Text Day 71. by windoworks A personal note to begin this morning. Is anyone else having weird dreams? Dreams about things like finding yourself hiding in a mall with gunmen roaming through the mall - and you’re still trying to hide 6 feet apart? No, you’re probably not dreaming that particular nightmare but you get my point. With my research I now have 3 pages of notes of items that I think are of interest. This morning I am going to begin with how offices might adapt. At this time, no one knows if companies will maintain all those expensive high rise buildings into the future. My oldest child Zar is still working from home. He doesn’t mind that, but if it is to continue then he really needs two computer screens and a proper desk space. It is the same for Zoe. She really needs to invest in a desk and a better chair as using a dining chair is causing back problems. Craig has a good system set up in his study/studio and he alternates between sitting at a desk and standing at his computer. And my office is mobile - have iPad, will travel. So here’s the possible future of offices: Door handles will be obsolete. The building will know where you are and open doors and call elevators as you approach. To stop the spread of germs, security stations will monitor your temperature. You may have to wait in line to get inside. Your colleagues might start working 20 minutes before or after you. And you may get an occasional alert if a colleague who crossed your path calls in sick. In some places, office staff are working in shifts. In Manhattan New York, I have read that all those expensive commercial buildings are standing silent while big companies spend weeks trying to decide how to proceed. And all those high end hotels in the area are grappling with how to bring customers back safely. Universities: around the world, universities are scrambling to figure out how to proceed. GVSU sends out daily updates of new class configurations, numbers, alternative teaching methods, housing adjustments the list is endless. It all still contains that ‘we just don’t know’ statement. Stats: Michigan - 53,009 cases, 5,060 deaths. This is a little slower than before. Kent County - 3,036 cases , 60 deaths. These numbers continue to steadily rise. In Ottawa County where the main campus of GVSU is housed - 685 cases, deaths 31. These numbers are slowly rising also. �Ahh Gretchen - where would we be without you? Yesterday Governor Whitmer said: not only are we battling a pandemic but now we have a disastrous dam failure, flooding to 10 feet in some areas and �approximately 10,000 residents evacuated. But through it all she keeps on going. Sometimes at her 3+ press conferences a week, she looks very tired. And this one made me laugh. Two more quotes from far flung places: Iceland: my whale-watching boat, The Apena, was originally built for fishing and her purpose is back to basics for the time being. The vast Skjalfandi Bay, nudging the Arctic Circle, has provided a livelihood for my family of fishermen the past 150 years. The Netherlands: I also can’t help being nostalgic for an Amsterdam that could be. The city has been so beautiful and quiet — there was a magic to it that’s not ever going to come back in any way. Aaaand the Oliver photo: �Baby chaos in the park. It’s hard to social distance with babies - they have no idea! I was talking to my counselor on Tuesday and she said: do you have a project or a hobby you could do? I thought about it later and I do - I’ve asked Craig to repaint the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen and he agreed. He picks up the paint and supplies today. Well, okay, its not actually MY project. So Berlin. Surprisingly, Germany makes no secret of the Holocaust. In the German Historical Museum in a dedicated area for the First and Second World Wars, we came across this confronting model. ��I think this is a model of Auschwitz and this shows the people crammed into the gas chamber. �This is a site called The Topography of Terror. Where I am standing is where the headquarters of the SS, SD and Gestapo stood. These buildings were bombed during the war and then demolished after the war. In 2010, the Documentation Center (behind me) was opened and depicts the Nazi regime’s many victim groups as well as the Jews and the crimes perpetrated across Europe. In this photo I am looking towards the largest section of The Wall remaining. Behind the wall is what was formerly East Berlin. This was a sobering site. Inside the exhibition were many everyday photos depicting public shaming and the like. The tourist is left to draw their own conclusions. ��These photos are of the Holocaust Memorial. It represents all the Jews gassed or shot during the Second World War. It was a sad sight. We did visit the Jewish Quarter on another day and then the bombed Main Synagogue. We thought about visiting Sachsenhausen concentration camp about 21 miles or so from Berlin. There were a number of day trips that immersed you in the space but after our visits to these sites in Berlin we felt we had seen enough. �The Brandenburg Gate. This gate was built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, a boulevard of linden trees which led directly to the City Palace of the Prussian monarchs. If you go through the arch ahead, you come to the Tiergarten, a huge inner city park. Craig and I rode through the park in a rickshaw with our driver pointing out many interesting spots. It contains many monuments and the Berlin Zoo and covers 520 acres. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride but it really beat walking though it. It is a surprisingly quiet, green space in the middle of a very busy city center. I hope you and yours are well and safe. Till 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_2020-05-21_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-71 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 2020-05-21 Title A name given to the resource Day 71 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/2eb22d65962e10c8d340ad0f78e92294.pdf 6cfe9ca2ec3e10aa5e777c23132a86fa PDF Text Text Well here we are: Day 70. by windoworks My daughter asked me yesterday where I got all my information. I read everything. As Craig pointed out, I have become a sort of historian. I research and factcheck and then I include it in my post. I have developed a file of interesting quotes and some are used and some are discarded. This is what I do as a contribution during the pandemic. I’m not brave enough to be a volunteer, I don’t own a sewing machine, so I can’t sew masks, but I can record what I see, hear, think and feel every day. My blogposts will be available in a special pandemic archive at Grand Valley State University. It is gratifying to think that what I have recorded daily may be of some use to students and researchers sometime in the future. Today’s stats: US cases - 1,571,131. Deaths - 93,588. We continue to increase in Kent County: cases - 2,934. Deaths - 58. Predictions for the US are looking at a total average number of 113,000 deaths by early June. I have found an article where journalists interviewed residents in famous cities around the world and I will include 2 quotes for the next few days. Today: First up, number one: Right now, Rome is visited only by Romans and it’s a strange feeling. It’s sad that we don’t have tourism because we rely on it and it will soon be an emergency if we don’t get tourists back, but we have been enjoying this brief respite. Rome is a living museum and it is a privilege to have it all to ourselves. Number two: We all know here that the notion of quarantine began in Dubrovnik — as a 14th-century act to prevent outsiders from bringing the black plague into the city — so my friends and I are often joking about how quarantine has returned to the place where it started. It gives us more confidence these days. We’ve dealt with this before — it’s in our DNA — and on some level, we know we’ll overcome this plague just like our ancestors did over 600 years ago. As far as Dubrovnik is concerned I was going to say - who knew? But of course, Craig did. As if dealing with a pandemic wasn’t enough, over the last few days Michigan has had torrential rain. In the US there are a larger number than anyone would like of substandard dams and two of these dams breached last night and a large area around Midland has been flooded to almost 9 feet in some places. Last night Governor Whitmer came on and advised all residents to evacuate immediately to either open shelters in high and middle schools, or to go to friends or relatives. She also asked everyone to continue the 3 Ws - wash your hands, wait 6 feet apart and wear a mask, although she admitted that being in crowded refuges would make that more difficult. If you’re wondering where Midland is in Michigan, picture this: turn your right hand palm up. Put all 4 fingers straight up and your thumb out. You’re �looking at a map of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Midland is close to that soft part between your thumb and and your forefinger. Oh yes - and Grand Rapids is half way up the left side of your palm edge, but a little finger width in. I have a friend who had relocated to her parents house in Midland during the isolation and this morning she was mentioned in a FaceBook post as being safely evacuated. To show you the flooding here in Grand Rapids, yesterday we drove down to Riverside Park by the Grand River. ���One year the river rose so high that they parked a train on the train bridge over the river downtown to stop the bridge from being swept away. You can’t see it from the photos above but as we watched the river flowing very fast, lost of debris like small logs came bobbing past. And, the river is right out beyond the trees, all the water in the front is flood water. And a blast from the past. My friend Merrilyn was looking through her photo albums and found this gem. When my daughter was a few months old I joined the Nursing Mothers Association of Australia. (La Leche League here in the US). Over the years 5 of us became fast friends and strong NMA members. 3 of us became Counselors and Group Leaders, and I became a national board member in charge of Publications for a while. Our group of 5 called ourselves The Milky Bar Mums and we gathered for lunch once a month. I have lost touch with the woman in pink on the left and my very dear friend MaryAnne standing next to her, died after a long battle with breast cancer some years ago now. But Merrilyn and I remain and cherish our new reconnection. �An Oliver photo; Zoe often takes him into her bed in the early morning when he’s waking up and they read the news of the day on her iPhone. He loves to put his head on her shoulder. �Today’s flashback. Another Berlin excursion. Inside the Pergamon. �������This day was exhausting. We purchased tickets and then lined up outside for quite a long time. Our queue wasn’t too long, on other days we had walked past and seen the line winding back out to the street. Of all the 5 museums on Museumsinsel, the Pergamon was by far the most popular and the only one we had to line up to get in to. Once inside you walked all the way up the old worn stairs to the top floor. It is named for the Pergamon Altar, which we couldn’t see as it was being restored - for the next 7 years (2023). There are plans to connect some of the museums close by and like much of Berlin, there were cranes and worksites all around. From the top: the Ishtar ceremonial gate from one of the palaces in Babylon, dated 6 century BCE. During that time, you reached the gate by walking down a ceremonial avenue called “The Enemy Shall not Prevail”. Next; this is part of the Aleppo Room, the oldest and most artistically valuable painted wall paneling from the Ottoman Empire. Dates from the early 17th Century. Next: the Mshatta Facade which was part of the palace of Caliph Al-Walid I, built in Jordan in the 8th century. The Ottoman Sultan gave to the Kaiser in 1903 as a gift (!) Next: an Assyrian wall relief - probably an official, around the 8th century. Next: an Assyrian winged bull-god from one of the Assyrian palaces. And lastly: this is the floor and facade of the Roman Market Gate of Miletus (in Turkey today). The Market was built in the 2nd century and destroyed by an earthquake in the 10th century. The ruins were discovered by German archeologists in the early 20th century and they brought the fragments back and reconstructed it in Berlin. There were many other rooms stuffed full of artifacts but these are some of the ones I found most interesting. More Berlin tomorrow. And so ends the 70th blog. � 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_2020-05-20_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-70-Well-here-we-are 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 2020-05-20 Title A name given to the resource Well here we are: day 70 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/12d147a65a732d3a4d0b235005edbb80.pdf 3f5553544ce0575caf475d85a83fb7b8 PDF Text Text Day 69 by windoworks On this Friday at midnight, 2 regions (7 & 8) in Michigan will be allowed to reopen bars and restaurants. That is the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan (where Traverse City is). These two areas have had very small virus numbers and even smaller deaths. Of course the rules for reopening are pages and pages long and the number of seated customers per square foot is very carefully calculated. The Governor’s concern was that everyone in the south would drive up there immediately and maybe some will, but hopefully most Michiganders will think first. Grand Rapids is Region 2 and the greater Detroit area is Region 1 and I am guessing that we might be the last 2 areas to reopen. In the meantime, some local restaurants who had to close temporarily to quarantine and deep clean due to a staff member being sick, are reopening for take out again. The range of delicious restaurant food on offer in Grand Rapids is just amazing. During this pandemic I think all businesses have to think fast and be nimble, as Governor Whitmer is fond of saying. Everyone either offers curbside pickup (yes you can buy clothing, shoes and books and pick it up at the curb) or free delivery, or both. In fact, its becoming harder to keep track of what we have ordered and paid for, and when it is being delivered. I have become the Chief Purchasing Officer (CPO) in this house, while Craig is now the Head Gardener and Historical Advisor (HG&HA) as well as his side job of University Professor And speaking of gardening, two developments: Craig painstakingly dug out and seeded the first trial patch of meadow in the back garden and, he harvested half of the prolific red radish micro greens and we shared some with our neighbors. Remember those? The seeds we were supposed to germinate in trays inside due to their fragility? The ones Craig planted directly into the garden instead and then had to cover them over during 4 frost alert nights? They’re prolific and delicious! First time micro greens growing luck, I guess. In virus news: The public University of South Carolina has staked out an intriguing plan: Bring students back to campus in August, teach in person for three months and switch to remote instruction after Thanksgiving. Schools nationwide face extraordinary pressure to reopen campuses to ensure they maintain enrollment and collect tuition revenue. But many are delaying announcements about fall plans until June or July as they game out tricky scenarios about how to house and teach students without running undue health risks. We receive a weekly update from President Mantella at GVSU. They are discussing some budget adjustments as well as how to teach in the fall. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to take all factors in to �consideration (student nervousness, virus resurgence, adequate sanitation, housing safety etc) never mind faculty expectations, fears etc. Again, we’re back to that old chestnut: we just don’t know. Long haul flights may not be available until next year at the earliest. This is an area we are interested in. And even when they do resume, the choice will be one flight from Chicago to Auckland New Zealand - 17 hours with prepackaged food left on your seat before you board, no blankets, no pillows and probably no seat back entertainment (high contagion areas). Oh and that will be after you go through immigration and customs and have your temperature taken and perhaps show your doctors letter saying you’ve been tested and are negative. Carryon luggage may be severely restricted or banned. Choice number 2: travel across to Los Angeles to fly to Sydney Australia, 3 flights and 3 airports and 3 transits (Grand Rapids - Chicago - Los Angeles - Sydney). Something to think about. Yesterday was another cool, windy and wet day, and on his early morning walk, Craig and Murphy went to one of Murphy’s favorite spots: Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids. The lake was wild and very muddy from all the storm water pouring into it. No ducks for Murphy to stare at although she looked and looked. �On the way home, Craig saw these signs. ��I really want both of them. I’ll have to look online. Today’s Oliver photo. It’s so hard to choose! ��Watching Meryl Streep sing because its never too early to enjoy good musicals. Every morning in Sydney, Zoe FaceTimes us as she is feeding him breakfast. He does love to eat and there’s always that little time lag before the food hits his tummy and his brain tells him he’s full. Some mornings he cries indignantly when the bowl is empty. At the end of the session, Craig and I sing a song to him - more often than not, The Wheels on the Bus. He loves music and he smiles and bounces in time. And then we say goodbye. As Craig says: its my favorite movie of the day. More Berlin. Instead of sorting through my Berlin photos yesterday, I spent half an hour putting all 1000 photos of Oliver into a folder. So lets see what I have, �����Today its all about the Berlin Wall. This was a guarded concrete barrier that divided Berlin (physically and ideologically) from 1961 to 1989. I always thought the Wall divided Berlin in half but it divided West Berlin from East Berlin and West Berlin was surrounded by East Berlin and East Germany, so it actually zigzagged around in a sort of circle. There was a wide space on the east side of the Wall which contained anti-tank trenches, beds of nails etc. Along the Wall itself were guard towers which had powerful searchlights and sirens. The Wall was built to protect East Germany from anti fascists. It seems to me that the Wall separated families from each other and caused unnecessary hardship. No one tried to escape to East Berlin but many tried to get to freedom in West Berlin. You could cross to East Berlin with the proper pass and the top photo shows the warning board for Checkpoint Charlie, the American crossing. Today it is in the middle of an upscale busy shopping street, Friedrichstrasse, and for a fee you can have your photo taken with actors pretending to be Soviet crossing guards. In the next photo I am standing on a marker for the Wall. This metal trail winds around Berlin, showing where the Wall was situated. In the third photo, Craig is standing next to a painted block from the Wall. Behind him is a Wall exhibition but we didn’t go in. Lastly, this is a section of the Wall in the eastern side of Berlin (East Berlin). This section has been preserved in place and has become an art exhibit. There were many Wall sections, all painted and decorated but this one took my fancy. Note the wire keeping tourists back from the art. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Maya Angelou I”ll just leave it there. � 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_2020-05-19_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-69 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 2020-05-19 Title A name given to the resource Day 69 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/1fcba5d73bc9533d35bf00639722c948.pdf e859351995c1fa504ba10f5ffdcd076e PDF Text Text Day 68 by windoworks About 30 days ago now, I wondered if we would still be here inside at Day 70. Obviously we will. And possibly Craig and I will be still here for Day 78 and beyond when Governor Whitmer’s Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order ends on May 28. From WaPo: To convince consumers to go out and purchase — or to just go out — is a significant challenge, because it involves their most closely held emotions about life. Consumers started staying at home long before they were forced to by government regulations, because they knew that was the right thing to do. In Georgia, which reopened everything early while publishing misleading statistics about the virus spread and decline, people went out and in the wealthier areas, ignored all distancing regulations. Most interviewed said that they wouldn’t be outside if they weren’t healthy and the coronavirus was probably being beaten up by the Liberals. Here’s the thing though, as Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania said when interviewed “The data are always two or three weeks old. And we have a hard time understanding that things are different from what we’re looking at.” Crystal Watson of Johns Hopkins University said that we wouldn’t really know how reopening had affected the virus’s spread for five to six weeks. Five to six weeks. Five to six weeks to find out if the virus had spread or not. And as one person in Georgia remarked: Anyway, I’m not in the expendable age group. As someone in the ‘expendable’ age group, I find that dammed insulting. I can’t even begin to discuss the political scene. I don’t have cable television so all my news is from National Public Radio, Washington Post and New York Times. I have online subscriptions only. WaPo bombards me all day with Breaking News. In some ways this virus must be a godsend for them - so many people to interview, so many stories to write. I remember Zoe telling me about going to see the movie Contagion at the movie theater. Remember that scary movie about a quickly spreading pandemic? Zoe said she had to catch the bus home and all the way home, she felt nervous about all the other people on the bus and whether they might be sick. Now the virus depicted in Contagion was a much more virulent virus with a huge mortality rate, but here we all are, sitting on the bus of life and wondering who around us might be sick. Stats: US, confirmed cases: 1,520,000 and deaths topped 90,000 (almost 2,000 people died on Sunday alone). Michigan: 51,142 confirmed cases and 4,891 deaths. Kent County: 2,825 confirmed cases and 55 �deaths. In the state of Michigan, Kent County ranks 4th in virus cases out of 83 counties. This is because Grand Rapids is the second largest city in the state and many more cases appear in urban areas. Yesterday, after an angry and sad morning, I asked Craig to drive us out somewhere near the big lake (Michigan) so we could eat homemade cake, drink coffee and look at the water. He is always willing to oblige, so off we set in torrential rain for the 45 minute drive up the freeway in very poor visibility, for Muskegon. We found a spot next to a marina, and sat watching the lone swan fishing on the lake - still in torrential rain. We didn’t stay too long in case the serious flooding alert began early, and we drove home via Spring Lake. We missed the turn to Eastern Road (to come home through the countryside) and when we turned around we were stuck at the lights while the entire graduating class of Spring Lake High School drove by in their decorated cars and wearing their gowns and caps. That explained the many groups of people standing under umbrellas on the sidewalk with signs and pompoms to shake. ���A long, long line of cars, all tooting and cheering as they rounded the corner. �On their early morning walk, Craig and Murphy are keeping an eye on Blodgett Hospital - whatever is going in there? And Oliver. This morning it is difficult to decide which photo to choose. ��Oliver meets a new friend. Now if that doesn’t cheer you up, nothing will! Today’s flashback. One day (I really have no idea what day) we went into the city to the Museumsinsel (Museum Island). This island is in the Spree River in the heart of Berlin. It has 5 museums all more or less clustered together: the Altes Museum (Old Museum), the Neues Museum (New Museum), the Altes Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum. We visited every museum except the Altes Museum. But first we visited the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) which is also on Museumsinsel. The view from the top of the church dome looking down at the Spree River. No, I didn’t climb up there, but of course Craig did. ����This is a gorgeous cathedral, begun in 1894 and completed in 1905. There was a church built first in 1451 and 1905 was the 4th building on the site. It was reinaugurated in 1993 after the removal of war destructions. I didn’t notice any damage or reconstruction. It is a beautiful church with especially gorgeous stained glass windows. We’ll look at the museums beginning tomorrow, after I have attempted to sort out the relevant photos. Just remember, as an opinion writer said recently: the way out is much harder than the way in. Stay safe. � 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_2020-05-18_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-68 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 2020-05-18 Title A name given to the resource Day 68 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/e0d579c013e3bd63927fd8efa01c2c73.pdf 28dd9a469f9863f5f18c40003c4bfa8a PDF Text Text Day 67. Really? by windoworks I was late starting this morning, I was overcome with ‘haven’t I done all this before?’ Well yes. 68 times altogether as I didn’t give the first pandemic post a number. Looking back to 67 days ago, who knew this would go on for so long? And that’s the main theme here: who knew followed by who knows? I have never heard so many experts say: we just don’t know. We don’t know what will happen when we leave our houses, we don’t know if summer weather will make a difference, we don’t know if the virus will roar back in the fall and winter, we don’t know if it will continue in wavelets for the next 18 months and we don’t know when a vaccine will be available to everyone, everywhere. We don’t know if malls will survive, we don’t know how dining out will look. I think going forward it is an individual choice. For me a lot of things like concerts, movies, malls, crowded beaches make me uncomfortable. I have no idea if my friend on Zoom or FaceTime is asymptomatic- and my friend doesn’t know either. I’m happy to meet online, but face-to-face, not so much. Masks have become almost a flashpoint. There’s those who wear them and those who won’t. Apparently it’s a personal freedom issue in that ‘you can’t make me’ way. And vehement non-maskers declare: I’m not sick! You can’t catch it from me! At this point I would ask to see their doctors certificate confirming they’ve been tested and are virus free. Oh but wait - that would be another personal freedom. I have the right to not get tested. In case you missed it, Day 67 seems to have revealed the larger than I’d like, simmering anger inside me. Anger that scared seems to be my new way of life, anger that I am stuck here far across the world from my family, some who are old and infirm and some who are brand new, and anger that every day is the same as the day before with the same tasks and the same ‘putting a good face on it’ regime. And mostly, I’m so angry that our federal government, that is, the people in charge, are so dysfunctional and self absorbed that not only are we all struggling to survive safely here, the rest of the world is doing one of two things: laughing at our president and his minions or worse - feeling sorry for us all. A friend of mine emailed me back yesterday and told me how careful he and his family had been. This week, after dinner, he and his wife made margaritas and cycled over to a friends house with their masks, ready to sit out the back around the fire pit and catch up at a safe distance. When they got there, people weren’t wearing masks, there was no social distancing and there were lots more people than they expected to see. His wife burst into tears and they turned around and rode home again. I know just how she felt. Will I feel this angry and sad forever? I don’t know but I hope not. �“Hope” is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops - at all - Emily Dickinson ��New chalk art on our block. ��The long line to be admitted into the Fulton Street Farmers Market on Saturday about lunchtime. Craig said he thought it was about an hour wait and the line stretched across the road through the traffic lights. There were security guards at the top entrance and bottom exit with all side entrances firmly closed. There was a maximum of about 30 customers in there at one time. Normally the market is a crazy, busy melee of people, everyone pushing to get through the crowds. Stats: Kent County had 2,766 confirmed cases yesterday and sadly, 54 deaths. We continue to slowly climb upwards. L �In Auckland New Zealand, Fall is coming in. ��My mother-in-law, blowing out her candle on her tiny candle cake. Her real birthday cake was much bigger but you can’t blow birthday candles on cakes out any more. And of course, an Oliver moment. ��Here he is at daycare, gazing out the window. What is he thinking about? To continue in Berlin. We visited Alexanderplatz which is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. It has more than 360,000 visitors daily and is a popular staring point for tourists. It was named for Tsar Alexander I who visited Berlin in October 1805. It was extremely crowded, busy, noisy with interesting market booths and full of tourists. ��This was large blow up pool with these zip up balls that children could ride in and move around the pool. It looked like they were having a lot of fun. �This drum band was just amazing. More Berlin experiences tomorrow. As I proofed this edition, I wondered about posting it. Then I decided this is my blogpost and my feelings and it is up to each of you to decide if you want to read it or not. If you do, 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_2020-05-17_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-67 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 2020-05-17 Title A name given to the resource Day 67: Reallly? 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/dcfab0551b428fc730f33e129ea34c62.pdf 65acc5d68fe92ba5847822ae37a54bbf PDF Text Text Day 66 by windoworks Two days ago, I was at a Zoom meeting when I looked out the tv room window (where the wifi router is) and I saw a Baltimore Oriole, trying to drink the nectar from the hummingbird feeder. We have a pair of Downy Woodpeckers that eat at our seed blocks and yesterday I think I saw a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. Perhaps the pandemic is bringing them back to our gardens in the same way that wild animals began turning up downtown in deserted cities across the world. And speaking of gardening, thanks for the advice regarding my climbing hydrangea. I will do some trimming of dead leaves and see what that does. The backyard meadow project has gone from idea to measurement of paths. See, this is what happens when you’re stuck at home for weeks on end and your mind begins to rearrange rooms, belongings and then eventually gardens. The idea of Craig digging up a large portion of the grass in the back yard prompted me to suggest that he hire some sort of tool with a motor to help save his back. So yesterday he called Home Depot only to find out that he couldn’t just rent it and pay for it online then pick it up curbside. No, if he wants to rent a tiller (and apparently the one he chose online won’t work and he needs a bigger machine), Craig has to drive down, walk inside to the back of the huge store, present his credit card and drivers license and then walk the machine out to the car himself. Hmmm. As we even get our monthly prescription drugs delivered so that neither of us has to enter a store, this presents a quandary. Part of our concern is that after weeks of slow activity, the stats in Kent County are rising a little faster than before. Today the deaths reached 53 and the confirmed cases are now at 2,705. I have heard people say: well if we get it, I bet it won’t be too bad and then we’ll be immune. That could be true. But here’s a story I heard from a colleague on Zoom this week: In March, she and her husband drove back to Michigan from Florida. They are both over 60 and he has limited lung capacity, so she was very careful all the way home, wiping things down with bleach wipes etc. They stopped overnight in Tennessee, and after she had cleaned the hotel room and settled her husband inside, she called a local restaurant and ordered dinner. She drove to the restaurant, expecting curbside pickup. Instead, she found she had to go inside the busy restaurant and ask for her order at the bar area. There were a lot of people there with no social distancing and no masks. She looked around carefully, while waiting for her order, to make sure she was a good distance away from everyone. As she turned to look at the table of patrons behind her, a woman seated near her coughed so hard, she felt the drops fly across her face. �As soon as she reached the hotel she jumped in the shower and washed everything including her hair. Two days later, after they arrived home, she developed COVID-19. She said it was the worst flu she had ever had. The body aches were horrendous. She spent 9 days in isolation downstairs in their condo. She said the first 4 days were the worst, lying in bed with the blinds down, trying to sleep. After 7 days she began to recover and by 9 days later the virus had gone only to be replaced by bronchitis. It took her over a month to recover. Her lungs took the longest time. So thats why we should all be wearing masks outside and in stores etc. It doesn’t stop you contracting the virus - it helps to stop you giving it to anyone else. If that woman who coughed had been wearing a mask, my colleague might not have gotten sick. Yesterday Governor Whitmer did her Friday press conference and she was standing in front of a large blue screen. To begin, she had an image of the inside of the empty Fox Theater in Detroit put up on the screen. She then told us that the state of Michigan had almost 5,000 deaths now and that the Fox Theater held just over 5,000 people. She said: every one of those empty seats represents a loved one lost to us. Powerful. Then she invited 4 people to pray for us: a Catholic priest from Grand Rapids, a female Rabbi , an Imam from Dearborn and an African American Baptist minister. Each gave a powerful prayer, asking for us all to be loved and sustained and each asking God to protect and sustain Governor Whitmer. In my minds eye, I see her - a slender woman, standing to the side of the stage with her hands clasped together and wearing her mask, listening intently. Some say she is in the running as a Vice President running mate for Joe Biden. I don’t want to stop her from advancing her career, but a selfish part of me really wants her to stay and be my Governor and continue to keep me and all my friends safe and secure, in pandemic times and new normal times. Some other stats Craig gave me this morning and a little food for thought. The United States has 4% of the global population. Currently, it has 32% of all global virus infections and has suffered 28% of all global deaths so far. But here, we are Michiganders. We are tough and resilient and we will get through this together. It sounds so siss, boom, baa! Like a parade, but sometimes thats what we all need to hold on to. So, Oliver. Sometimes when we’re FaceTiming he ‘talks’ so loudly we can’t hear what Zoe is saying. One day soon it’ll be actual words. ��Look at this. He has cheese all over his face and hands - and shortly after this, all over his right eye. Don’t you just love that smile? In Berlin. In our first week there we visited the Spree River in the center of the city. This was our first full day. We walked along the river bank. Berliners take any break in the weather to get out, sit beside the river and drink beer in th sunshine. �The bars put out these deck chairs and they are in use all the time except when it rains. To get to the river, we had to walk through Prison Cell Park to the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station). Here are 2 photos from that first day ��The bottom photo is the remnant of the prison wall. ��This is one of the Berlin Buddy Bears. These bears are Germany’s ambassadors of goodwill. The bear is a symbol on Berlin’s coat of arms. These bears promote tolerance and peace, and are positioned with their arms in the air to symbolize kindliness and optimism. They are made of fiberglass and each one is hand painted by an artist. You know all the rules. 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_2020-05-16_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-66 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 2020-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Day 66 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/8db930010dde3b494f4aaed7df2e408a.mp4 db0693c92616a9e645c3da8b61d7b7e5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2ce4b4fae1e1a40e658d51016630104d.srt 62145737033d6a06b3e1ba9144bd1115 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 Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. 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_2020-05-08_ElliottRyan_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elliott, Ryan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-08 Title A name given to the resource Ryan Elliot video journal, Part 5 Description An account of the resource Video journal of Ryan Elliott, GVSU electrical engineering student, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this video, Ryan gives updates about his upcoming wedding plans, politics, and the governor's stay at home order. 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 Moving Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/59b1c530f58ee9f853ccc8bbb7f1055a.mp4 1eee58c4aef5c5ebf30dc5cea7484583 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/281617373dd38e8f203ce065cf494ee2.srt d973bdbdd9be8f590998f140ef30ff21 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 Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. 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_2020-05-08_ElliottRyan_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elliott, Ryan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-05-08 Title A name given to the resource Ryan Elliot video journal, Part 4 Description An account of the resource Video journal of Ryan Elliott, GVSU electrical engineering student, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this video, Ryan gives updates about work and church. 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 Moving Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ae8815470ff49b08648f5a26f0fc29e0.pdf 1a08d8b2b52b974fbc862af82a050d00 PDF Text Text Day 65 by windoworks This morning I was looking at the virus statistics for the US, Michigan and Kent County and this jumped out at me: there are 4,389,915 cases worldwide and the US has 1,448,245 of them, that is, just over one quarter of all cases are here in the US. I might have to lie down now for a bit. In England, my niece Elle is returning to work on Monday. In New Zealand my daughter-in-law, Alva, returns to work on Monday also. Her husband Zar, continues to work from home until he becomes part of a shift able to return to his office. In Sydney Australia, Zoe continues to work part time from home. She would like to work 4 days a week instead of 3, but the daycare center for Oliver doesn’t have enough staff to cope with more children for more days a week. They are currently funded by the government at one third their normal income. In Melbourne Australia, Asher continues to work from home. New Zealand is using logging in at offices and venues to facilitate contact tracing. As each state is different in Australia, I’m not sure what’s happening there. One of our favorite coffee bars in Balmain has decided that although they are allowed to have 10 customers sit inside the cafe, its far more profitable for them to continue serving food and coffee as a take out venue. They are extremely popular whatever the restrictions. Locally, our butcher shop within walking distance is overwhelmed by customers using curbside pickup. At this time when grocery stores are limiting meat purchases per customer because of the meat processing plant closures due to rampant COVID infections, we can buy good quality local meat products. Last night I made beef short ribs. A new recipe for me and delicious! Our local gluten free, soy free, vegan bakery has stopped taking phone orders and asks all customers to use online ordering at their website. They have begun baking some items such as donuts several times a day to cope with the demand. You give them the make and color of your car and the approximate pickup time. You then stand outside the bakery on the sidewalk and they run your order out to you, wearing gloves and a mask. One evening this week, my two neighbors on either side, brought chairs out and sat on the front lawn, more than 6 feet apart and talked. It was a really cold evening and they sat rugged up in layers, drinking beer and just talking. In the past, they have often sat on a front porch, long into the evening, talking. This was the closest they could get now and it was nice to see. This is the New Normal, and I’m okay with that. Yesterday was a miserable rainy day and Craig and I just went for a drive. We drove out to 84th Street and then drove around the Tanger Outlet Mall. ��Eerily quiet. There were a handful of cars and we wondered if some of the stores were ‘dark stores’ an expression my son introduced me to. Dark stores are retail stores that cater exclusively to online shopping. Dark stores may be the future of post pandemic retail. Grocery store chains such as Whole Foods and Kroger have converted some stores to dark stores, as have other chains such as Bed, Bath and Beyond. I continue to be astonished by the never ending variety of objects able to be purchased online, delivered or picked up at the curb. As a friend of mine remarked: I realized that all my life I’ve been waiting for someone to deliver food to me on a weekly basis - I love it! A post on FaceBook has been asking everyone to say yes or no to wearing a mask. 99.9% of responders said YES! I see people wearing them in parking lots before going into a store, but not when walking outside. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I am trying to give up reading ridiculous news such as trump’s mysterious and baseless Obamagate. Even he couldn’t actually define what he meant. Yesterday there was the 3rd protest in Lansing Michigan outside the empty State House. Why these people gathered in the rain, close together, shouting (all that air from your lungs spreads the virus and takes it in as you get ready to shout) and with semi automatic rifles is entirely beyond me. One woman held a sign that said something like: I’d rather have dangerous freedom than safe restriction. In looking online to see if I could see her sign and its exact wordage I saw �instead lots of men, women and children with no masks and singing loudly. One advantage was that they were outside so its harder for the virus to spread in the open air, but singing is another activity that assists the virus in an easy spread. In the end, it comes down to personal decisions as it has in those states that have reopened early in spite of all advice and guidelines. While a small percentage rush eagerly out, the larger percentage have chosen to stay home. Here’s an Oliver photo to cheer us all up. ��Today’s flashback. After much discussion and photograph searching, I have decided to revisit our 2016 sabbatical in Europe and beginning this week we will be looking at our adventures in Berlin. This city was not what I expected. For some reason I assumed it would look like London or Paris, beautiful old streets and buildings with lots of history. It doesn’t look like that because it was almost completely demolished by the end of the Second World War. They continue to rebuild but it is a slow process. ��Our apartment was in a refurbished building on a quiet street opposite the police barracks. Look at the height of this door! ��The living/dining room ��The narrow but cute kitchen. That window looked out onto the inner courtyard. We had a key to get into the building and another key to ur front door but honestly with the police barracks across the road I never felt unsafe. Here I am on our bedroom balcony overlooking the street below. This apartment was our elegant haven for the next 4 weeks. Stay tuned for our adventures. Mask up! � 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_2020-05-15_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-65 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 2020-05-15 Title A name given to the resource Day 65 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