88 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d59055b4a17be1e4744912f5d562bd9.pdf 0d2b5c32a50084c11a40147b0218aa34 PDF Text Text Day 106 by windoworks Good morning all. The above cartoon seemed applicable as all things virus worsen, not only in the US, but in other countries. As new coronavirus cases in the United States reached their highest single-day level yet on Wednesday, companies and state officials appear to be taking matters into their own hands. While Vice President Pence urged senators to focus on “encouraging signs,” these governors and CEOs are instead responding to mounting indications of a deadly surge across the South and West. Nevada and North Carolina both ordered residents to wear masks in public, as Virginia moves to implement new �workplace safety rules that would force companies to protect workers from infection. Disneyland’s both delayed plans to reopen. The 38,115 new infections reported by state health departments Wednesday underscore the changing geography of the U.S. outbreak. The bulk of the cases were posted in Texas, Florida and California, while Oklahoma also set a new statewide record in infections. Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has recorded more than 2.43 million coronavirus cases and yesterday 124,000 deaths, while the global number of cases has soared past 9 million. As Grand Valley State University moves towards reopening, here are some thoughtful and challenging words from the Honors College: As you welcome this new academic year into your consciousness and begin to think about who you are going to become in this re-imagined space, please consider what it would look like for you to pause and go deeper. What education do you need? How will you show that you care about your community and those around you? How can you open up space for genuine conversation and connection with people whose perspectives are different from your own? What would it mean for you to challenge yourself to listen more and speak a bit less at times? And if you really want to go deeper, how do you cultivate bravery within, so that you can identify your own places of need while also sitting with and calling forth the moments when you have fallen short, where you can do better. What does that look like? Craig has completed painting half the back of the house. As the sun shines hottest on the back of the house in the mornings, he will start on the front of the house this morning and return to the second half of the back in the afternoon. As our neighbor John (who is having his house painted a vibrant blue) said: we need never fly an American flag again. Our houses are red, white and blue. �And if you’re wondering - just the top half of the house will be red. The bottom half will stay white. Remember I told you about social zones being installed downtown? Here are 2 of the 4 zones. Eastown is considering where to install our social zone. �N.Y. N.J. and Conn. order quarantine for travelers from Florida, other states hit hard by coronavirus �The governors of the tri-state area jointly announced the travel advisory, which requires a 14-day quarantine for visitors from states whose infection rates meet certain thresholds indicating “significant community spread,” according to New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D). Nine states currently meeting that threshold, Cuomo said: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas. Perhaps this is something Michigan could consider? And if you’re wondering how small children got on in daycare centers - Throughout the pandemic, many child care centers have stayed open for the children of front-line workers — everyone from doctors to grocery store clerks. YMCA of the USA and New York City's Department of Education have been caring for, collectively, tens of thousands of children since March, and both tell NPR they have no reports of coronavirus clusters or outbreaks. As school districts sweat over reopening plans, and with just over half of parents telling pollsters they're comfortable with in-person school this fall, public health and policy experts say education leaders should be discussing and drawing on these real-world child care experiences. Working in early days, and on very short notice, these two organizations followed safety guidance that closely resembles what's now been officially put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Y says a few staff members and parents at sites around the country did test positive, but there are no records of having more than one case at a site. This, among a population of essential workers. In order to slow the spread of illness, local YMCAs and New York City grouped "pods" of no more than nine children with each adult. Heidi Brasher of the YMCA of the USA says this often meant using spaces such as basketball courts or even boardrooms, taking advantage of buildings that were otherwise closed. "They were very creative in the way they utilized space," Brasher says. They did temperature checks and symptom screenings on each child coming in each day, with staff members wearing masks, gloves and gowns where available. Children with symptoms were urged to stay home. Staff came up with creative ways to reinforce frequent and thorough hand-washing. At the beginning of each 30-minute activity, such as sports or craft time, children get a stamp or marker doodle on their hands, which they have to wash off before moving on to the next activity. Staff were teaching them not just 'rinse your hands,' but 'scrub them.' And instead of having to dread washing their hands, they were able to get excited and laugh and have fun while they were doing that. They also reinforce social distancing by having the kids make "airplane arms" when they're standing in line or moving from place to place. And children get their own materials, such as art supplies, to use from day to day, rather than sharing. �In Australia, my youngest son has gone to Sydney to visit with his sister and his nephew. Yesterday he managed an early morning row on Sydney Harbor with a friend. It was the beginning of a gorgeous day as you can see. ���Thats not the Sydney Harbor Bridge - its the Anzac Bridge connecting downtown with the inner west neighborhoods. You can see the Sydney Tower in the background. This snippet is something we live with every day. Across the government, key security positions are vacant or filled by acting personnel who many believe are too inexperienced or too afraid to enact meaningful changes. “The system now is set up to keep your mouth shut,” said Sam Brannen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who tracks vacancies in the security agencies that he says make the country more vulnerable to a disaster. And a very worrying phrase has begun to pop up: the next pandemic. The next one? There’ll be another one? We can’t seem to manage this one never mind another one! In sad travel news - The European Union may ban Americans from traveling there when it reopens its borders, as coronavirus cases surge in the United States. European countries are working to agree on two lists of acceptable travelers as they finalize plans to reopen on July 1, and the U.S. isn't on the drafts. Speaking of sad travel news, Craig and I are finding it difficult to get our passports renewed. They expire in December and the passport offices have been closed for weeks. I believe they’re open now but with greatly reduced staff and hours, so it may take us months to get them renewed. Well we can’t go anywhere, anyway. Obligatory Oliver photo: ��Chatting up aa girl at daycare. Our last outing in Brandon. Close by Brandon is Thetford Forest. This is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain. It is 47,000 acres and is a Site of Special Interest (I have no idea what that means). It was created (planted) in 1922. It is a beautiful place to walk. ���It was a lovely, peaceful place. We were supposed to stay in Brandon for a few more days but instead we moved to a hotel in Thetford overnight. Our flint cottage really cured me of tiny house dreams. Then we drove to Cambridge to meet Asher who was arriving from London by train. We’ll visit Cambridge in tomorrow’s blog and then we’ll set off north to Scotland. Remember: returning to “normal” cannot be our goal. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-25_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-106 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-25 Title A name given to the resource Day 106 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7051240c404978054f95c7b9aceb30a6.pdf 185b8da807b6f2c521f61446bcec3209 PDF Text Text Day 107 by windoworks I’m late writing the blog today because this happened. I plucked up my courage, put on my mask, grabbed my hand sanitizer and went to my new hairdresser. This is not the best photo but Craig is on the porch roof painting the front of the second floor red, so I had to take the photo myself. And as Zoe says: I never know where the camera is. This is a better start to the day than earlier when I woke up. Overnight the stats continue to surge. Yesterday the US recorded 34, 191 new cases, Michigan had 353 new cases and Kent County had 52 new cases and our deaths here in Kent increased to 127. The graphs show a new climb. People are declaring it a second wave. I don’t believe we’re out of the first wave yet. Gov Whitmer is watching isolated clusters closely and saying we should be prepared to stay home again if needed. She had hoped to raise the state to Stage 5, a much freer level, by July 4, but I’m not sure that will happen. The number of Americans who have been infected with the novel coronavirus is likely 10 times higher than the number of cases reported, according to the head of the Centers for Disease Control and �Prevention. In a call with reporters Thursday, CDC Director Robert Redfield said, "Our best estimate right now is that for every case that’s reported, there actually are 10 other infections.” Redfield estimated that 92 to 95 percent of the U.S. population is still susceptible to the virus. He also said that young people are driving the recent surge in cases in parts of the South and West. By my calculation, if the US has about 2.4 million confirmed cases, that means according to Redfield we actually have 24 million cases. An overwhelming thought. In Kent County there might be 43,000 cases. These are sobering numbers. When I went to my hairdressers this morning at 7:45am, I was the only client there. Consing, my hairdresser said there had been at least 2 customers who argued about wearing a mask. Their rule is simple: no mask, no haircut. The problem is that people believe that if they get the virus, they’ll get over it fast. They don’t believe the real life accounts until they’re in the hospital - or they’ve infected a family member. So, to educate us all further, I offer this: What does it mean to be asymptomatic? SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – can produce a range of clinical manifestations. Some people who are infected never develop any symptoms at all. These patients are considered true asymptomatic cases. When people do get sick from the coronavirus, it takes on average five days and as many as two weeks of to develop symptoms that can range from very mild to extremely dangerous. The time between initial infection and the first symptoms is called the presymptomatic phase. How many people are asymptomatic? Estimates of the proportion of true asymptomatic cases – those who are infected and never develop symptoms – range from 18 percent to over 80 percent. The reasons for the huge range in estimates are still unclear. A recent mass testing campaign in San Francisco found that 53 percent of infected patients were asymptomatic when first tested and 42 percent stayed asymptomatic over the next 2 weeks. How can asymptomatic people spread the coronavirus? Compared to most other viral infections, SARSCoV-2 produces an unusually high level of viral particles in the upper respiratory tract– specifically the nose and mouth. When those viral particles escape into the environment, that is called viral shedding. Researchers have found that pre-symptomatic people, shed the virus at an extremely high rate similar to the seasonal flu. But people with the flu don't normally shed virus until they have symptoms. When people cough or talk, they spray droplets of saliva and mucus into the air. Since SARS-CoV-2 sheds so heavily in the nose and mouth, these droplets are likely how people without symptoms are spreading the virus. �How much asymptomatic spread is happening? An early modeling estimate suggested that 80 percent of infections could be attributed to spread from undocumented cases. If half of all infected people are without symptoms at any point in time, and those people can transmit SARS-CoV-2 as easily as symptomatic patients, it is safe to assume a huge percentage of spread comes from people without symptoms. What can we do to limit asymptomatic spread? Any time a virus can be spread by people without symptoms, you have to turn to preventative measures. Social distancingand lockdowns work, but have large economic and social repercussions. Universal mask wearing is best tool to limit transmission, and there is evidence to back that idea up. Wearing a mask and practicing social distancing can prevent asymptomatic spread and help reduce the harm from this dangerous virus until we get a vaccine. Monica Ghandi, Professor of Medicine, Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. I know this was a long read but it is the best explanation of contagion and best evidence for wearing a mask. Gone With The Wind has returned to HBO Max — with an update. The 1939 film has a new introduction addressing the film’s problematic depiction of the Antebellum South by film scholar and Turner Classic Movies host Jacqueline Stewart. I remember watching this movie at a theater - it was so long there was an interval in the middle for snacks and toilet stops. In other changes, the Dixie Chicks have renamed themselves The Chicks. And apparently Allendale (where GVSU’s main campus is) has a confederate statue that locals are agonizing over. Jon Stewart spoke with Stephen Colbert about why he believes Joe Biden is “the man of the moment.” Stewart told The Late Show host he wasn’t a Biden supporter until recently, but he’s come to believe that Biden is the leader the country needs right now: “Biden was not my guy. Wasn’t even in the top four or five. I was more of a Sanders, Warren… Not my guy, but having watched him on your show and having spoken to him at other times and seen him in other situations… I’ve recently been thinking about something and that is that, we are a country in terrible anguish right now. We are in pain. American exceptionalism, the kind of blindfold is off, and we’re kind of seeing ourselves as who we really are. ‘American exceptionalism’ is not a title that you wear like you were Miss America in 1937 and you’ll always be Miss America. Like it takes effort and work to maintain. If you treat it like a fait accompli, it will erode and you will lose it. And we are seeing that erosion, and we are fearful and we are angry and we are in pain. When I see Biden, past the shtick, I see a guy who knows what loss is, who knows grief. And I think that, that kind of grief humbles you… and what I think in this moment what this country needs is a leader of humility.” �And here’s a problem solved in a unique way: What do you do with millions of pounds of potatoes with nowhere to go? Give them away, of course! While huge numbers of Americans are struggling to get enough to eat and supermarkets are running out of certain foods, farmers around the country are trashing crops because they have no way to get them to stores. Enter Ryan Cranney of Cranney Farms, who grows russet potatoes. He posted a photo of a big mountain of extra spuds (along with a note that read “Free potatoes”) to his Facebook page, then watched in amazement as people from as far away as Nevada, Kansas and Ohio lined up to fill their truck beds and pack their cars with 'em. �Me eyeing those people without masks. �From Auli in Finland - guaranteed to brighten up your day. �First coat done! Yesterday Zoe, Asher and Oliver went walking on the Fairfax Walking trail at North Head. At this time of the year you sometimes see whales migrating, but not yesterday. ��You can see the city in the background. So on to Cambridge. Cambridge is a university city on the River Cam. It’s about 55 miles north of London. The university was founded in 1209. It is famous for Kings College Chapel, the Cavendish Laboratory and the Cambridge University Library - one of the largest legal deposits in the world. �We were staying in a lovely bed and breakfast, which the 3 of us crammed into and shared our tiny bathroom. But we were just so happy to be together and here are Craig and Asher enjoying dinner. So, be well and stay safe - and respect others. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-26_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-107 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-26 Title A name given to the resource Day 107 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/abb58d872b1d1b3543acee0a59e4ebfb.pdf 97b5b52290d08669ed2939455c832489 PDF Text Text Day 108 or 15 1/2 weeks. by windoworks On Thursday a staff member at Donkey Taqueria, one of several restaurants owned by a friend of mine, tested positive for coronavirus. Paul immediately closed the restaurant temporarily and posted about it on FaceBook. But what impressed me was the line: ‘this is not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last’. Yes indeed. This morning I watched an ad with President Obama and he said: Don’t be afraid. It struck a deep chord within me and of course, I cried. Craig said: why are you crying? And I had to think about it. I cried for those 8 years when we watched every broadcast Obama made; when he told us just how bad things were and then reassured us that working together, we would get through it. The 8 years of no scandal in the White House; a First Lady who embraced her position and was accessible. During his presidency, I was the chair of Grand Rapids Weed & Seed, a National program designed to work with the police department. We were the seed part and the police were the weed. We had a one day summit planned and I proposed that we ask Michelle Obama to come and talk to our kids. I thought the worst could be that she would say no. Quite quickly we received a response from one of her staff, saying unfortunately she had another event on that day that she couldn’t move. Two weeks later we received another letter asking us what was the date again, because she might be free. We corresponded but unfortunately, she was still not able to attend. It was surprising as we thought the first letter was a gracious brush off. I simply can’t imagine this would happen with Melania. Nationally, 44,702 new infections were reported by state health departments on Friday, surpassing the previous record, 39,327, set a day earlier. So just leaving that alarming development there for your consideration, then there’s this: Vice President Pence said during a White House coronavirus task force news briefing that it is “very encouraging news” that half of the increasing cases in Florida and Texas are among Americans under 35, because younger people tend to have less-serious outcomes. Followed by this: Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease doctor, urged Americans to see their role in taking safety precautions as a “societal responsibility.” He begged them not to let their guards down even if the risk to their own health is considered minimal, because they can still transport it. When you consider any words from the vice president, you have to remember this is a man who cannot eat a meal with any other woman but his wife. That opens up a whole new set of questions, doesn’t it? So �the fact that he publicly believes that its encouraging news that the cases are less serious for under 35 year olds - and doesn’t take the consequences of community transmission into consideration at all, AND he’s the head of the White House virus team, just makes me want to lie down and scream: Jacinda, Angela, anybody? Help us! The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late on Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act, telling the court that “the entire ACA must fall.” The administration’s argument comes as hundreds of thousands of Americans turned to the government program for health care as they’ve lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said that axing the healthcare law as the nation is still reeling from the pandemic would amount to a double whammy for covid-19 survivors. He worried insurers would view covid-19 as a preexisting condition, and without the ACA, would be free to deny survivors coverage. Those survivors, having struggled and won the fight of their lives, would have their peace of mind stolen away at the moment they need it most,” Biden said. “They would live their lives caught in a vise between Donald Trump’s twin legacies: his failure to protect the American people from the coronavirus, and his heartless crusade to take health-care protections away from American families." This brings to mind the analogy of Rome burning while Nero fiddled (as in played the fiddle). So now we’re definitely not welcome anywhere in the European Union and Britain is trying to cope with a heatwave and a decrease in social distancing especially on the beaches. Their cases are continuing to rise as well. And what is it with Australians and toilet paper? Supermarkets in Australia have been forced to reintroduce limits on toilet paper and other goods to stop a fresh wave of customers from bulk buying unnecessarily. The recent panic is believed to have been triggered by a surge in coronavirus cases in the southeastern state of Victoria. Woolworths supermarkets announced Friday the reintroduction of a limit of two packs per customer on toilet paper and paper towels in all stores following “a recent surge in demand.” The Coles supermarket chain also implemented buying restrictions on toilet paper, rice, flour and sugar.Morrison described the behavior of those engaging in panic buying as “ridiculous.” Photos shared on Twitter this week showed empty shelves in grocery aisles in Sydney and Melbourne, as fears of a second wave seemingly spread across the country. Weeks ago Zoe struggled to find enough items like baby wipes and fresh fruit for Oliver. I hope this isn’t the case again. And speaking of Oliver, here he is with Great Aunt Bernie, reading a book. ��Yesterday Craig finished most of the front of the house. He didn’t repaint the porch walls as they were painted not so long ago. Instead he washed them down. Then he put up our new flag - which I hope covers everyone. In the photos you can see me with my new haircut, the flag, the new painted 2nd floor, my new rainbow weave in the tv room window (from my talented niece Elle), and the edge of our neighbor’s new blue painted house. ��And I just had to put this here: �That’s for all my friends of more experienced years. �More Cambridge adventures. �����One of the ‘must do’ things in Cambridge is take a guided punt tour on the River Cam. We slid around the university on the river while our punter and guide told us more information than I could remember. The most exciting moment was at the end when I tried to clamber out of the punt. Craig and I almost fell in the river. An exciting beginning to our first day in Cambridge. So, be brave, be safe, be healthy and carry on. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-27_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-108 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-27 Title A name given to the resource Day 108 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/058ce104880e54b06d8c6903a25ca127.pdf 44c303fb7df3f0a198fd8a255d68db36 PDF Text Text Day 109 by windoworks The virus is the boss. This is not a thing to be decided by governors or mayors or anybody. Well here we are. There are any number of articles describing new details of the virus such as transmission and long term effects - and here’s a sobering one: We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas. It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidney and other organs. We didn’t appreciate that in the beginning,” said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California. In addition to respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that can lead to strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems. The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache, dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion. And recovery can be slow, incomplete and costly, with a huge impact on quality of life. Now I know, it’s Sunday morning and you wanted kittens or babies or cute zoo animals. But this is what we have and this is the new normal. All these things we do right now to keep ourselves safe and healthy are going to have to continue into the foreseeable future and even though the scientists know all those facts (see above), they still don’t know when or if the virus will finish. So we have to make this new life our own. We have to enjoy it and grow within its confines. We have to embrace it. Yesterday my friend Wendy and her husband were driving by and they stopped to check out our new red house front. I just happened to be bringing the dog in off the front porch (she needed a drink of water), and I saw them and invited them up on to our porch to sit at the other end on the swing and chat. Craig came out and we spent a lovely 30 minutes catching up face to face. I couldn’t offer beverages or snacks but none of us cared. It was so nice just to actually see each other and not on zoom. ��The big white and red house and the big blue house, side by side. The blue house will have terracotta trim and our house will be red on top on all sides when finished. Across America, a large number of Police Chiefs have resigned after racial incidents by their police staff have taken place. And Chief Medical Officers have also resigned due to personal harassment, trolling online and protestors turning up at their homes. I’m missing the link with this last item. If I get my CMO to resign, then the virus will disappear, right? In keeping with that thought: �This morning I watched an interview with John Kasich (R), the former Governor of Ohio, with Erin Burnett on CNN. Here’s a snippet of what he said: “In 2016, people wanted to shake up Washington. Quoting Pink Floyd, this is being viewed by many (overseas) as ‘a momentary lapse of reason’. The 2020 election isn’t about a great vision for the future. It’s about a return to normalcy.” �Joe Biden talking about trump. I focus in on the words: it happened to all of us. This is the man I am supporting and voting for in November. And if you’re not sure of his capabilities, I offer this: �Yesterday we went for a drive after lunch. We drove out to Allendale to the GVSU campus - very quiet and then we pulled in to Versluis’s farm stall on the way back to buy some fresh picked strawberries. They �had NONE! For the first time ever, in their farming career, a fungus destroyed their entire strawberry crop! So is it a plague of toads next? Then we swung by Rise Gluten Free/Vegan bakery and picked up our donuts and muffins. I managed to order their last 3 muffins. Yum! Their treats are wonderful. Lastly we drove by one of the 4 social zones downtown. People can buy food and drink and then take it outside and safely sit. ��The City of Grand Rapids has canceled all Fourth of July celebrations including the downtown fireworks display. You can purchase your own fireworks but there is a strict period in which you can set them off (which some people are ignoring). And speaking of ignoring safety rules in hot weather and a pandemic: President Trump is planning a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite a decadelong ban on pyrotechnics at the iconic spot because of concerns about public health, environmental and safety risks He’s hoping aligning himself with those presidential monuments will boost his ratings and make himself feel really important. ��Because Oliver in his new Pom Pom hat, clapping his hands. He also sometimes waves to me, like the Queen does - fingers together, turning his hand back and forth. A full day in Cambridge with Asher. �����At the top: inside the Fitzwilliam Museum. This is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1816 from the will of the 7th Viscount FitzWilliam. it was stuffed full of goodies. Next, in the early evening we lined up and bought tickets to enter the Kings College Chapel and listen to the choir sing Evensong. Henry VIII finished the construction of the chapel in 1544. The choir is all male students and is famous world wide. Photography was not permitted inside the chapel but it was a magical performance and a highlight of Cambridge . Waiting in line to enter the chapel; the Gothic entrance; the view from the top of the tower and Asher and I in the college green. Tomorrow we leave Cambridge and begin our journey to the north. Just do your best - that’s all anyone can do, really. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-28_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-109 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-28 Title A name given to the resource Day 109 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dc566fad3e94a54ae49fd1bc889fb2e1.pdf 36e367a15996296aec5373a7c9680e88 PDF Text Text Day 110 by windoworks This morning Craig said: there’s never any good news any more. So first I offer these: ��Yes, we can still laugh, only not quite as much or often, as before. Because here’s what we’re dealing with today. �Most other high-income countries are dealing with modest numbers of new cases — often an inevitable consequence of reopening — and the countries are responding aggressively. Many are following the advice of public health experts, ordering social distancing, mask-wearing and partial lockdowns and doing their best to track people who came in contact with new patients. The United States is not. President Trump and many governors continue to flout scientific advice and send mixed messages about the seriousness of the virus. The federal government has failed to offer the kind of clear and consistent messaging experts say is necessary to mount a successful public health response. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, put it this way: “From the very beginning, this outbreak has really been mismanaged in terms of what the government response should have been.” That quote appeared in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article headlined: “The lessons Canada can take from the U.S.’s mishandling of Covid-19.” And if that wasn’t concerning enough, here’s what is happening in Texas. Texas Medical Center hospitals stopped updating key metrics showing the stress rising numbers of COVID-19 patients were placing on their facilities for more than three days, rattling policymakers and residents who have relied on the information to gauge the spread of the coronavirus. The institutions — �which together constitute the world’s largest medical complex — reported Thursday that their base intensive care capacity had hit 100 percent for the first time during the pandemic and was on pace to exceed an “unsustainable surge capacity” of intensive care beds by July 6. This must be part of the ‘if I just close my eyes it’ll go away, right?’ plan. Also, embarrassingly, the governor of Texas had to go on live television and ask (almost beg) his constituents to wear a mask. Because, guess what? Wearing a mask keeps you safe and your friends and family safe! Who knew? Oh Gov Abbott - too little, too late. Meanwhile, here in West Michigan: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Several restaurants and bars in West Michigan are closing back down, this time because of staff members testing positive for Coronavirus. So far, FOX 17 has confirmed that Long Road Distillery in Grand Haven, Bostwick Lake Inn near Rockford, and Donkey Taqueria in Grand Rapids are all shutting their doors temporarily. Each had at least one employee test positive for Coronavirus, but where they were exposed is still under investigation. The cases are not surprising to the Kent County Health Department.”It’s understandable, people want to get together and hang out and they’re going to go where they can and do that. So we just still want people to be taking precautions,” said Brian Hartl, Epidemiologist with the Kent County Health Department. The real concern for the department is the rising number of daily cases. On Tuesday Kent County saw 24 new cases. Wednesday that went up to 37. Thursday it was 52. As I write this, the new cases over the weekend brought our numbers yesterday to 4,450 and our deaths 127-132. The numbers vary according to the source. I keep seeing posts on FaceBook from friends, particularly younger people, showing them standing close to their friends with no masks. It’s worrying. Meanwhile my friend Merrilyn (remember she wrote a book using her bear photos, entitled Bear Hunt) wrote that she’s going into the West Australian State Library tomorrow to hand over her 2 “Bear Hunt” books, one of which they are buying. She’s had quite a remarkable response from local child care centres, primary schools and others and is about to place an order for 50 copies. Congratulations Merrilyn! And Asher sent me this link to an article for businesses but I think some parts are applicable. Leadership in the New Now The coronavirus has shaken the nature of work to its core. While many are still anxiously awaiting a return to normal, what’s “normal” after the pandemic is likely to look very different from what we were used to before it began. Uncertainty will stay with us for many months, so it will be almost impossible to �define what’s “normal.” What we need to think about is not a “new normal” but a new reality—a “new now.” The crisis is shining a bright light on corporate culture. It is revealing whether businesses support their workforce, for example, through the promise of avoiding layoffs and doing what they can to minimize financial hardship, or whether employees feel that protecting the bottom line is priority number one. I believe it is the New Now for all of us. Normal will never be what it was and I don’t think gathering in bars, or on beaches or crowded together at sporting venues will ever bring normal back. Part of our New Now for Craig and I, is a return to online grocery ordering. It is just too upsetting to see whole families or young people in grocery stores without masks. Instead of calmly shopping, we both get angry and anxious and forget half of what we came for. It is challenging to order groceries online - you ask for a pound of tomatoes and you get just one. And extraordinary items are out of stock. Who knew everybody loved chocolate covered gluten free cookies? So to cheer us all up: here are Oliver and Zoe, standing in front of the school Oliver will attend when he’s 5 years old. ��Back in Britain, we began our journey to the north. ������Here we are exploring the ruins of Barnard Castle. The town of Barnard Castle surrounds the ruins, which are on the banks of the river Tees. The only other item of note is that the towns biggest employer is GlaxoSmithKlein, which has a manufacturing facility on the towns edge. Tomorrow we reach Hadrian’s Wall. Remember: wearing a mask shows others that you care about their safety. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-29_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-110 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-29 Title A name given to the resource Day 110 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bfd5eaeb555c69059ef8d4a645b4bf01.pdf 0a9921b62d7423463ac43e22411b743c PDF Text Text Day 111 by windoworks Whenever I feel overwhelmed or sad or angry, or maybe just so dammed tired of it all, I look at photos and videos of Oliver. Oliver was born into the pandemic - he’s never known any other lifeway. For weeks he accepted living in an apartment with just his mother: no daycare, no park outings, no walks in strollers with friends. Now it has opened up a little more in New South Wales, and he is back at daycare and getting cuddles from relatives and other adults. And through it all he continued to grow and change and see Craig and I every day on FaceTime. Last night, looking at me, he laid his head on the side and smiled a faint smile. He knows I will copy him. Craig and I have known Oliver all 11 months of his life. Sometimes he makes sure we are watching him play and sometimes he ignores us - but he always knows we are there - the little people in Mummy’s phone. ��I don't see this as a wave anymore. Waves are outdated. We have peaks and valleys,” says Michael Osterholm (Director; Center for Infectious Disease, U of Minn). And here’s another new development everyone in research is talking about: At least four laboratory experiments suggest that the mutation makes the virus more infectious, although none of that work has been peer-reviewed. Another unpublished study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory asserts that patients with the G variant actually have more virus in their bodies, making them more likely to spread it to others. The mutation doesn’t appear to make people sicker, but a growing number of scientists worry that it has made the virus more contagious. So after months of assuring us that the virus was stable and not mutating, now you’re telling us you think it is and that mutation is helping it to spread faster and be more contagious? More than half a dozen epidemiologists, virologists, and psychologists contacted by National Geographic agree, and said that struggling governments can win their COVID-19 wars—and perhaps avoid further lockdowns—through more unified planning and messaging, steeped with harm reduction. They say much of America’s inabilities to waylay COVID-19 stem from humans ignoring their essential advantages over the virus: communication, cooperation, and compromise. Tomorrow it will be 16 weeks (4 months) since I began this entirely new way of life. In 8 weeks time (half the time I have spent at home) Grand Valley State University will reopen to students and faculty alike. I am not comfortable with that thought - and today I read an NPR article which confirmed my unease. When asked if he could imagine a college party where everyone is wearing masks, Jacques du Passage, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, laughs. "No. I don't think they would do that," he says. "I think [students] would just have the party and then face the repercussions." That's exactly what Apramay Mishra, student body president at the University of Kansas, is worried about when it comes to reopening campus amid the pandemic. "Right now it's kind of slipped from most people's minds," he says. Students "don't really think it's a big deal." Around the U.S., coronavirus cases are rising among young people. The spread of the virus has been connected to college-related events such as fraternity parties, drinking at off-campus bars and athletic practices. For colleges planning to bring thousands of students together in the fall, student spread is a real worry. And the stakes are high: If there are outbreaks, campuses may once again be forced to shut down, scattering students and disrupting academics and college finances all over again. �Many college students still have developing brains, so it's not that they aren't informed or that they don't understand the risks — its that they’re wired differently. They are highly sensitized to reward, especially in the context of peers. Hanging out with friends is a pretty incredible reward, given that many students have been isolated for months. All of their routines are built around social interaction. It's just a totally new set of social conditions that certainly nobody in that age has ever been subjected to. ���Two different approaches to social distancing. And then there’s this: ��I read a personal post this morning which suggested that, through all his actions since taking office, trump appears to be a perfect Manchurian Candidate under the control of Vladimir Putin. I remember that movie as very scary. There couldn’t be any truth to this, could there? From Zar in New Zealand: another bear, this time Superbear! ��Flashback: We journeyed on to Hadrian’s Wall. This wall was begun in 122CE during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It ran from the banks of the River Tyne near the North Sea to the Solway Firth on the Irish Sea. This was the northern limit of the Roman Empire. It had a stone base and a stone wall. There were milecastles with two turrets in between. There was a fort about every five miles. It is thought the milecastles were staffed with static garrisons, whereas the forts had fighting garrisons of infantry and cavalry. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been custom posts. ���Here we are at Housteads Roman Fort. This fort on the Wall was built in 124CE and abandoned in 400CE. It must have been a lonely spot especially in midwinter. Most of the sentries were recruited from the local population. The Wall was built to keep out the Picts who were a confederation of Celtic speaking peoples. Picts means painted people in Latin. The Romans didn’t have the manpower to subdue them so they built the Wall to keep them out. Nowadays the Wall is overgrown and sinking into the earth. It was much higher and formidable during Roman times. More Wall adventures tomorrow. Today is the 2nd day of 16 days in a row of 90F (32C) and above. There may be more days but that’s as far as my weather app goes. In the back yard TJ is building a wooden wall and gate, and when its done, Craig will (hopefully) take out the chain metal gates. And so the summer goes - one project after another. Tomorrow the plumber comes to switch out the kitchen faucet and clean out the kitchen and the laundry drains. I shall be safely ensconced upstairs, although the company assured us that all of their plumbers wear masks. I will be glad to get a faucet that pours out water rather than the measly trickle we have at the moment. Remember: keep on smiling through. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-06-30_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-111 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-06-30 Title A name given to the resource Day 111 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1c6788efe3e394efdfdcba827a7dcedc.pdf 170dc51e9f4a91121ac071560ab97d29 PDF Text Text Day 112. by windoworks This morning is overwhelming. Firstly, I watched Joe Biden give a speech. When he said the words: every store should have a big sticker on the door that says: Safe For Shopping, I cried. As he talked about the steps that should have been taken by the administration, I cried. As he acknowledged the huge sacrifices that Americans have made by staying home and staying safe, while the President did NOTHING to help, I cried. When he acknowledged how frightened and anxious we all are, I cried. Oh how different this would have been if Hillary had won. I look at Jacinda in New Zealand and Angela in Germany and I wonder if those citizens know just how lucky they are. And then I watched a CNN report form a hospital In Houston, Texas where the reporter and the cameraman were allowed into the Coronavirus Wing (the Coronavirus Wing!) through the zippered negative air seal door to see the patients being treated. The journalist was dressed in 3 protective layers, from head to foot. The head doctor has been working for 100 days straight. They had so much protective gear on you couldn’t tell if they were a male or female, but each staff member wore a large laminated photograph of themselves around their neck for the patients to see who they were. The doctor said he is treating people in a completely different way to 2 months ago, never mind 4 months ago. His recovery rate is 98%, which is fantastic, but if the numbers continue to surge, they won’t have the beds to accommodate the patients. The reporter then said: look behind me. There was a long line of cars stretching into the distance, waiting to be tested - and they had begun lining up at 1am. I feel like a front line reporter, just behind the battle lines. There is only one way to get out of this mess and unfortunately, we can’t affect a change until November 3. We need a new leader who actually leads. There is so much disparaging stuff said about Joe Biden, but he is stepping up and offering solutions and reassurances and I am impressed by his ‘steady hand on the wheel’ stance. �There’s a novel concept: actually listening to the experts! As I write this, there is a plumber in our basement trying to find out why there is s growing pool of contaminated water coming up the drain. I’ve heard of this happening to other friends but not us. I am safely upstairs, sitting in bed, writing this blog. There are some days I can’t believe my life. Breaking: Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert, gave a dire warning Tuesday in a Senate committee hearing held as coronavirus infections surge in many parts of the United States. �“We are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. And so I am very concerned,” Fauci said in response to questioning from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on what the overall U.S. death toll is likely to be. Fauci testified alongside Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield; Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn; and Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, before the Senate’s health committee hearing meant to focus on safely reopening schools and businesses. And this: A top doctor at the CDC said the U.S. has “way too much virus” to control it. “We’re not in the situation of New Zealand or Singapore or Korea where a new case is rapidly identified and all the contacts are traced and people are isolated who are sick and people who are exposed are quarantined and they can keep things under control,” Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Howard Bauchner. "We have way too much virus across the country for that right now, so it’s very discouraging. … This is really the beginning. But while the Democrats in both houses are listening, no one is listening in the White House. They’re too busy planning rallies and that big fireworks display I told you about. Because getting Chump reelected is more important than anything. And this just in from the European Union: It’s official: the EU says Americans are persona non grata. U.S. travelers won't be among those allowed to visit the European Union when the bloc begins opening its external borders on July 1. EU ambassadors endorsed 15 countries that were hit early by the pandemic but have been able to bring the coronavirus under control. The U.S., not so much. That’s fine. Who needs a lovely beach in France or Croatia or GREECE! with the beautiful water and … oh, forget it! We’re totally bummed out. (Update: kitchen faucet fixed. Blockage in basement cleared. Drains being scoured out). And then here’s this: If you read just one story today, make it Watergate legend Carl Bernstein's deep dive for CNN: “In hundreds of highly classified phone calls with foreign heads of state, [Trump] was so consistently unprepared for discussion of serious issues, so often outplayed in his conversations with powerful leaders like [Putin] and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and so abusive to leaders of America's principal allies, that the calls helped convince some senior US officials – including his former secretaries of state and defense, two national security advisers and his longest-serving chief of staff -- that the President himself �posed a danger to the national security of the United States, according to White House and intelligence officials intimately familiar with the contents of the conversations. … The sources said there was little evidence that the President became more skillful or competent in his telephone conversations with most heads of state over time. … Putin ‘just outplays’ him, said a high-level administration official -- comparing the Russian leader to a chess grandmaster and Trump to an occasional player of checkers. While Putin ‘destabilizes the West,’ said this source, the President of the United States ‘sits there and thinks he can build himself up enough as a businessman and tough guy that Putin will respect him.’ (At times, the Putin-Trump conversations sounded like ‘two guys in a steam bath,’ a source added.) … In separate interviews, two high-level administration officials familiar with most of the Trump-Putin calls said the President naively elevated Russia – a second-rate totalitarian state with less than 4% of the world's GDP.” To inject some humor: And �It must be time for an Oliver photo. Yesterday Oliver went to visit The Taronga Park Zoo for the very first time! He had a very exciting day. And I think today is a 3 photo day to cheer us all up. ����The view of Sydney Harbor from the Zoo, elephants, and so tired on the way home. I feel better, how about you? More Hadrian’s Wall. Today we visited Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort just south of the Wall. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, a set of wooden leaf-tablets that were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. There is a museum there which displays finds from the site. The site was under Roman control from about 85CE to 370CE. ������From the top: walking into Vindolanda; the archeological site; a communal toilet; lots of shoes in the museum and lastly, an unknown woman’s tomb marker. Two days ago we walked through another part of the grounds at Aquinas College. Whenever I am stressed and I can’t get to the lake, an over abundance of green always helps. Today’s new message for all Americans: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! (And wear your mask everywhere!) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-01_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-112 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-01 Title A name given to the resource Day 112 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b43b777fa8bdf37d2617aa00b2454163.pdf 5547f3d9c194d315753ed0f37b31a636 PDF Text Text Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Stuff Day 113 by windoworks ��This is Gretchen. She’s got our backs. She talks to us every week and tells us exactly what’s going on in Michigan. She surrounds herself with experts who all have the opportunity to speak and be heard. This is what a leader looks like. Yesterday, Gretchen did this: The rest of the article stated that take out cocktails would be allowed. Another restaurant near us closed on Tuesday because a staff member tested positive. You have to wonder (a) how did the staff member become infected and (b) how many times can this happen before a restaurant or bar closes permanently? “We shouldn’t presume that a group of experts somehow knows what’s best,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said during Fauci's appearance before the Senate health committee. �What is wrong with this statement from a prominent Republican Senator? I know there’s something....... The Women’s City Club has organized a Lets Do Picnic Lunch at a nearby park, and I have to tell you, I’m a bit nervous about it. I know we’ll all have masks and disinfectant and we’ll sit far apart but even so, its scary. In part of the video of the reporter in a Houston hospital that I told you about yesterday, the reporter interviewed the owner of 2 bars that had to close. He asked him: how do you think you got the virus? And the bar owner (60-70 year old) said: it might have been the hugs or the kisses or the handshakes, I don’t know. I’ll just let that sink in. Here is one of the lions that guard the entrance to the New York Public Library. We have a house around the corner from us that has a pair of lions guarding their doorway and for months now they have been masked up. In the ‘well at least they told us straightaway’ catgeory: Chinese researchers announced the discovery of a new strain of swine flu among workers at a slaughterhouse and warned it should be monitored in case human-to-human transmission starts. �Is this the point at which I lie on the floor and moan? That pretty much sums it up for Craig and 3 of our neighbors, as well as all their colleagues. Should be easy, right? And this one has that very bad word, but I’m posting it anyway. ��Well this seems sensible: Half of the entire workforce is now working remotely (that’s right, half), and many companies believe it makes economic sense to keep it going — pandemic or not. No more wasted time or money on commuting. Workers can live where they want. Companies save money by not paying for commercial real estate, which is insanely expensive in places like Boston, New York City and Silicon Valley. Virtual offices mean companies can tap into an unlimited labor pool for recruiting. Plus, one expert says the teleworking shift is pushing companies to focus on performance and output as opposed to just clocking hours. Here’s my question: what’s going to happen to all those high rise office buildings that are downtown in every large city? Yesterday we drove past Monroe Plaza (which had the most number of smashed windows after the demonstration) and it was closed to all cars. Instead it had colored umbrellas and tables and chairs and there seemed to be people sitting and eating and relaxing in the gorgeous day. It’s one of the temporary social zones and I really hope they make it a permanent one. And this really sums it up for Craig and I: This next item is good to know but - scary. Medical experts say autopsies are becoming a critical source of information on coronavirus as scientists race to understand it. Autopsies have confirmed that the virus does attack the lungs with the most ferocity. But the pathogen was also found in the kidneys, liver and the brain, where some damage could be permanent in survivors.Dissecting 38 brains,87 lungs and 42 hearts of people who died from Covid19 revealed surprising and alarming results. (You’ll need to look online to find those results) This just in: Los Angeles County has ordered all beaches to close over the Fourth of July weekend after reporting its highest single-day number of new cases on Monday. But L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he does not plan to enforce the order. You have to ask yourself: why wouldn’t he enforce the order? Lazy? Too hard? Virus is a hoax Or, Chump fan? So I FINALLY figured out how to load a video on to this blogpost. Wait for the smile at the end. Craig is very excited. He sees a drum kit in Oliver’s future. �Flashback: our last visit to Hadrian’s Wall. ���We visited Walltown Crags which is considered one of the best places to see Hadrian’ s Wall as it snakes through the countryside along the crags of the Whin Sill. It is one of the most preserved pieces of the Wall. Asher was very excited by all our Wall days. He stood on the top of it at one place and declared loudly ‘Winter is coming!’ - and unless you were a Game of Thrones fan, you would have no idea what he was talking about. The Wall was an amazing experience. I know I use that word a lot, but it was such an experience to look at a long wall that stretched across Britain and did a decent job of keeping the Picts out. As I write this today, I am so grateful for all the traveling Craig and I have been able to do. As my motherin-law says: the photos remind you of experiences you have had. It may be a long time until Craig and I are able to travel again - and as Americans we are not welcome in Europe or, I suspect, Australia and New Zealand at this time. Our photos of previous times are therefore doubly precious. Further north tomorrow. �Remember to vote! November 3 is 123 days away. Vote Blue, from the bottom to the top. Mark it on your calendar. In Michigan you can vote absentee - its ridiculously easy. No excuses - just vote! � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-02_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-113 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-02 Title A name given to the resource Day 113 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1822e27fda11a105afc21c5a3e5a09d.pdf 2589e33c85cf6ea9c25a7989eafd1bc2 PDF Text Text Day 114 by windoworks As my friend said to me today: Pamela, you are living the virus. Yesterday in Michigan, where we have endured months of behaving ourselves and following the Governor’s instructions, the number of virus cases rose by 543 in one day as opposed to under 100 a day in the middle of June. In Kent County there were 107 new cases yesterday. The day before there were 30+ new cases. So here I am, living the virus. I watched Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State talk this morning. He is famous for his one liners. This morning he said ‘reality always wins’. He was referring to Chump’s refusal to face any sort of fact about the virus. Governor Cuomo also said some weeks ago ‘the other choice is death’. Hawaii has mandated quarantine for tourists and if you don’t comply, you face a $5000 fine or a 12 month jail sentence. New York State says any visitor who doesn’t quarantine will be fined up to $10,000. MiamiDade County in Florida had instituted a curfew beginning tonight. Beaches are closed in a number of coastal states. �And here we are again: In Arizona, where the virus appears to be spreading out of control, hospitals rushed to expand capacity and adopted practices similar to those employed at the height of the outbreak in New York City and Italy, including doubling up hospital beds in rooms, pausing elective surgeries and bringing in health-care workers from other states. �Perhaps most chillingly, at the urging of doctors and advisers, state officials this week activated “crisis standards of care” protocols, which determine for hospitals which patients get ventilators and care as the system becomes overwhelmed under the crush of patients. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction,” Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious-disease expert, said during a YouTube live stream. Although people are asking to be tested, once again there seem to be shortages of test kits and the accompanying paraphernalia. At the same time, laboratories are running out of test reagents as well as being simply overwhelmed by the rush. From Sydney, Australia: in Balmain where Zoe and Oliver live, their local grocery store, Woolworths, was closed for deep cleaning and restaffing after one store worker tested positive. Disturbingly, he tested positive several weeks after recovering from his initial bout of Covid-19. Accordingly (with many others) Zoe lined up to be tested again. She and Oliver had planned to visit his great grandmother in Canberra this weekend, and she needed to know if she was infected. Zoe reported there was a long line of cars and when the nurse asked her why she was being tested she replied: I live in Balmain. And the nurse replied: Ah, Woolworths. The nurse then scraped both sides of Zoe’s throat ad well as both nostrils - a change from the previous test when the nurse had scraped one side of Zoe’s throat and one nostril. Fortunately the test came back negative and Zoe and Oliver can safely visit my mother-in-law. But here’s something cheery: In El Cajon, Calif., a procession of cars carrying 600 soon-to-be U.S. citizens from 68 countries passed through a series of stations behind a local community center earlier this week, where they were asked a series of final questions: "Any coronavirus symptoms? Have you been arrested since your interview? No tickets, nothing like that?" After that, they were asked to surrender their green card and given a small American flag. Driving a little farther forward, an immigration officer wearing a face cover administered the oath of allegiance, 6 feet from the car's window. And in a matter of minutes, years of uncertainty were over — hundreds of people became U.S. citizens over the course of the day. Yay! I remember our ceremony from 10 years ago and what a thrill that was. At the end of the drivethrough ceremony (above), the immigration officer then said to each new citizen: congratulations! Welcome to America. On the reverse side, here is something scary: �Russian voters passed a referendum allowing President Vladimir Putin to remain in office until 2036. Vladimir Putin is 67 years old, by 2036 he will be 83 years old, if he is still alive. The referendum contained 200 amendments. 200! Just remember, Chump adores Putin. And just to cheer us all up, from John Lennon: Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope some day you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people sharing all the world. Under the heading: Let sleeping dogs lie - ��French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson greeted each other with waves and thumbs up this week. Even the elbow bump with which Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders opened their mid-March debate is a thing of the past. Forget handshakes or hugs. And gestures aren’t the only rituals learned over a lifetime that have been adapted in mere months since the novel coronavirus began changing the world. A quick shout out to my niece Elle Benjamin in Cornwall, England. As she has returned to her office job part time, she has taken up crafting in her spare time and is concentrating on weaving wall hangings. She is also a wonderful potter. This month she is making Christmas decorations for a booth she hopes to have at a nearby Christmas Market in December. You can see her stuff at: completeanduttercraft on Instagram. I have purchased 3 items from her already. She has a PayPal account that is easy to deal with. Check out her site. By the way, she made 33 cloud rainbow window hangings. They are all over the world as well as locally and she donated half the profits to the National Health Service. Oliver. If the video was too big yesterday, I apologize and I will just post photos until I figure video posting out better. Here he is at daycare surrounded by his team. You’ve gotta laugh. ��Flashback: on our way into Edinburgh we visited Rosslyn Chapel. The building was begun in 1456 and of course at that time it was a Catholic Church. In 1861 it became a Scottish Episcopal Church. The really interesting thing about this chapel is the speculative theories about a connection with the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail and Freemasonry. It was prominently featured in Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code (2003) and the film adaption in 2006. Sadly medieval historians say these accounts have no basis in fact. However, the church has gained an impressive amount of tourists visiting, who all come to see the crypt featured in the film. ����From the top: me outside the church looking at the extensive carvings; Asher outside; the church is famous for its carvings, both inside and out but the ones outside have suffered greatly from weather and pollution; lastly a photo from the crypt - I’m not sure of it’s significance. Broadway will remain shuttered until at least January. But if you subscribe to Disney+,from tonight you can watch the complete stage performance of Hamilton featuring the original cast. Simon says; put your mask on. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-03_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-114 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-03 Title A name given to the resource Day 114 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/61c260db255c0140afb2a9e3ef82faf3.pdf 743ff35e4e90da60e67583511df9829f PDF Text Text Day 115 by windoworks Yesterday, in one day, the number of new cases in the US was 57,209. 57,209. Dr Fauci warned that we could see 100,000 new cases a day and I think we’re well on our way. And consider this: these are only the tested cases. In many areas, they run out of test kits while the line of cars stretch for miles. In Kent County yesterday we had 90 new cases, 17 less than the day before. Almost everyone wears a mask - more people on the streets than before, but most stores have 100% mask cover. From my friend Gina: We’re all exhausted. We’re all stuck at home. We’re all wondering how to proceed. And we’re all cross. �Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ― Theodore Roosevelt. Today is the 4th of July. This is a federal holiday in the United States celebrating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. Usually we get up early and walk 6 blocks to watch the Hollyhock Parade. This parade has been running annually for 85 years. There’s marching bands, floats, politicians running for re-election (or election), vintage cars and lots and lots of thrown candy. Everyone cheers and waves American flags and catches up with friends. One year I marched with Joe Jones and his team as he was running for reelection to his City Commission seat. It was one of the most memorable moments. At the end of the parade all participants meet in Hollyhock Lane for music and refreshments. I believe the parade is happening this morning but Craig and I are not going. All other parades and fireworks have been canceled this year along with pretty much everything else. And if the virus and its consequences weren’t enough, now we’re in a heatwave. For the next 13 days (that’s as far as my weather app goes) we have temperatures ranging between 91F -96F (32.7C-35.5C). This is the first morning Craig has not turned off the window a/c units and opened all the windows and doors. We are eating a diet of salads, salads and more salads. Every evening at 9:30pm, before we go to bed, we sit outside in the waning light and watch the fireflies. They rise up, little erratic blinking lights that twinkle. After a while one or both of us begin to yawn and then its time for bed. Some nights most of our neighbors are siting on their porches, just talking but last night we were the only ones. And here’s this: As a new academic year approaches, colleges and universities across the country say they are taking every precaution to safely bring their campuses back to life. But with coronavirus cases surging, especially among young people, college faculty members are demanding the right to teach remotely this fall — no questions asked. Thousands of professors, increasingly rattled by reopening plans that they say place tuition revenue above their well-being, have signed petitions calling for more flexibility to teach remotely. They argue they should not be forced to disclose medical information or make a case for keeping themselves and their families safe in the middle of a pandemic that has killed more than 125,000 Americans .A common thread is the belief that everyone deserves the right to teach remotely regardless of their health or age. With so little known �about the virus, faculty members worry about the risks to everyone, especially the nearby college dependent towns. To raise your spirits: Here is a photo from Craig’s walk this morning. ��Yesterday Zoe and Oliver drove 177 miles to Canberra to stay with her aunt and uncle and visit GG (Oliver’s great grandmother). These photos just in: ���Everyone worried that Oliver and Kym’s dog Allie wouldn’t get on, but so far so good. Flashback: Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress which dominates the skyline of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, from its position on the Castle Rock. Archaeologists have established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age (2nd century CE), although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued at times to be a royal residence until 1633. From the 15th century, the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland's national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century onwards, and various restoration programmes have been carried out over the past century and a half. As one of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite rising of 1745. Research undertaken in 2014 identified 26 sieges in its 1100-year-old history, giving it a claim to having been "the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world". So I have to be honest and say: Wikipedia, but they say it all so much better than me. I loved Edinburgh. To this day I cannot explain why, it just spoke to me as did all of Scotland. Edinburgh Castle felt steeped in history and we explored it all. ����From the top: Asher and I walking up to the castle’s main entrance. Two years later, Craig and I sat in a temporary stand watching the massed pipe bands come out through that entrance, past the barrels of fire, on the opening night of the Edinburgh Tattoo. (But thats another story for another day). Then 3 photos from the gun turret area. It was a gorgeous fall day. More Edinburgh tomorrow. Remember: 122 days to Election Day 2020. Are you all ready to vote? Register now if you haven’t already. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-04_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-115 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-04 Title A name given to the resource Day 115 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/496c7851d35db4bec16bed54dc7b848b.pdf ef622169aa5cbbaf69dd0f5a1c61471b PDF Text Text Day 116 – the day after July 4th by windoworks Last night Craig and I sat on our front porch for 30 minutes as the fireworks exploded constantly, all around us. The noise was incredible. Some made a whistling sound and then burst into huge exploding balls of color. And some made such a bang as they shot up that I could feel the porch floor vibrate under my bare feet - and then they exploded as a small round ball. All noise and no color. The last fireworks exploded at 3:30am. Until that time the noise was loud, constant and endless. There was barely a second between explosions. I’m sure everyone loved the display - but 3:30 in the morning? As I told you yesterday, we didn’t go to the Hollyhock Parade but our neighbors 3 doors down joined the parade in their beautifully restored truck - and everyone wore face masks! Here they are ready to go. ��My next door neighbors cycled over to watch but said it was nothing like the normal parade. Maybe next year. From Joe Biden: Our country was founded on an idea. “We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal.“ We never lived up to it. Jefferson himself didn’t. He held slaves. Women were excluded. Two suggestions = perhaps it would be a more honest document if it said; That all rich white men are created equal. And it should say: That all people are created equal. And here’s something else for your consideration: Notice anything different? Yes, that’s right, its upside down. Why? The United States Code, the list of federal statutes, says the stars and stripes should only be flown upside down to signal “dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.” It is also commonly acknowledged that the American flag is flown upside down as a form of political protest. �And I think we actually have both reasons at this time. Now to make you laugh. Our Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, affectionately known as Big Gretch posted a photo of herself wearing this: �To interpret for all overseas readers; Dear America, sorry about Betsy De Vos (possibly the worst Secretary of Education, a billionaire from the Amway family, AND from Grand Rapids). Sincerely, Michigan. A constant embarrassment to us in Grand Rapids - but thats another whole blog thread. Dr Fauci was interviewed about how he manages his life in the pandemic. There were other scientists interviewed but I am presenting his answers only, as we all know who he is. There were many questions so I will post them over several days. First 3 questions: 1.When and where do you wear a mask? Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: It dominates everything I do. The only time I don’t wear one is when I am alone, when I am home with my wife, or when I am speaking in public — provided there is 6 feet between me and the people to whom I am speaking, as was the case when I answered questions at the recent Congressional hearings. 2. Besides family, do you allow anyone else inside your home, such as cleaners or service people for repairs? The only person who comes into the house besides (my wife) Christine and me is the woman who cleans the house once every two weeks. She wears a mask and gloves at all times while in the house. �3. Do you shop in grocery stores, or order online? Do you wash the items off or disinfect the outside of packages once you get home? I do physically go to the grocery store, but I wear a mask and keep my distance. I usually go at odd times. I spend half the day alone in my office, and I’m part-time at the White House. In the late afternoon or evening, when I’m finished with the White House, I go shopping for groceries, or to drugstores. I don’t disinfect the bags. In general, I will take the materials out of the bags, then wash my hands with soap and water, and then use Purell, and let everything sit for a day. I am not advocating his response as the only way to live at this time but it is interesting to read the responses of the leading scientist in this pandemic. More tomorrow. Step-kick your way to the couch for the Disney+ edition of the musical Hamilton. To say that much has changed in the country since the hit first opened in 2015 would be an understatement. “Hamilton’s brassy celebration of the founding of America’s governmental institutions plays in a different light in 2020,” our film critic David Sims writes. “But the show is not irrelevant … It now also functions as a reminder that the country’s history and future is still being written and rewritten.” We haven’t watched it yet, but I excited to have the opportunity, as I never did get to see the show live. My son alerted me to an interesting program that originated in Japan with Akira Miyawaki, a botanist. Now you have to look this up online for yourself, but it seems to involve using places like abandoned parking lots or even your garden to plant indigenous trees and shrubs to completely cover the existing space. Tiny forests create a small functional ecosystem that restores soil, protects water and air quality and acts as a biodiversity hotspot that can have a measurable effect on the local and even the regional environment. Now as much as I love this idea, I don’t think Craig will want to covert our back yard to a tiny forest. But if you have the space and the passion - think about it. Meanwhile in Melbourne Australia where Asher lives the virus is on the rise: Victoria has set a new record for its seven-day running average of daily new coronavirus infections, after tallying its second-largest one-day rise in coronavirus cases. State health authorities confirmed 108 new infections on Saturday, the highest number in a single day since March 28, when the state’s new case count peaked at 111. The major escalation in Victoria's coronavirus crisis comes as a major imposition on about 3,000 residents of public housing towers in Melbourne's north. They have been shut in their apartments with no notice, with the lockdown enforced by 500 police officers each shift — roughly one officer for every six residents. Testing of the entire building will be one of the factors determining if any of the nine affected housing blocks will stay locked down for longer than five days. �In light of these restrictions, I think it makes our restrictions look super easy. Asher says they may have a super spreader. The concern for Australians and New Zealanders is that having done such a good job of acting quickly, testing, tracing and quarantining, that they may be unable to open their borders for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to imagine tourists being willing to be tested and quarantined for 14 days upon entering either country. Time for some Oliver. He had a wonderful time with his great aunt and uncle, his cousins and his great grandmother. He also met Alfie, an Oliver sized dog. There was much licking of ears happening. ���In the second photo he can’t understand why his mother has a hamburger while he has nothing. Flashback: Edinburgh. �����From the top: Robert Burns Memorial. He was known as Rabbie Burns and is regarded as the national poet of Scotland. He only lived for 37 years and among his most notable works is the poem Auld Lang Syne. In this photo you can see me standing awkwardly by a piper. Next: Asher and I on the bridge overlooking the park; James VI of Scotlands Royal Seal (he later became James I of England and Ireland after Elizabeth I’s death); the view of Edinburgh and the castle from Carlton Hill; unfinished Acropolis on Carlton Hill, early morning. Remember: make sure you’re registered to vote, wear a mask when you leave your house, wash your hands and stand one average cow length apart from people you don’t live with. Easy peasy. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-05_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-116 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-05 Title A name given to the resource Day 116 - the day after July 4th 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/1687310616bf454e78c2523cd6fdfad2.pdf a98eef9a2ef86a3f261db396b2059138 PDF Text Text Day 117 by windoworks In 4 more days I will have been writing this Pandemic Diary for one third of the year. Sobering thought. Now before I begin today’s post, I have to correct an item in yesterday’s post. The monument I was standing awkwardly in front of in Edinburgh was not the Robert Burns Monument but the Walter Scott Monument. He was a Scottish historical novelist, poet, playwright, and historian. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include the Lady of the Lake (narrative poem) and novels Rob Roy and Ivanhoe. (Many thanks for the catch, Jan). As ever, where to begin? Perhaps this from my friend Heathe: Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all white, heterosexual, educated, firstborn, Christian men who own property and have a record of military service are created equal, that they..." Founding Fathers: "Wait, hold up." Thomas Jefferson: "Yes?" Founding Fathers: "Something about that last sentence... It's a little wordy. What if you just said 'men' and left out all the adjectives?" Thomas Jefferson: "You know, the thought crossed my mind. But then I got to thinking, what if future generations misinterpreted our intentions? What if there was confusion about how we felt about women, minorities, atheists, poor people, those that do not have access to a quality education, homosexuals, other faiths, homeless people, etc... I decided to leave all the adjectives in so there would be no way future generations could misunderstand our interpretation of 'equality'." Founding Fathers: "Tom.... you don't think future Americans would be that stupid do you? As you yourself said, it is 'self-evident' that all white, heterosexual, educated, first-born, Christian men who own property and have a record of military service are created equal. I think it's safe to say future generations will understand exactly what we mean if you just shortened that to 'men' and left it at that." Thomas Jefferson: "Hhhmmm... Well, alright. I'll edit it. I sure hope wars don't get fought over this..." �Meanwhile in Victoria Australia, last night the New South Wales state government closed the borders between themselves and Victoria. Of course this is personal to Craig and I as our youngest son, Asher, lives and works in Melbourne. On the other hand, this is how you stop community spread across state lines. Then this from New Zealand: In an effort to further prevent the spread of COVID-19, Air New Zealand is making a clear separation between its domestic and international crews. While there was already a split for long-haul flights out of Oceania, the latest change further divides crews, taking into consideration trans-Tasman trips. I wonder if United and other airlines here that fly internationally have considered this? And speaking of travel, yesterday I read that major cruise lines have begun scrapping some ships - that is, breaking them down for parts. Most cruise companies have delayed any future sailings to either September, October or November. Next 3 questions for Dr Fauci: 4. Would you dine inside a restaurant? Outside? Do you get takeout. We don’t do anything inside. I don’t eat in restaurants. We do get takeout. 5. Do you take any precautions with your mail or packages? I used to, but now I just bring the mail in, wash my hands, then let it lie around for a day or two before I open it. 6. Do you go to friends' homes for dinner, or have friends to your house, or see them in other ways? On the rare occasion when we have people over, we have them out on the deck, six feet apart, and we never have more than two people, and they are people who themselves are locked in. We wear masks, unless we �are eating. We don’t share anything. There are no common bowls. Each person has his or her own receptacle. Some people even bring their own glasses. We always do takeout and I tell the takeout people that I want the food in four separate plastic containers, so no one has to touch anyone else’s food. Everyone’s food is self-contained. Also, we always stay outside. We don’t do anything inside. If it’s too hot, or rainy, we cancel it. 3 more questions tomorrow. In case you were wondering The Republican Party under Donald Trump has become a party wandering aimlessly in the street talking to itself and responding to itself, and all the rest of us have become the pedestrians trying to avoid that guy. John Kasich: They coddled this guy the whole time and now it’s like some rats are jumping off of the sinking ship. It’s just a little late, It’s left this nation with a crescendo of hate not only between politicians but between citizens. … It started with Charlottesville and people remained silent then, and we find ourselves in this position now. I’m glad to see some of these Republicans moving the other way but it reminds me of Vichy France where they said, ‘Well, I never had anything to do with that,’” a reference to the French government that continued during Nazi occupation in the 1940s. Something to divert us: This is Pony Gate, Lincoln, Mass. It started out with a few “horses” grazing in a field and people keep dropping them off. Under the cover of night, they are often re-arranged. No one takes credit for it which makes it funnier! �One for the teachers and then this: ��Sometimes we think that something like this has never happened before but here is this from the Spanish flu epidemic. The 1918-1920 flu pandemic came in three major waves. After the first wave in the US, the virus subsided, and Americans were restless to have businesses reopened and for social life to resume. There was a growing movement to stop wearing masks, which had become ubiquitous - so much so that The AntiMask League of 1919 was formed. These were protests from those who thought the public health ordinance violated their liberty. The virus came back with a vengeance in the fall and was much deadlier than the first wave, eventually killing more than 675,000 Americans and killing around 100 million of the 500 million it infected worldwide before it was over. This was before mass vaccination, before the electron microscope; this is the tragedy of herd immunity and stubborn ignorance. ��Notice that the woman on the right has a sign which says: wear a mask or go to jail. Hmmm. It must be time for an Oliver moment. ��So young and yet so bossy - not now Alfie! Still in Edinburgh. ���Today we visited the National Museum of Scotland. It is full of artifacts and has an excellent cafe where we met a friend of Asher’s with her family for lunch. From the top: on our way to the museum we came across the cafe where apparently, J.K Rowling sat and wrote much of the Harry Potter books entirely by hand. over cake and coffee. It has now become a major tourist attraction. I have never read the books (although I’ve tried) but I have seen all the films. Next: the atrium in the Museum. Asher and I are sitting on a bench waiting for his friend. And lastly, Dolly the cloned sheep. Dolly was a female domestic sheep born in 1996 and was the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, using nuclear transfer. After Dolly, many other mammals were cloned including pigs, deer, horses and bulls. The main result from cloning is the development of stem cell research. Now they use Crispr for gene editing. I once stood on the spot where you can ask the researchers questions behind the glass window in the lab in the Chicago Museum of Natural History, and asked: Are they cloning humans anywhere in the world? After a silence in which the 3 of them looked at each other, one finally said: well, we aren’t. Tomorrow we begin our journey further north. �“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up”. Anne Lamott Carry on. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-06_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-117 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-06 Title A name given to the resource Day 117 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/78133311032005b606d6960b0d9870dd.pdf 2b2ef0c8ed76b5a557e326026ac6efc6 PDF Text Text Day 118 by windoworks Last night two significant things happened. First, we watched the second half of “Hamilton“. I was never enthusiastic about paying a small fortune to see it onstage, especially as it is sometimes hard for me to distinguish the lyrics in a live show. We watched it over 2 nights and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It allowed us to see the men behind the birth of the country as real, flawed, people who all put their pants on, one leg at a time, just like us. The second thing was that as we were about to turn out the light and go to sleep, a firefly flew around our bedroom and out through the door. How did it get inside the house? This morning there is no sign of it. So, in Victoria, Australia, they have returned the state to Level 3: outdoor exercise and recreation is limited to you and members of your household or you plus one other person if you do not live with them. Hair and nail salons, cultural and entertainment venues, community facilities are closed. Cafes and restaurants are returned to take out and delivery only. There are only 4 reasons to leave home: food shopping; medical care; exercise and study and work (if you can’t do it from home). This level will stay in place until August 19. This applies to our youngest son Asher. He’s right back inside again, keeping safe. Yesterday the US had 57,186 new cases. Meanwhile, in the alternative Republican universe: The Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn said it was “too early to tell” whether the Republican National Convention could be held safely in Jacksonville, Fla., next month. “We’ll have to see how this unfolds in Florida and elsewhere around the country,” he told CNN. ‘We’re right back where we were at the peak of the epidemic during the New York outbreak,’ former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on ‘Face the Nation’ on CBS. ‘The difference now is that we really had one epicenter of spread when New York was going through its hardship, now we really have four major epicenters of spread: Los Angeles, cities in Texas, cities in Florida, and Arizona. And Florida looks to be in the worst shape.’ New coronavirus cases in that state on Sunday exceeded 10,000 in a day for the third time in the past week, after the state posted a record of 11,458 the previous day. The new infections pushed the state’s total caseload past 200,000, a mark passed by just two other states, New York and California. Oh really? How did this happen? This is a line to be tested in Dallas, Texas. This is just part of one line for one testing station. �My friend Mary Alice (Authors note: MA and I share a birthday. She is the only other non family member I’ve met who’s shares a birthday with me) sent me this artist’s name; Pamela Sztybel, who publishes a drawing most days on FaceBook. Here is an offering from a week ago. This one’s for all of my Australian fam. �And this should scare you: After 28 straight days of rising infection averages, with no solution in sight, President Trump's political strategists are betting that Americans will simply get used to an uncontrolled pandemic before he stands for reelection in November, our politics desk reported Monday. They’re of the belief that people will get over it or if we stop highlighting it, the base will move on and the public will learn to accept 50,000 to 100,000 new cases a day,” said a former administration official in touch with the campaign. I have no words. When you fill in your absentee voting form, or stand in line on November 3, remember these words: the public will learn to accept 50,000 to 100,000 new cases a day. We’ll simply get used to an uncontrolled pandemic. I had to pause for a moment there. I think I may have slipped into an alternative universe and I can’t seem to find my way back. Next 3 answers from Dr Fauci: �Are you getting your hair cut? I usually get it cut every five weeks, but I didn’t go for a long while. By the 11th week, it was looking really bad. So I asked the woman who cuts my hair if I could come in really early in the morning, at 7 a.m., and we arranged to do that. No one else was there. She wore a mask and I wore a mask. Are you willing to fly? What about bus, train, subway? I’m 79 years old. I am not getting on a plane. I have been on flights where I’ve been seated near people who were sneezing and coughing, and then three days later, I’ve got it. So, no chance. No Metro, no public transportation. I’m in a high risk group, and I don’t want to play around. Would you visit your kids/grandkids? My middle daughter, who teaches school in New Orleans, drove up here after they closed the schools. She could teach online from here, so she thought: Why not come home and see her parents? When she got here she went straight through the back entrance into the basement. She stayed in our basement, which has a room with a bed, a shower, electricity, and she did not come upstairs for 14 days. My wife brought food down to her on paper dishes. She lives in a very high risk city, and she wouldn’t let us near her. I wanted to hug her when she arrived, but she said: “No way, dad.” She came upstairs after 14 days, and then stayed with us for several months. I too had my haircut early in the morning, wearing a mask, with no one else there. I’m not getting into any other form of transportation except our car and I would visit my children in a heartbeat and do the mandatory quarantine but the Australian and New Zealand borders are closed, as well as the NSW/Victoria border - and anyway, our American passports expire in less than 6 months and it will take months to get them renewed. This: �And this: �A picture is worth a thousand words. Oh by the way, Harvard University will be teaching all classes online this fall. Oliver! Because he makes me smile. ���Flashback: on to Loch Lomond. 'Lake of the Elms' is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands. The Loch forms part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park which was established in 2002. This was the start of our journey into the Scottish Highlands which I just loved. �����These are all photographs of Loch Lomond. In the bottom photo I am standing in the parking lot next to a cafe/restaurant where I ate the best Caesar salad of my life. The falls are the Falls of Fallach, and the second to last photo is of Loos Bay. I decided to time myself this morning - so far I’ve been writing and researching for 90 minutes. It will be another 15 minutes to finish, edit and publish. I research on and off all day long. It’s almost like a real job! I really appreciate hearing from you and anything you can share with me for addition to the blog. Sometimes I wait for the appropriate moment to share something you’ve sent me (Gladysin). This morning my friend Mary Alice posted on FaceBook an a capella song with the words from a Mayan greeting. You are another me. I am another you. Isn’t this the best place to begin? � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-07_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-118 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-07 Title A name given to the resource Day 118 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/710267d5b6b4022dcfa2523aca877bd1.pdf 058fd4ec08b70df5a5437af2af129e3e PDF Text Text Day 119 by windoworks This morning Craig said: do you know what day it is? When I answered Wednesday July 8, he said: good job Pamela! It’s true that each day looks pretty much like the day before and I assume that today looks almost exactly like tomorrow. The big questions of the day are ones like: will it rain today? Did I order enough bread? What can we eat for dinner? Will there be fireflies again tonight? Earth shattering, I know. 119 days means 119 breakfasts, lunches and dinners. In 119 days we’ve had one take out lunch and one take out dinner. I’ve baked bread, rolls, muffins, cakes, pies and bars. We’ve harvested one crop of lettuce and the second one is on its way. We’ve done many home improvements - and when I say we, I mean I made the suggestion and Craig carried it out. I think we have explored every inch of Grand Rapids and most of Kent County by car, and we’ve found a lot of parks to walk in. And that’s our lives, one day after another. People keep asking and asking: when will it be over? When will my life be normal again? Here’s one answer (and I suspect, a fairly accurate one): Taken together, the studies bolster a view increasingly voiced by experts: there may never be a “return to normal.” Rather, the ill effects of the pandemic will resonate long after an effective coronavirus treatment is discovered. And just when you thought that hand washing, distancing and masks were enough, there’s this: Scientists are urging the WHO to take the possibility of airborne spread of the virus more seriously. “In a forthcoming paper titled ‘It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of Covid-19,’ 239 signatories attempt to raise awareness about what they say is growing evidence that the virus can spread indoors through aerosols that linger in the air and can be infectious even in smaller quantities than previously thought. Until recently, most public health guidelines have focused on social distancing measures, regular hand-washing and precautions to avoid droplets. But the signatories to the paper say the potential of the virus to spread via airborne transmission has not been fully appreciated even by public health institutions such as the WHO. … Last night I watched a video of Chris Cuomo on CNN interview Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. Two days ago she tested positive for Covid-19 with NO symptoms. Her husband tested positive and 2 of her 4 children have been tested and the other 2 will be tested. She told Chris that she did everything correctly and carefully and she has no idea how she contracted the virus. So maybe this lingering aerosols is a real thing. �Chump’s niece is releasing a ‘tell all’ book about her uncle and so far she hasn’t told us anything we didn’t know. She blames his persona on his father, but honestly, I have no interest or time to waste pitying him. Every day he sinks to unbelievable depths. For a long time I thought he would hit the bottom but apparently he epitomizes ‘a bottomless pit.’ Craig says historians will judge him harshly but I don’t care. I want him to be judged harshly right now. And Gladysin - here’s the right moment for this: Oh yes. And I found this somewhere and I just have to include it today: Trump should’ve started his speech with: Four whores and 7 lawyers ago. �We are banned from Europe, probably Australia, definitely New Zealand (no international flights allowed in for the next 2 weeks), possibly Canada and now, some parts of Mexico: The residents of the Mexican beach town of Puerto Peñasco used their cars to block all southbound traffic from Arizona as the town’s mayor asked American tourists not to visit Mexico. 3 more Dr Fauci questions: What would you tell your kids or grandkids who wanted to join a protest march or go to a political rally? My daughters feel very strongly about social injustice, but would not likely want to do that. They are very careful with their health. They stay away from crowds. Would you go work out at a gym? Swim in a pool? Run? Walk? I wouldn’t go to a gym. I need to be so careful. I don’t want to take a chance. I have a pool at home, so I swim in that. I do power-walking with Chris. I was running until about a year ago, but every time I went running, my back would tighten up the next morning. So now I walk the same distance. It just takes longer. We go every day with few exceptions, 3.5 miles per day during the week, four miles over the weekend. Prior to covid-19, I did it at lunch alone in the parks near NIH. Now, I do it in the evening with Chris around the neighborhood. On the weekends, Chris and I do it together on the C&O canal. Are you making routine trips to the doctor or dentist? No, not yet, although I might check in within the next few weeks with my physician to get some soothing meds for my throat since I have a hoarse voice from so many briefings and interviews. He will probably take a look and say: “Just stop talking so much.” As if this virus isn’t life changing enough, here’s a warning from the United Nations. Lets be prepared next time, okay? • A new United Nations report warns that more diseases that pass from animals to humans, such as COVID-19, are likely to emerge as habitats are ravaged by wildlife exploitation, unsustainable farming practices and climate change. • These pathogens, known as zoonotic diseases, also include Ebola, MERS, HIV/AIDS and West Nile virus. They have increasingly emerged due to stresses humans have placed on animal habitats, according to the U.N. Environment Program report • We have intensified agriculture, expanded infrastructure and extracted resources at the expense of our wild spaces," UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said. "The science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife and destroying our ecosystems, then we can expect to see a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead." On that cheery note, I offer these: �The wildflowers at the Grand Ravine Park. We drove to look at the river but it was just too hot to walk. �The lushness of the community garden - you’re looking at one third of it. And I think it is a Two Oliver Photo day: �His new favorite book which we watched him read last night. As he turns the pages he says: oh! ��He has turned into a speed crawler and he goes into Mummy’s bedroom and plays with the bottles on the table beside her bed. She always knows when he’s in there because the pill bottle rattles. Is that a guilty look? Flashback: the next day we arrived In Fort William. This town is located in the Highlands on the shores of Loch Linnhe. Fort William is a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe just to the south and Ben Nevis to the east. It is a centre for hillwalking and climbing due to its proximity to Ben Nevis and many other mountains. It is also known recently for its connection to Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander novels. Fort William features heavily in the early books. ���Our first real glimpse of the Highlands and then Loch Linnhe. More Fort William adventures tomorrow. I’ll leave you with these 2 thoughts: �And, �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-08_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-119 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-08 Title A name given to the resource Day 119 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/064b34a3f4d4ac09130568821d5d4968.pdf 425ba7408a88eb03df07e11d0d845f3f PDF Text Text Day 120 – or the beginning of week 17. by windoworks One of the best signs I’ve seen so far. This morning is tough. It’s so hot outside, our water heater is on the fritz so no hot water, and in really disturbing news, Grand Rapids has been designated a ‘high risk’ area. We have 5,014 cases - a rise of 71 new cases since yesterday. Michigan has 67,237 cases - a rise of 610 cases since yesterday. The US added 62,751 new cases yesterday . That’s a terrifying number for one day. Other countries have taken it seriously, and we have not,” said Ashish Jha, director of the Global Health Institute at Harvard University. “Other [countries] have had a very aggressive shutdown. We have not. Other countries have taken an aggressive approach to testing and tracing and isolation. We have not. Some countries have universal masking laws, and we don’t.” Just to remind you: the fish rots from the head. �"We're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools," Trump said during a roundtable discussion Tuesday afternoon at the White House. "Get open in the fall. We want your schools open," Trump said. The president spoke alongside first lady Melania Trump, administration officials and teachers as part of planned programming from the White House to push for the reopening of schools. This was a meeting in a closed space, with recycled air conditioning. People are sitting next to each other or standing around the walls. I counted 3 masks in the photograph. Chump has ordered schools to open and that’s all he’s offered, an order. So this is the real story of where we are: Anthony S. Fauci’s statement Tuesday that the United States is “still knee deep in the first wave” of the coronavirus pandemic is certainly true in a metaphorical sense. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases meant that the country has not yet effectively tamped down the initial round of infections, months after the virus emerged. Where the metaphor really shines, though, is in a more literal sense. We analyzed county-level data through Monday to determine when each county hit its recorded high in the seven-day average of new �coronavirus cases. More than a fifth of the country’s population now lives in a county where the high was reached on Monday. If it’s a tide threatening the body politic, it’s at our knees. Again, that’s the other significant part of what Fauci said. Not only are we knee-deep, we’re knee-deep in the virus’s first emergence. We never left the water. I was talking to my oldest child the other day. He is an editorjournalist for an online news service in New Zealand. In his job he sees many disturbing things. I hadn’t realized that those people sorting out what news we should see on tv, or streaming, on our TVs, or computers, or phones is vetted before we see it. That is, someone has to watch the raw footage (and sometimes that means the carnage) and decide what is appropriate to show the viewing public. Consider this: when it warns you that some scenes may be disturbing to viewers, think about what they left out and what toll that takes on editors. And yet, my son remains a kind, gentle man who always tries to cheer me up and show me the lighter side of life. This morning I offer this gem from him: Japan has banned screaming at its reopened amusement parks as a measure to stop the potential spread of Covid. They released a video of two stony-faced executives going on a roller coaster ride and remaining stoically silent. And I found another video of a Dutch rollercoaster with a teddy bear in every seat as it raced around the course but I couldn’t share it with you - I’m sure you can find it online. 3 more Dr Fauci questions: �What about mammograms? Would you get a routine mammogram/advise your wife/daughter to get one? If routine, I’d probably tell her to wait. Are you working in your office? What precautions do you take? I don’t wear a mask when I’m alone in my office, but I slap one on if I walk out into the hall and could pass someone, like my assistant, who also wears one. Will you ever shake hands again? Hug/kiss someone? I think it’s going to be a while. The infection rate will have to be extremely low or nonexistent, or we have to have a vaccine. Right now, I don’t even think about doing it. Last 3 questions tomorrow. This is one way to social distance in a park. And here is a sign at one of our local restaurants. ��I would like to say that everyone in our city is wearing a mask but not only are some people not doing so, they are maskless and belligerent. It seems some people go into stores seeking a mask confrontation. Like our idiot ‘leader’, its all about me, me, me. To change pace, Craig has finished painting the back of the house. In the last day or so I have noticed people driving down our street and stopping in front of our house and our neighbors house. I guess the Big Blue next to the Big Red is striking. Oh look! Murphy made it into the photo! Today Craig is exhausted. It was dreadful painting in the heat yesterday. It was dreadful just being in the heat. Oliver! �Look at those red cheeks. That 6th tooth is slow in breaking through. �Fort William. The main reason for staying here two nights was so Craig and Asher could climb Ben Nevis. This is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom and the summit is 4,413 ft above sea level. They drove to the Rangers Center where they had to sign the book. The woman staffing the counter cheerfully informed them that at least 2 people had fallen off the mountain in the last 2 weeks. She told them to be careful at the top as the track runs between sheer drops on either side. Look for the markers, she said. I didn’t know any of this until afterwards. �����As you can see, the first hour or so of the climb was in cold but clear weather. When they neared the summit, a thick cloud cover rolled in and they had to proceed carefully between the track markers to safely reach the top. It didn’t look like easy climbing to me on all those stones. Tomorrow I’ll show you what I did while they were on Ben Nevis. Practicing Safe Six? And remember: masking for a friend. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-09_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-120 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-09 Title A name given to the resource Day 120 - or the beginning of week 17 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/bafca08ba0603be797de8bc8328c4277.pdf 11855213708aaf5dea751901a0da0d00 PDF Text Text Day 121 by windoworks Welcome to the state of high anxiety. Yesterday I had a video call with my doctor and she told me that so many of her patients were experiencing high anxiety and some are experiencing depression. Some of her patients have never experienced anxiety or depression before and they are finding it extremely difficult to deal with. She checked that I was seeing a counselor and was very happy when I said yes. My counselor and I had been discussing changing from weekly to every other week, but my doctor said no. Keep it weekly, even if you just check in each week. So I am sharing this with you because the days of ‘how are you?’ ‘Fine’ are far behind us. Polite, meaningless exchanges are like normal life, a thing of the past. If you ask me how I am, I will tell you and I am always interested to hear how you are really doing. The phrase ‘high anxiety’ triggered a memory and after quick research I found this: High Anxiety PG 1977 ‧ Comedy/Mystery ‧ 1h 35m Just after becoming the director of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (Mel Brooks) is greeted by a series of mysterious events. When his colleagues -- including the militaristic and mustachioed Nurse Diesel (Cloris Leachman) -- become leery of his questions, they accuse him of murder. Thorndyke's own mental health comes into question as he struggles to clear his name in the midst of a crippling bout of a condition known as "high anxiety." It is available on Starz and I think Craig and I are going to watch it tonight. I love a good Mel Brooks movie. Late yesterday afternoon a huge rainstorm blew in. Craig and Murphy sat on the front porch and enjoyed watching it. This morning its cool enough to turn off the a/c and have all the doors and windows open instead. ��What about schools reopening? �Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls for social distancing, and grouping kids into small pods, to limit the spread of a potential infection. That means a drastic reduction in class sizes everywhere. In the absence of funds for more space and more staff, that's driving schools to cut back on in-person class time. The state of California, for example, recommends splitting up students into smaller cohorts that attend two days a week, every other week, or mornings and afternoons, while offering remote instruction the rest of the time. We're hearing versions of this limited-time plan everywhere from New York City — the nation's largest school district — to Omaha, Neb., Seattle and West Bloomfield, Mich. At the same time, districts are surveying parents and teachers to find out if they are willing to go back at all. One national survey by the American Federation of Teachers found about 1 in 4 educators were not willing to come back even with precautions, and a survey of parents found two-thirds were nervous about the prospect. That means many districts are offering remote learning at the same time, which is essentially a whole other job for schools and teachers. �In Victoria, Australia, the State Medical Officer is suggesting the wearing of masks is a good idea. Asher tells me that he has a colleague’s mother who is making them ( ahh, mask makers of the world, unite!) and he will get a couple from her. I would send some to him but the mail from the US is incredibly slow. In other news from New Zealand and Australia, both countries have temporarily halted incoming international flights as quarantine facilities are overloaded. In New Zealand they’re considering using cruise ships as quarantine spaces. Meanwhile more cruise lines are talking about ship scrapping and airlines are warning of bankruptcies while laying off thousands of crew members. Oh and here’s a story that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck: almost 1 in 3 Pakistani pilots have fake pilot licenses that is, someone else took their pilot test for them. Say, what? �And after a whistleblower told the story - Union leaders representing aviation workers, with the backing of Democrats in Congress, have clashed with airlines and the Trump administration over safety at airports and onboard planes. With only limited direction from the federal government, airlines and airports have been adopting their own approaches, leading to a patchwork of a different approaches. While the government has declined to impose new rules on the industry, it last week issued guidelines that recommend limiting the number of passengers on flights and changes to check-in procedures to encourage social distancing As Craig says - not getting on an airplane any time soon. Last 3 Dr Fauci questions: If you had young kids, would you send them back to school in the fall? It really depends on where you live. Have you been tested for the coronavirus? Yes, every time I go to the White House. What is your best guess about when a vaccine will be available? We have multiple candidates, and my hope is that we will have more than one, probably by the end of this year or the beginning of 2021. Notice he said: my hope. Craig heard this morning on the radio that even if there is a vaccine, it would take at least 12 months to disseminate it. With tears in his eyes, the director of the World Health Organization pleaded Thursday for international unity to fight the pandemic, after President Trump announced his intention to quit the organization. “How difficult is it for humans to unite to fight a common enemy that’s killing people indiscriminately?” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked. “Can’t we understand that the divisions or the cracks between us actually are to the advantage of the virus?” And: Coronavirus patients are pouring into hospitals in hot spots such as Florida, Arizona, California and Texas, where hospitals are adding new ICU beds and specialairflow systems as virus hospitalizations set records almost daily. The surge in patients is creating a major shortage in protective equipment, and forcing healthcare workers to reuse the PPE they already have. Nurses say they are using N95 masks for weeks at a time. “A lot people thought once the alarm was sounded back in March, surely the federal government would fix this, but that hasn’t happened,” said Deborah Burger, a California nurse and president of National Nurses United. �And today’s Joe post: �How refreshing As the disease spreads, Americans are recalibrating their expectations about the future. In the late June survey, 74 percent said they now expect disruption of their lives due to the disease to last until the end of this year or longer. That group is split evenly between those who expect things to return closer to normal by year’s end and those who say it will be at least sometime in 2021 before that happens. And actually, I think that expectation may have changed again in the last week, and not for the better. �And �And this �It’s time for Oliver. ��The top one - what about reading to me? And the bottom photo: at last I have you reading to just me. �Flashback: while Craig and Asher were climbing Ben Nevis, I went for a lake cruise on Loch Linnhe. It was freezing waiting at the dock, never mind on the boat - but it was worth it. �����Loch Linnhe is a sea loch. It’s about 30 miles long and it opens into the Firth of Lorne at its southwestern end. We cruised for about 2 hours and the captain told us more information that I could retain. In the top photo its the lake from the shore; then 2 farm photos. They built longer cottages so their animals could be housed in one end of the cottage in the winter. The animals provided some heat for their owners. Along the shores the farms were mainly sheep. Next photo is of a salmon farm. At the very end of the loch there was a seal colony but it was too hard to get a photo. And the last photo is of us returning back to Fort William. Further north tomorrow. I’ll leave you with this: ��� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-10_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-121 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-10 Title A name given to the resource Day 121 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/9ac02b0dbc686ad98b85248d295b0502.pdf 77e5035c84d5f3000b7dc204bf058a9c PDF Text Text Day 122 by windoworks This morning the US had 64,630 new coronavirus cases bringing the total to 3.24M cases. My fingers shook as I typed that. In Michigan Governor Whitmer called on Chump to extend the National Guard through to December 31 to help with the virus. Whitmer also signed an executive order requiring mask use in all indoor public spaces (with enforceable fines) and she welcomed a sizable donation of PPE from the Kingdom of Jordan. The Kingdom of Jordan is donating PPE supplies to Michigan? Our governor had to scour the world and ask for essential supplies because there’s nothing coming from the federal government? Should the State of Michigan secede because apparently we’re doing better on our own! Perhaps my blogpost should be renamed Day 1 in the Parallel Universe. The future is unknowable. But the pandemic increasingly looks like one of the defining events of our time. The best-case scenarios are now out of reach, and the United States is suffering through a new virus surge that’s worse than in any other country. One more time for the people in the back: the best case scenarios are now out of reach.There’s a thought that makes you want to get out of bed in the mornings. ��State leaders and laboratories say that they have been confused and feel unprepared by the Trump administration's erratic approach to testing. They report that they don’t know who is in charge, nor do they know which agencies to contact about supply issues. “It is increasingly unlikely the nation will be �prepared with sufficient testing capacity to meet the health and economic needs of the country by late summer or even into the fall,” lawmakers wrote in a report. Email correspondence released through a public records request shows how states that raced to reopen allowed businesses to write their own rules when it happened. The emails also show governors' thinking as they have pledged not to shut back down, even as cases spike in states such as Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Health experts in these states say that concerns from industries overpowered the health advice they were giving to implement more presentation measures. And this: Fifty-seven former government scientists and public health officials have demanded the Trump administration stop politicizing the pandemic. “Sidelining science has already cost lives, imperiled the safety of our loved ones, compromised our ability to safely reopen our businesses, schools, and places of worship, and endangered the health of our democracy itself,” wrote the former officials, who served under presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Trump. Bu this is expecting sense from a man who has no common sense, empathy or moral fiber. This is a cartoon but its not too far from the truth: �Here’s a story. Some years ago Craig and I were on a cruise (Craig was one of the lecturers) and the other lecturers were from the New York Times. During a session, one of the NYT lecturers was talking about Sean Spicer who he knew quite well through press circles. When Sean was asked to become press secretary for chump, he asked this lecturer if he should take the job or not. The lecturer said he was torn: on the one hand he’d have an inside man in the White House and on the other hand, he predicted this move would be the end of Spicer’s career. I think he probably said: think carefully. But to illustrate this, I found this gem 3 days ago: As one anonymous former official told our White House correspondent Peter Nicholas: “You get the Trump stink on you, it’s hard to get it off.” �In the dire warning category: Health experts are increasingly convinced that the only way to stop America's rapidly worsening coronavirus situation is to reimpose stay-at-home orders, effectively abandoning the country's twomonth-long effort to resurrect public life. “Stay-at-home is a blunt instrument,” Farshad Fani Marvasti, director of public health at the University of Arizona College of Medicine at Phoenix, told The Post. “But when you’re leading the world in new cases and things don’t seem to be getting better, you may have to use that blunt instrument.” Or as Harvard surgeon Thomas Tsai vividly put it: “We see the hurricane coming. In some places, it’s already here. The question is whether you’re going to evacuate your citizens from the path.” The White House shows no sign of heeding this advice, and is instead pressuring federal health agencies to fall in line with President Trump's rosy outlook on the pandemic. This morning I have looked for good news to counter the overwhelming bad news - and I couldn’t find any. Sometimes its just beginning a gratitude list. Here’s my first item: I am grateful for my husband Craig who is sharing this pandemic with me every day; who takes me for long drives in the country until the green lowers my anxiety levels; who carries out all the projects I have devised for him; who wraps his arms around me and holds me until I run out of tears; and so much more. I am so fortunate to have this fellow traveler in my life. Just because: �And: �And its a 2 photo Oliver day. ��Creative play day at Daycare - and apparently he had to have his hair shampooed before bed because he had glitter all through it. And where’s his little apron?? ��Just chatting up a girl at daycare. Flashback: I loved Fort William. It reminded me of parts of the South Island of New Zealand. But, we had to move on and on our way north we visited Loch Ness. This is a deep freshwater loch 23 miles long. It is best known for its alleged sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature have varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings. Scientists state that it has no biological basis and sightings are hoaxes or wishful thinking. But our main interest at Loch Ness was Urquhart Castle. It’s ruins date from the 13th century to the 16th century. The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area.It was approached from the west and defended by a ditch and drawbridge. The buildings of the castle were laid out around two main enclosures on the shore. The northern enclosure or Nether Bailey includes most of the more intact structures, including the gatehouse, and the five-story Grant Tower at the north end of the castle. The southern enclosure or Upper Bailey, sited on higher ground, comprises the scant remains of earlier buildings. (Authors note: yes, I used Wikipedia) Now I could research who lived there and what significant events happened - but I’m going to suggest you do that for yourself. ������After Loch Ness we drove north to John O’Groats. That’s tomorrow. In Victoria Australia, where new cases continue to surge daily, my son is on Day 3 of the 6 week total lockdown. The police have been busy. They’ve arrested and fined 20 people at an illegal birthday gathering (moral of story - don’t buy 20 KFC meals at one time) and they’ve arrested a couple who tried twice to drive to their holiday cottage. Now I know this sounds draconian but it gets the job done - and this is what a real shutdown looks like. Remember: you HAVE to wear a mask in public spaces; you SHOULD stand 6 feet OR MORE apart even outside and you MUST keep washing your hands (20 seconds counted properly). We are knee deep in the first wave and we can’t seem to get back to dry land. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-11_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-122 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-11 Title A name given to the resource Day 122 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/2494a22e58edcf68b75ccf7b529ebd39.pdf f41ce46b8190fe33faf7ff4725024919 PDF Text Text Day 123 by windoworks To start us off this morning, this just in from my daughter Zoe. It seems entirely appropriate. Oh yes. Today I’m hoping for a baking banana bread day, although drinking a good gin for breakfast might make the day more fun. �Lately some of my children are worrying that I am depressing myself daily by writing the blog. Chump and the virus they say. Thats all you talk about. And they’re right, but what other news is happening worldwide? My friend Lynne was watching the news with one eye (while she did something else) and all of a sudden she heard a story about China’s crackdown on Hong Kong. Why isn’t that the breaking news of the day? She asked me. That’s a very important story! The reason is (I think), we are consumed by surviving in an unfamiliar world. I sometimes feel as though Craig and I are standing in the eye of the storm, while the tornado whirls around us, with danger everywhere we look. Yesterday someone actually rang our doorbell and stood expectantly at our front door waiting for us to step out and talk to him. The only people who ring our doorbell are the prescription deliverer from our pharmacy (and he waits back in his car for me to open the door and retrieve the meds from the basket by the door before waving and driving off) and Dan the coffee guy, who leaves the bags of beans in the basket, and lastly the Instacart grocery deliverer who rings the bell to let us know the groceries are by the door. We didn’t talk to the salesman, we said no thank you from deep inside the hallway. In a whimsical moment Craig and I decided we live in the Independent Region of Benjamina. We haven’t worked out the details yet but I can tell you the regional boundaries are the property lines. I held a Zoom committee meeting on Friday morning. The faces I am used to seeing across the private dining room table at a local retirement village, were looking at me from somewhere in their houses. We are getting better at using Zoom. There are less awkward silences and more efficient working. In our hearts we know that we will never be able to meet in that private elegant dining room again because the safety of the residents is paramount and negates any outside income. Any hope of resuming face to face program meetings seems to be dwindling off into the distance. I keep wondering if Big Gretch will find it prudent to bring us back down a level. Yesterday there were 62, 653 new cases across the US. In Kent County we had 110 new cases for a total of 5,299 confirmed cases and the deaths are rising. In Michigan there has been an average of 600+ new cases a day. So just because, here’s a mask story: ��Even if this is fake, Ive seen footage of a man in hospital, on oxygen, saying the exact same thing - and pleading with viewers to take it seriously. And I knew I wasn’t alone: It’s bad enough that we’re spending our waking hours worrying about the pandemic. Now, it turns out, many of us are stressing out when we’re asleep. Harvard dream researcher and psychologist Deirdre Barrett found that many people dreamed about catching the coronavirus, spiking a fever and experiencing shortness of breath. One woman had a post-apocalyptic dream where the North Pole was the only place of refuge from the virus. As she trekked around the tundra, she shot a polar bear during an attack I think we are living in a science fiction movie and I’m not sure what the ending might be. I’d like a happy ending, please. And I know some of us are really crazy all the time but during the pandemic, this: Have you heard the COVID-19 conspiracy theory that says the coronavirus was intentionally planned by powerful people? It goes something like this: the pandemic is part of a strategy created by global elites — like Bill Gates and George Soros — to roll out vaccinations with tracking chips that will later be activated by 5G cellular network technology. Holy mark of the beast stuff, Batman! Apparently, a new Pew �Research Center survey says 71 percent of American adults have heard of the theory, and a third of them think it’s "definitely" or "probably" true. Huh? To finish this thread I’ll leave you with this: �Here’s today’s plug for Joe Biden: �And: • It’s 2022, and the coronavirus has at long last been defeated. After a miserable year-and-a-half, alternating between lockdowns and new outbreaks, life can finally begin returning to normal. • But it will not be the old normal. It will be a new world, with a reshaped economy, much as war and depression reordered life for previous generations. • Thousands of stores and companies that were vulnerable before the virus arrived have disappeared. Dozens of colleges are shutting down, in the first wave of closures in the history of American higher education. People have also changed long-held patterns of behavior: Outdoor socializing is in, business trips are out. • Large swaths of the cruise-ship and theme-park industries might go away. So could many movie theaters �and minor-league baseball teams. The long-predicted demise of the traditional department store would finally come to pass. Thousands of restaurants would be wiped out (even if they would eventually be replaced by different restaurants). • The changes imagined in this article are based on neither an unexpectedly fast or slow resolution, but instead on what many scientists consider the baseline. In this scenario, a vaccine will arrive sometime in 2021. Until then, the world will endure waves of sickness, death and uncertainty. Well that’s a bit bleak and probably pretty near the truth. So, to cheer ourselves up its Oliver time. ��Theoretically this is Zoe’s living room but it seems to be Oliver’s playroom to me. Every time we FaceTime with Zoe and Oliver we sing to him at the end of the call. We have a huge repertoire: The Wheels on the Bus and If You’re Happy. When we FaceTimed with Zoe and Oliver 2 nights ago , while we were singing, Zoe said: he’s touching your faces on the screen. Awww. At the edge of mainland Scotland. John O’Groats. From Wikipedia: The settlement takes its name from Jan de Groot, a Dutchman who once plied a ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, which had recently been acquired from Norway by King James IV. Local legend has that the "o' Groats" refers to John's charge of one groat for use of his ferry, but it actually derives from the Dutch de groot, meaning "the large". People from John o' Groats are known as "Groaters". The name John o' Groats has a particular resonance because it is often used as a starting or ending point for cycles, walks and charitable events to and from Land's End (at the extreme south-western tip of the Cornish peninsula in England). The phrase Land's End to John o' Groats is frequently heard both as a literal journey (being the longest possible in Great Britain) and as a metaphor for great or allencompassing distance, similar to the American phrase coast to coast. Also, for many years it was the northern terminal of the A9 trunk road, which now ends at Scrabster. ���I cannot even begin to tell you how cold it was. We left the car and Craig and Asher walked out of earshot to take photos. I returned to our car, freezing cold with icy rain pelting me, to find the car locked and me locked out. I was very cranky by the tine they came back to the car. This was one part of Scotland I didn’t like. On to the Orkneys tomorrow. I found this online: Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope. 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_2020-07-12_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-123 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-12 Title A name given to the resource Day 123 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/e6eb5f9e0ec85f2817dea084807215c1.pdf 2e3e9ae0d03c2f110b3bfcdfa20e0ab3 PDF Text Text Day 124 by windoworks Form now onwards we’ll be able to judge what sort of day we’re having by this, the rubber duck scale. ��Last week was definitely a 5 all week long. So Chump has ordered all schools to reopen as normal and has threatened to cut off federal funding to any school that’s non compliant. Meanwhile in Florida: Florida on Sunday reported a record 15,300 new coronavirus cases, the most by any state in a single day and a bleak sign of the United States’ failure to control the pandemic about six months after the first infection surfaced in the country. The staggering number was the result of both increased testing and widespread community transmission that has affected the state’s population centers as well as its rural areas. It shattered previous highs of 11,694 reported by California last week and 11,571 reported by New York on April 15. And just a note here - if Florida was a country, it would rank 4th in the number of Coronavirus cases in the world. But their governor isn’t daunted. He’s ordered all schools to reopen 5 days a week next month. From Arizona :Although she had once retired, Mrs. Byrd loved teaching so much, she couldn't help but return to the classroom, her husband, Jesse Byrd, said. Now she's gone. Kimberley Chavez Lopez Byrd died after testing positive for the virus with 3 other teachers who taught summer school virtually from the same classroom. Byrd was admitted to a hospital and put on a ventilator for more than a dozen days, her condition slowly deteriorating, before she died. Now, the community is grieving for a teacher her colleagues say was ingrained in the fabric of their school system and a matriarch her family says was the center of their world. The teachers who survived also say Byrd's death is a stark reminder of the risks teachers will face if school reopens too soon. "Everything is safety, safety, safety," said Jena Martinez-Inzunza, a Hayden-Winkelman teacher. "What a contradiction to be threatened by the president. What a contradiction to be bullied: 'Do this, or I'm going to pull funding.' What a contradiction to say our kids lives matter … Why would you push to open schools?" And here’s this: Rice University, in Houston, is building nine big new classrooms this summer, all of them outdoors. Five are open-sided circus tents that the university is buying, and another four are semi-permanent structures that workers are building in an open field near dorms. Students and professors will decorate the spaces with murals and video projections. In the fall, the structures will host classes and student activities, while reducing health risks — since the coronavirus spreads less easily outdoors. Across the country, many indoor activities are going to be problematic for the foreseeable future: school, religious services, work meetings, cultural events, restaurant meals, haircuts and more. Mask-wearing �reduces the risks, but being outdoors can reduce it even more. As Megan McArdle, a Washington Post columnist, has written: “Move everything outdoors — as much as possible and much more than has been done already.” Yes, the weather will sometimes be a problem. But “we’re long past searching for ideal solutions,” McArdle notes. “We’re now hunting for adequate.” In Denmark, schools held spring classes on playgrounds, in public parks and even in the stands of the national soccer stadium. Several towns have held meetings outdoors, including Southwick, Mass., which spaced out folding chairs in a parking lot. At a Baptist church in Westerville, Ohio, the pastor recently climbed into a scissor lift and conducted a drive-in service while he was 25 feet off the ground. And San Diego County has lifted some restrictions on outdoor religious services. Many cities have loosened restrictions on outdoor dining. In New York, restaurants — like Melba’s, in Harlem — have responded creatively, building new outdoors spaces that have temporarily transformed the city. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, a staple of summer at the Jersey Shore, put on a drive-in concert this weekend while thousands of fans listened from their cars. ��So, we’ll see what happens. Craig is busy preparing to teach completely online, just in case. At the moment though, he is outside on the south side of our house, busily painting. The back and the front are completed and now he is painting the first of the 2 sides. So far we’ve removed pesky doors inside; painted the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen; had the kitchen faucet repaired and the hot water heater replaced and up to code; had all the drains scoured clean after the sewage seeped up onto the basement floor; started a �meadow in part of the back garden; doubled the vegetable garden in size and contracted with TJ to build a new cedar fence across the back lawn. We still want to increase the meadow across the back lawn area and install a wider gravel path, and add a railing at the bottom of the front path to the sidewalk. Of course when I say we, I really mean Craig. Yesterday we went to Blodgett Hospital ER for a small problem I was having. We wore our hospital grade masks and sat in a small room with an examination table. I’m pretty sure that the room we were in and all the others along the corridor used to be a large common waiting room. We were seen quickly and efficiently. Everything was done very carefully. Craig was allowed in with me but 6 weeks ago he would have had to leave me at the door. We were home again about 2 hours later. I never felt anything but safe there was hand sanitizer everywhere, everyone used it and everyone wore the same masks as us. (They won’t accept cloth masks). Oh and everyone there was cheerful and kind. I was so impressed. My daughter Zoe is an avid podcast listener and for the next 3 days I will post one of her recommendations. First up ‘Wind of Change’: It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall has just come down. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. A heavy metal band from West Germany, the Scorpions, releases a power ballad, “Wind of Change.” The song becomes the soundtrack to the peaceful revolution sweeping Europe — and one of the biggest rock singles ever. According to some fans, it’s the song that ended the Cold War. Decades later, New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe hears a rumor from a source: the Scorpions didn’t actually write “Wind of Change.” The CIA did. This is Patrick’s journey to find the truth. Among former operatives and leather-clad rockers, from Moscow to Kiev to a GI Joe convention in Ohio, it’s a story about spies doing the unthinkable, about propaganda hidden in pop music, and a maze of government secrets. “Wind of Change.” An offbeat eight part investigation Another podcast recommendation tomorrow. Here’s something from Republican Voters Against Trump which targets committed Republican voters with the message: Its Okay to Change. “Hi, my name is Josh and I live in North Carolina and I voted for Donald Trump — my bad, fam,” he begins, before explaining that this November will mark the first time “ever, ever” that he will vote for a Democrat. “If Joe Biden drops out and the DNC runs a tomato can, I will vote for the tomato can, because I believe the tomato can will do less harm than our current president.” The unsolicited video submission to a group called Republican Voters Against Trump is just one small part of a broader “Never Trump” rebellion that began four years ago as a largely ineffective cadre of appalled Republicans, but which has transformed in recent weeks into a potentially disruptive force in this year’s presidential race. And then there’s this: �Advisers to the Lincoln Project, which they say has about 30 employees and raised $16.8 million this quarter, will soon expand to include ground operations. They are coordinating over 2,500 volunteers in Michigan and plan to next target Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), who they see as vulnerable after his challenger, Jaime Harrison (D), pulled in a staggering $13.9 million since April. There seems to be an organized groundswell across most states to unseat siting Republicans. The Blue Wave which astonished the pundits in 2018 is gearing up again and constantly urging everyone to ignore the polls and get ready to vote!vote!vote! It is the glimmer of light at the end of the longest tunnel in the world and each person who votes and votes Blue helps to get us closer to the end of that tunnel. So remember to do your part. So here’s a gem of an Oliver photo. As Zoe’s says: there are so many captions for this photo that spring to mind. My favorite is: Who farted? ��Flashback: the next morning we drove our car onto the inter island ferry to the Orkneys. It was a cold rainy day. �����From the top: the view as we left the dock; Asher outside; me inside in the warm; my one venture outside and a rainbow. Then we arrived in the Orkneys. I’m going to cheat and use Wikipedia here. The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney was colonised and later annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. The Scottish Parliament then absorbed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride Margaret of Denmark. In addition to the Mainland, most of the remaining islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have an underlying geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is relatively mild and the soils are extremely fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy. The significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and Orkney generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive dialect of the Scots language and a rich inheritance of folklore. Orkney �contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife. We stayed in an odd 2 part hotel in Stromness. ��Dinner in the hotel with a folk band entertaining us and an unusual plaque that Craig found. Tomorrow some of the astonishing Neolithic sites we visited. So, here we are, waiting to see what will happen next. Stay safe, wash your hands all the time, keep 6 feet or more from people not in your bubble and put on the damn mask - that’s an order! � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-13_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-124 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-13 Title A name given to the resource Day 124 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/5d576d511d6f727cf75730bd5a49a578.pdf df7551a96933d5afef41bb05653edb6a PDF Text Text Day 125 by windoworks Today marks the beginning of the 18th week of our new life. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting researching when my cell phone siren went off. It was the official notification from Gov Whitmer of her executive order for mandating masks in all indoor areas and some outdoor venues. There is a $500 fine for noncompliance and business owners can lose their license. Thats apart from the fact that by not wearing a mask you could endanger others and force a business to close for quarantining. On an entirely other note: I have never seen so many posts on FB of free stuff, or as many discarded pieces of furniture outside houses, waiting for someone to take them home. Last week Craig put the last of the window stash I had (the ones in good shape) out on the curb. Some disappeared the first day but the rest sat forlornly there for the next 3 days. Then just when we had decided to put them in the garage while we �wondered where to take them, a car pulled up and a man collected all of them and drove off. As I write this, there is a good looking wooden chair on the curb in front of a neighbor’s house, waiting for its new home. So my conclusion is that while we ave no control over anything outside our houses, we are taking a firm control of inside our houses. Well that’s certainly what is happening at our house. Speaking of reorganizing, today while Murphy has a bath and haircut at the groomers, Craig and I are going to his GVSU office and ‘reorganizing’ it. We’ve got empty crates ready to go. Here are 2 views of our house - with our new Biden sign. You can see our neighbors house with the painting completed. I have noticed an increase in traffic slowing down as they pass our 2 houses. �Joe Biden doesn’t seem like an obvious candidate to be a transformational president.He is not a great public speaker, and he doesn’t have a strong ideology. Over his long career, Biden has mostly tried to stay near the center of the Democratic Party, even when that center has moved. But history suggests that transformational presidents usually don’t look the part before taking office. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s critics called him an aristocrat without a coherent theory of how to end the Depression. Ronald Reagan was dismissed as an intellectual lightweight from Hollywood. And yet Roosevelt and Reagan each ushered in an era of dominance for their preferred policies. They did so because of their political skills — and because each was taking office during a national crisis, when a transformation of the government suddenly seemed reasonable to many Americans. If Biden wins, he may be taking office at a similar moment, in the midst of a deadly pandemic, a deep recession and a reckoning with racism. Which means he may have an opportunity to preside over greater change — on climate policy, racial issues, health care, taxes, education and more — than any recent president. Biden’s advisers say that, over the course of the campaign, he has become increasingly attracted to that notion. Biden has called for police reforms, sharp cuts in carbon emissions, a major infrastructure program, universal preschool for 3and 4-year-olds, a big expansion of Medicare and substantially higher taxes on the rich. And most polls show that a majority of Americans support each of these policies. �More on schools, In Monday’s briefing, WHO experts did not mention specific countries' responses but warned that while much remains unknown about how coronavirus impacts children, some continue to fall ill with the virus. “Our understanding of transmission in children is still limited,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on covid-19. “We know that overall they tend to have more mild disease, but in some situations they can have severe disease and we have seen children that have died.” When community transmission exists and when community transmission is intense, children will be exposed to that virus and children will be part of the transmission cycle. They will be exposed, some will be infected and they may infect others, The problem we have in some countries right now is that it’s very difficult to determine the safety of any environment because there’s just so much transmission going on that all potential environments in which people mix are essentially problematic. �In Atlanta, the schools had been planning a hybrid option, with students in school on certain days and learning from home on others. But amid rising cases, the superintendent announced a plan for all-virtual learning for at least the first nine weeks of school, or until the spread of the coronavirus falls off. “In a perfect scenario, we would have a face-to-face engagement for the first day of school,” Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring told the district’s school board. “We also do not want to turn our ears and eyes away from the truth.” �Which leads to my point: when you’re in a hole, stop digging. �And baseball: The numbers are significant because usually the national baseball teams spend the spring training in Florida. In NFL news, the Washington Redskins have come under fire for their team name and symbol. The team has been the Redskins for 87 years. The Navajo Nation has suggested a change to Code Talkers to honor the Navajo code talkers and other tribal nations who used their language to help to win World War II. And speaking of tribal nations: As Montana warily reopened last month to pandemic-weary tourists, an isolated community held firm with closures and stay-at-home orders. Few outsiders would have paid much attention but for one detail: The Blackfeet Nation borders Glacier National Park, and its decision blocked access to much of the vast wilderness there. The result this month has meant throngs of visitors crowding into a tiny corner of Glacier — a crown jewel of the park system — with long lines of cars at what is now the only entry point.And the bottleneck �won’t disappear anytime soon. Tribal leaders recently announced they would keep the eastern entrances and roads to Glacier, which lie on reservation land, closed at least through August.“Our number one objective is to keep people alive,” said Robert DesRosier, who leads the tribe’s coronavirus response team. Also, this landmark SCOTUS decision: The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that about half of the land in Oklahoma is within a Native American reservation, a decision that will have major consequences for both past and future criminal and civil cases. The court's decision hinged on the question of whether the Creek reservation continued to exist after Oklahoma became a state. The ruling will have significant legal implications for eastern Oklahoma. Much of Tulsa, the state's second-largest city, is located on Muscogee (Creek) land. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation cheered the court's decision. "The Supreme Court today kept the United States' sacred promise to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of a protected reservation," the tribe said in a statement. "Today's decision will allow the Nation to honor our ancestors by maintaining our established sovereignty and territorial boundaries." It brings to mind the Chinese proverb (which some say is a curse) ‘May you live in interesting times’. So what else is happening? Well schools are refusing to open. Betsy DeVos is threatening to take funding from public schools that refuse to open and give it to private schools (and who knows if they will open); Chump is threatening everyone, everywhere for everything; Dr Fauci is being smeared; states are locking back down in a tacit admission that they might have opened way too soon; racism still seems prevalent and a 75 year old woman sat down on the floor in Costco to protest having to wear a mask inside the store. It all comes down to what Big Gretch says; I’m doing my best to keep all Michiganders alive. So what is the purpose of my daily blogpost? It is a record of what I see, read, hear and then feel every day of this pandemic. For those of you who worry - am I depressed? No. Although what I record daily can be very depressing for you the reader, I am not depressed. I alternate between hopeful, angry, tired and often sad but most days the anger is paramount. Having embarked on this odyssey, I am keeping going until somehow it resolves. I am thrilled by how many are joining me on my journey. No new Oliver photos today but here’s one of the cousins I hope I haven’t already posted. �The Orkneys. So the first place we visited was Skara Brae. Skara Brae /ˈskærə ˈbreɪ/ is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. Consisting of eight clustered houses, it was occupied from roughly 3180 BCE to about 2500 BCE and is Europe's most complete Neolithic village. Skara Brae gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status as one of four sites making up "The Heart of Neolithic Orkney". It is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, it has been called the "Scottish Pompeii" because of its excellent preservation. Craig was very excited to visit this site. It was a cold, rainy and windy day on the Mainland. It was cold, windy and rainy pretty much the whole time we were in the Orkneys. �����There are very few trees on the Orkneys, and so they built their houses out of stone. They built beds, fire pits, shelves and drains. They had running water through each dwelling. I think they fished and they farmed. There is no obvious reason why the settlement was abandoned and there are many fanciful theories. There are far more dwellings, still uncovered behind the excavated houses. Such an eerie experience. I’ll leave you today with this accurate example of personal perception. �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-14_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-125 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-14 Title A name given to the resource Day 125 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/972308c70bd1a3cb1e5b3ca263b78bb9.pdf a7c86ef483c914224e187fe1e331d423 PDF Text Text Day 126. by windoworks We have reached an interesting point in time - when I troll through my fat fact file (fff) this morning I discovered that items I filed over the last 2 days are now out of date. Thats how fast it keeps changing. Yesterday I did not do my normal amount of research because we had a busy day. We began work on Craig’s office at GVSU and he brought home 4 crates of trash. It was hard for him - i wish I had had my sister-in-law, Bernie to help. Years ago when we were moving out of a rental to our new purchased home. Bernie assisted my son Asher clean out his room. Her constant remark was: kiss it goodbye. I actually said that to Craig at least once yesterday. We’ll have to go back and begin on the book shelves ( and I thought we had a lot of books at home!), but that’ll be next week while the office is still shut. While we were doing this, Murphy was at the groomers being bathed and trimmed. They pluck the hairs out of her ears because she’s prone to ear infections otherwise, but when she comes home she flaps her ears for days afterwards. On our way home for lunch we stopped at Versluis farm stand. They had signs and masks (if you didn’t have one); hand sanitizer and careful customer spacing. So Craig bought green beans, peaches and blueberries. They are doing their best to run a safe business - well done! �From the City of Grand Rapids. Yesterday I forgot the next podcast suggestion from Zoe: White Lies From NPR In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past. And in breaking news: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the Trump administration Wednesday over an order that would require international students to take classes in person this fall, despite rising coronavirus caseloads that are complicating efforts by colleges and universities to offer inperson learning. The lawsuit represented a swift response to an unexpected order issued this week by the federal government, as universities rush to protect the status of thousands of international students. It also marks a new battle line in the war between President Trump and education leaders over how to safely reopen schools in the midst of his reelection bid. Update: The Trump administration said it is dropping a much-criticized plan to require international college students to leave the United States unless they are enrolled in the fall for at least one in-person class. Washington Post We’ve seen this next development in other places before: Morgues in the South and West are bracing for a surge in covid-19 deaths by arranging for refrigerated vehicles, underscoring local and state officials’ concerns that those regions are headed in the direction of the country’s early epicenter, New York City. Multiple counties in Texas are procuring refrigerated trucks and trailers. The medical examiner’s office in Maricopa County, Ariz., is working to acquire coolers. Washington Post. This is from my neighbor: ��Burger King is just now testing the market with its Cows Menu, which debuted Tuesday at five restaurants, one each in Miami, Austin, Los Angeles, New York and Portland, Ore. The menu features a handful of burgers that will swap out their traditional patty for one made with Reduced Methane Emissions Beef, a product that the chain developed with the help of two groups of scientists. Methane is a greenhouse gas emitted by ruminant animals, such as cows, and scientists say it warms the planet 86 times more than carbon dioxide over a period of 10 to 20 years. “When cows fart and burp and splatter, Well, it ain’t no laughing matter. They’re releasing methane every time they do. And that methane from the rear goes up to the atmosphere, And pollutes our planet, warming me and you.” Washington Post. And here’s a story I really like about the Washington Redskins renaming: Ron Sutherland isn’t much of a football fan, but he has an interest in what Washington’s NFL team chooses as a replacement for its soon-to-be-retired name. The franchise’s decision could affect the future of an endangered species he has spent a decade of his career studying. A chief scientist at the nonprofit Wildlands Network in Durham, N.C., Sutherland is among those in favor of Red Wolves, which has been endorsed by a segment of the team’s fan base. The red wolf is on the brink of going extinct in the wild for a second time, and Sutherland suggested the exposure that would come with an NFL team naming itself after the animal could only help its chance of survival. Washington Post. A quick chart to illustrate the folly of schools reopening ‘as normal’ ��This is AllSides updated media chart which lets you know how each media outlet stands. One other item on Netflix is a documentary series on Hillary Clinton. I watched her being interviewed by Trevor Noah and she looked wonderful. She didn’t say ‘I told you so’, but she could have. The series is called Hillary (I think). Look it up. �By the way, thank you to the readers (friends and family) who responded to my blogpost yesterday with such encouraging words. The last 10 days have been challenging but today feels like a lighter day. Later this morning Craig andI are going to try to visit Trader Joe’s. I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow. Oliver! ��A new development - he likes to lie on the floor and play with his toys. I also have a wonderful video of him walking and pushing a cart with Zoe saying: ‘Mummy’s not ready’, in the background. But apparently he’s getting something similar for his first birthday in 16 days time. I can just see him racing up and down the long corridor in their apartment. The Orkneys: Scapa Flow. ˈskɑːpə, ˈskæpə/; from Old Norse Skalpaflói, meaning 'bay of the long isthmus' is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries. Vikings anchored their longships in Scapa Flow more than a thousand years ago. It was the United Kingdom's chief naval base during the First and Second World Wars, but the facility was closed in 1956. Scapa Flow is one of the great natural harbours and anchorages of the world, with sufficient space to hold a number of navies. The harbour has an area 125.3 sq miles. Since the scuttling of the German fleet after World War I, its wrecks and their marine habitats form an internationally acclaimed diving location. Wikipedia. ����So, it was another wild, wet windy day when we drove to Scapa Flow. In the top photo you can see one of the causeway roads built between the Orkney Islands. Before these interconnecting roads were built, you had to travel between the islands by boat. There are still some smaller islands that not connected at all. In really bad weather conditions, these interconnecting roads are closed. In the photos you can see some of the scuttled ships. Why were they scuttled? Wikipedia: Following the German defeat, 74 ships of the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet were interned in Gutter Sound at Scapa Flow pending a decision on their future in the peace Treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, after seven months of waiting, German Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter made the decision to scuttle the fleet. After waiting for the bulk of the British fleet to leave on exercises, he gave the order to scuttle the ships to prevent their falling into British hands. The Royal Navy made desperate efforts to board the ships to prevent the sinkings, but the German crews had spent the idle months preparing for the order, welding bulkhead doors open, laying charges in vulnerable parts of the ships, and quietly dropping important keys and tools overboard so valves could not be shut. �At least seven of the scuttled German ships and a number of sunken British ships can today be visited by divers. So now you know. 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_2020-07-15_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-126 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-15 Title A name given to the resource Day 126 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/f6e8fbc45f03b2760fce44db395ea635.pdf e0d4db50f3efef8e7b3d48298489b1ec PDF Text Text Day 13,965 – oh sorry, that’s the new case count yesterday for Florida. Day 128 by windoworks �On such a morning I thought that was a good way to begin. Now for some of the news: • The governors of Arkansas and Colorado on Thursday issued statewide mask requirements, bringing the number of states with mask mandates to 28 and the District of Columbia. Target, CVS and the grocery chain Publix also announced new policies requiring customers to wear masks, a day after Walmart, Kroger and Kohl’s did. • The United States reported its highest daily coronavirus case count thus far, surpassing 70,000 confirmed infections Thursday. With severe outbreaks across multiple states and regions, medical systems are increasingly showing the strain, with shortages of critically needed personnel, equipment and testing. Washington Post. 70,000 new infections in one day, shortages of PPE, nurses and doctors and what they’re not saying is that in the hardest hit areas they’re making war time evaluations of patients - this one gets a ventilator, this one doesn’t. Some big cities have begun renting freezer trucks for the bodies. And in some states, even if you manage to make it through the line for testing before the kits run out for the day, it takes 14-18 days to get your results back. THE FISH ROTS FROM THE HEAD. Here’s a prime example, and for the life of me I cannot think of a single sane reason for these actions. More than half of all U.S. states now have mask mandates, but some Republican governors in particularly hard-hit regions are still digging in their heels. Arizona and Florida, among the states with the most coronavirus deaths in the past seven days, still have no statewide mask requirement. In Florida, coronavirus cases among employees shut down the emergency operations center — a command center of sorts for the pandemic response. And in Georgia, where hospitalizations and daily reported cases reached new highs on Wednesday, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed an executive order explicitly banning cities from enacting their own mask mandates, which also voided existing mask mandates in more than a dozen cities or counties. Washington Post. Aaatghhhh! Moving on. Should schools reopen and if they do, how? �(Look Zoe! I did it!) So in all honesty, this captures my feelings exactly about Craig teaching hybrid classes in the fall. Here’s more about school: From NPR 1. Are kids really less likely to contract COVID-19 or merely less likely to show symptoms and/or negative effects? I'm a schoolteacher and I think this is really vital to our understanding of going back to school in the fall. — Christine, Northbridge, Mass. Well, kids definitely do get the virus. Overall, they tend not to get as sick as adults. Pediatrician Aaron Carroll of Indiana University said, "There seems to be less transmission from kids to adults than there is adults to adults. Kids don't seem to be superspreaders. We don't have reports of sort of, you know, a kid going somewhere and spreading it to a bunch of other kids or even a bunch of other adults." �We pretty much closed schools in March, right as the virus started to circulate more widely. So we have not been in a situation to find out if kids might actually be superspreaders. There's still quite a bit of uncertainty. 2. It seems reopening is dangerous no matter which way you look at it. If the doctors and infectious disease experts could snap their fingers and implement their ideal plan without any of the normal political loopholes, what would it look like? — Chris, Chandler, Ariz. Many states have mask mandates for schools. Often it's for older kids, middle school and up, but increasingly, given all the new evidence on masking, infectious disease pediatricians say it makes sense to try to mask all students as much as possible. I think the best hope we have for getting our kids back in school is to keep communities spread of the virus low. 3. Are any school districts planning on-site COVID testing? — Julie, Seattle It's going to come down to the honor system. It is not feasible to do a daily temperature check at school or on the bus every day. It's also not the best screening tool, because we know that a lot of kids with the virus don't spike a fever. So asking about symptoms and keeping kids home when they do have symptoms may be the better way. I don’t know about you but these first 3 questions and answers aren’t inspiring any confidence in me. What it is telling me is that parents across the States are worrying. 3 more questions and answers tomorrow. �In other news, • Security officials announced Thursday that hackers linked to Russia’s intelligence services were trying to steal information from researchers working to produce coronavirus vaccines in the United States, Britain and Canada. Washington Post And also, just because he can: The president’s plan to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock environmental law signed with much fanfare by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970, would make it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects that pose environmental risks. If the final version mirrors a proposal from January, it would force agencies to complete even the most exhaustive environmental reviews within two years and restrict the extent to which they could consider a �project’s full impact on the climate. This is the epitome of environmental racism,” said Angelo Logan, the 53-year-old campaign director for the Los Angeles-based Moving Forward Network, who grew up surrounded by highways, rail yards and industrial plants in nearby Commerce. “The working class, communities of color, will have to suffer the brunt so corporations can make money hand over fist.” Washington Post And here’s social distancing explained: �Craig and Murphy walked through the community garden yesterday. There was just one couple there sitting eating breakfast. ��No, of course he didn’t take their photo. Also yesterday I packed lunch for us and we drove out to the big lake. It had been a rainy, misty morning and I hoped there would be few others there. We found a shady parking spot under a tree in the Kirk Park parking lot and ate our lunch. Then a group of 7+ people arrived with no masks and I decided I didn’t want to walk down to the lake after all. So we drove back through Grand Haven on our way home. Neither of us could believe the traffic, the crowds on the beach, the lines for food, the overall lack of masks and distancing. Apparently the virus is over along the lakeshore. As Gov Whitmer said: its up to us. Its not looking good then. Oliver. ��Last evening, while we were FaceTiming, Oliver pulled one of his books off the coffee table and opened it. Immediately we all heard my voice. The book is one that you record yourself reading it. The look on his face was funny. I’m not sure that he connected the little woman on Mummy’s phone with the voice reading to him. A very memorable moment. This is the only way we can see our daughter and our grandchild - (or any of our family members) and this may be the case until sometime next year. A very daunting thought for all of us, but we are so grateful for these every day moments. Flashback: we packed a lot in a day in the Orkneys. We visited the Stenness Standing Stones. The Standing Stones of Stenness is a Neolithic monument five miles northeast of Stromness on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. This may be the oldest henge site in the British Isles. The monuments at the heart of Neolithic Orkney and Skara Brae proclaim the triumphs of the human spirit in early ages and isolated places. They were approximately contemporary with the mastabas of the archaic period of Egypt (first and second dynasties), the brick temples of Sumeria, and the first cities of the Harappa culture in India, and a century or two earlier than the Golden Age of China. Unusually fine for their early date, and with a remarkably rich survival of evidence, these sites stand as a visible symbol of the achievements of early peoples away from the traditional centres of civilisation…Stenness is a unique and early expression of the ritual customs of the people who buried their dead in tombs like Maes Howe and lived in settlements like Skara Brae. Wikipedia. ������If you look up the history of this site, you will see there were more standing stones on this site. I loved the shape of them. The Orkneys are the most amazing islands, full of astonishing artifacts and history. Craig was in his element. Still more Orkney tomorrow. A lot of people are saying I don’t like the new normal, I want the old normal back. I believe that normals old or new, are over. This is the new now. We can do this. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-17_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-128 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-17 Title A name given to the resource Day 13,965 - oh sorry, that's the new case count yesterday for Florida. Day 128 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/129632a316c2d6e0bec3f660e0f47ecf.pdf 700d4b0aa81c65eba74a23e2d96f481f PDF Text Text Day 129 by windoworks Yesterday the number of new cases in the US was 75,821. Apparently we’re tracking well for 100,000 new cases a day. In Michigan, the districts of Ann Arbor and Lansing have decided to teach all school online. Greater Detroit has been declared a high risk area. In Kent County we now have 6,216 cases in total and 146 deaths. I have lost track of how many new cases are being counted each day. We were driving through the parking lot at Meijer Knapps Corner yesterday at 3pm to do a curbside pickup. As we drove closer to the main door we saw everyone wearing a mask except one woman in her 70s but her friend was wearing a mask. As we drove slowly past the door, there she was, on her way out again - no mask, no shopping. Yay! But disturbingly there’s this (Hillsdale College is equidistant between Battle Creek and Ann Arbor but south, close to the Indiana border): Conservative Michigan college plans to hold graduation despite ban on large gatherings A small Christian college in Michigan plans to bring as many as 2,600 people to campus for graduation on Saturday, despite a ban on large gatherings and opposition from local health officials. Hillsdale College, known for its conservative bent and refusal to accept federal funding, draws its student body from all over the country. That means people could be flying in from hot spots such as Florida or Texas without knowing that they are asymptomatic carriers, Hillsdale County Health Officer Rebecca Burns told Crain’s Detroit Business. “The individuals that do come to visit the community will not just be at the commencement ceremony,” Burns said. “They will be staying in hotels and eating in restaurants. So the larger community is put at potential increased risk because of the large number of individuals coming from outside of town.” The college announced plans to go ahead with the ceremony in a news release, saying that the event was an “expressive activity” protected by the First Amendment. Gatherings of more than 100 people are banned in Michigan, but it’s unclear if authorities intend to take action. Washington Post It was a busy day yesterday. Craig finished painting the red on the top half of the south side of the house and this morning he began on the north side. He also planted a lot of wildflower seeds in the back garden, which is Phase 2 of our back yard meadow space. Here’s a photo of Phase 1: �Small beginnings but the flowers change every day. Next 3 questions about returning to school. 4, What happens when a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19? Will the whole school be quarantined for two weeks and then retested? — Jane, Long Beach, Calif. This differs in every district. Lots of schools are trying to divide kids into what they're calling pods, so that the same small group of, say, 10 or 12 kids will be together all day. That way, if there is a reported infection from one of those kids, then ideally you're only quarantining that group instead of every child in the building. 5. Do these hybrid schedules [that ask students to come to school on alternating days] actually minimize risk, or are they just a consequence of schools lacking space for appropriate distance? — Julie, Seattle Well, if having fewer kids in school buildings makes social distancing practical or possible, and it limits prolonged contact in crowded indoor spaces, then yes, there is absolutely merit to this. And it is driven by the fact that there's not enough space to keep kids distance if you have them all in the school buildings all at one time. �6. What objective criteria can families use to decide whether the amount of community transmission is at a safe enough level to open schools? If the answer is test positivity percentage, how do we define the locality for which that number is relevant? — Jenifer, Phoenix You'd want to look at community levels — and there's a range of metrics that communities can consider, they can look at positivity rates and testing or the number of new cases. One of the big challenges during this pandemic is that there has not been and still is not a unified national approach to communicating risk. But I will say there's a consensus among a lot of infectious disease experts that when there are 25 or more new cases a day per 100,000 people, a county is then in the red zone, and should be considering measures such as stay at home advisories. And that may include closing schools. A note here: Kent County is either 40 or 50+ cases per cases a day per 100,000 people and should be considering closing schools. Last three questions tomorrow. Here’s another alternate schooling idea: For parents who can afford it, a solution for fall: Bring the teachers to them. Fed up with remote education, parents who can pay have a new plan for fall: bring teachers to their homes.This goes beyond tutoring. In some cases, families are teaming up to form “pandemic pods,” where clusters of students receive professional instruction for several hours each day. It’s a 2020 version of the one-room schoolhouse, privately funded.Weeks before the new school year will start, the trend is a stark sign of how the pandemic will continue to drive inequity in the nation’s education system. But the parents planning or considering this say it’s an extreme answer to an extreme situation.Parents are worried about health risks. But they are also worried their children will fall behind. And they fear they will be unable to work, even from home, while supervising children. “We had lots of family discussions about what we wanted to do, and is it worth it to pay extra? And we said yes,” said Katie Franklin, who has a 7-year-old daughter and lives in Herndon, in northern Virginia. She is in talks with a few other families to hire a teacher to share. The estimated cost for her family: at least $500 per month. Washington Post And just in case you thought the stay safe measures were draconian where you live: MOSCOW — In a shamanic ritual last month in the Siberian hamlet of Shuluta, fermented milk was sprinkled on a fire, a sheep was killed and boiled to make a rich broth, and prayers were offered to ancestors. The belief is that the annual rites help ensure prosperity and good health. This year, though, there was special urgency as the novel coronavirus sweeps across Russia, with case numbers still rising sharply. Relatives traveled 280 miles from the city of Ulan-Ude — near Lake Baikal — for the sunrise ceremony June 9, which was performed by one Shuluta family. Two weeks later, the first confirmed cases of coronavirus infection appeared in the village, population 390. �On June 27, the local administration sent tractors to dig two trenches around the village to seal it off after the first confirmed cases of coronavirus infection appeared in the village. Many believed the virus was linked to the rituals and gathering held by one Shuluta clan. Roadblocks to regulate access had been set up in March, but authorities imposed the full-scale blockade after last month’s outbreak in a region where a paucity of medical facilities adds to the anxiety over the arrival of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Washington Post While all this is going on, the climate is still in crisis. This confronting photo from the Arctic: �But to counter that, this year has been a bumper year for birds. I am hard pressed to keep up with the sugar water for the hummingbirds who guzzle it every day (and sometimes come to visit me) and Craig struggles to keep up with the suet bird seed blocks - they simply devour them. Here is a goldfinch - we haven’t seen quite as many of these this year. �And of course, a plug for Joe - and every other Democrat running for office. Make sure you are registered and see if your state offers absentee (mail in) voting. Authors note: for some reason chump believes these are two different things. �Here’s how it could work in your state too ( an article from two weeks ago): Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn’t it? It’s not. It is a description of yesterday’s primaries in Colorado. The state avoided the miserable lines that voters in Georgia and Wisconsin recently endured — lines that are a waste of time and, even worse, a health risk during a pandemic. And unlike in Kentucky and New York, Colorado didn’t take a week or more to count its ballots. It began counting before Election �Day. After polls closed, at 7 p.m., people quickly knew that John Hickenlooper had won the Democratic nomination in a closely watched Senate race. Colorado accomplished all of this thanks to a universal system of voting by mail, which began in 2014. The state sends a ballot to every registered voter weeks before Election Day. Voters can return the ballot by mail, so long as it arrives by Election Day, or can drop it off at any one of dozens of voting centers. People can also vote in person, but fewer than 6 percent of voters do so in a typical election. Washington Post Oliver and his dad. �Next Neolithic site: Maeshowe. We had to catch a little bus and drive onto a farmer’s property to get there. Then we walked through the fields dodging the sheep poop and made it to the mound. Of course it was raining, cold and windy and you had to bend over to get through the tunnel entrance inside. This was �another Neolithic tomb with shelves for bones. Evidently when a shelf filled up, they disposed of the old bones and began putting new bones or bodies (not sure) on the shelf. You couldn’t take photos inside but our guide was very entertaining. He told us that about 1000 years after the tomb had fallen into disuse, there was evidence that Vikings had found the tomb after one of them fell through the roof. We saw Viking graffiti written high on the wall with a Viking axe which said something like: Tortstig was here. The whole time we were inside the tomb, about 30 minutes, an older Italian woman stood outside and refused to come in because she was claustrophobic. I think she spent a miserable 30 minutes outside. ���So, Maeshowe in the distance, trudging through the rain, and you can just see the entrance with someone about to go in. Still more Orkneys tomorrow. 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_2020-07-18_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-129 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-18 Title A name given to the resource Day 129 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/78a4e88f18e7df4b5dd07d7660218543.pdf 17f1a2d143fe74db551dd56b064d712a PDF Text Text Day 130 by windoworks Yes, I know, I know, its a later post than usual. Because this morning we had an adventure. We left home about 7:15am and drove out to Lake Michigan. We thought we might swim before the crowds got there. It was very overcast with the promise of storms and we got almost to Kirk Park before it poured. As we pulled into the parking lot with only 2 staff cars in sight, the rain stopped. We walked through the trees to the beachfront. But wait! What beach front? The beach was completely gone. Over the past year or so, the beach has gradually disappeared as the lake level rose, but this morning was spectacular. The dunes are all closed off as they are hugely unstable and far along the lakeshore, home owners have had to resort to building big boulder walls to stop their houses sliding into the lake. ����As you can see - nowhere to sit, never mind stand. As we left Kirk Park, it began to pour with rain again, this time with thunder and lightning. It rained heavily all the way home. When we turned into our street off Lake Drive, our friends at the bottom of the street had a huge tree down on top of one of their cars, which was parked in the driveway. It looked as though it had pulled some sort of power line down with it. The neighbors were standing forlornly looking at the mess. So far, so good at our house. In other places in the world: The world’s most famous savanna boasts two epic migrations. One has traversed it for millennia: Millions of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles follow billowing rain clouds in search of new grazing grounds. The other horde descends upon the first in open-air safari jeeps, zoomlens cameras at the ready, coolers tucked between the seats filled with snacks and prosecco. Coronavirus travel restrictions mean the humans have suddenly vanished, and along with them a billiondollar tourism industry that employs millions and underpins a symbiotic human-wildlife ecosystem — the private conservancy — that is essential to wildlife conservation in many African countries. Conservancies constitute more than 11 percent of Kenya’s land, more than national parks. The model is simple: Community shareholders, mostly cattle herders, receive tourism revenue from wildlife safaris as compensation for lost grazing land, and salaried jobs proliferate at new hotels and for rangers. Wildlife becomes more valuable alive than dead, disincentivizing poaching. Now, with tourism revenue nearly zeroed out, most workers at Kenya’s 167 community-owned conservancies are furloughed, and payouts to nearly 1 million shareholders have been reduced or suspended entirely. Communities are considering a return to grazing, jeopardizing decades of wildlife conservation efforts across the continent’s vast grasslands. Washington Post Meanwhile for those of us keeping track: �From Washington Post “What we do have is we have perhaps the lowest, but among the lowest, but perhaps the lowest, mortality rate — death rate — anywhere in the world,” President Trump said July 9, 2020, the day he surpassed 20,000 false or misleading claims since taking the oath of office. It was the 13th time the president spread this particular falsehood, and it is entry No. 20,036 in our evermetastasizing database of Trump’s deceitful claims. Nearly 40 Americans had died of the novel coronavirus per 100,000 people, the second worst rate in the world, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. But the snowball quickly became an avalanche, the false statements a routine. In the last 14 months, Trump averaged 23 claims a day for The Fact Checker’s database. No setting or subject is spared by Trump. In Rose Garden remarks, at coronavirus briefings, in tweetstorms at odd hours, in press gaggles near a whirring chopper, the Trumpian stream of misinformation engulfs every topic nowadays, from his impeachment in Congress to his Democratic opponent in the presidential race, from the worldwide pandemic that crashed the economy to the protests across the country calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality. As of July 9, the tally in our database stands at 20,055 claims in 1,267 days. �I’ve heard a new word being used in conjunction with chump: smash mouth. It meansaggressive and confrontational. Yep, I think that about sums it up. Have you noticed that you never see a photo of him smiling or happy? Mostly, he just looks angry. And old, because no matter who you are, the job of being POTUS ages you fast. In virus news: In California, doctors are shipping patients as many as 600 miles away because they can’t be cared for locally. In Florida, nurses are pouring in from out of state to reinforce exhausted medical workers. And in Texas, mayors are demanding the right to shut down their cities to avoid overwhelming hospitals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped updating hospitalization data on its public website this week, after the Trump administration abruptly ordered hospitals to bypass the nation’s premier public health agency when they file federal reports. The administration said the changes are necessary to streamline the national reporting system, but the nation’s governors have joined a chorus of protests over the move. On the other hand, the globally minded German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was written off as a lame duck earlier in the crisis, has seen her country’s infection rates plummet. Washington Post. From Biden’s campaign: ��Two more tomorrow. Last 3 questions about schools opening 7. How do districts with a 100% virtual learning plan to meet the needs of special education students required by federal law? — Robert, Decatur, Ga. This is honestly one of the most important questions that school leaders, teachers, and parents are facing. And there is not an easy answer. I think anyone you talk to in a school setting will say this spring was devastating for all students, but especially for children with disabilities. There are just certain services that are very difficult to provide online. And that assumes that you and your family have access to broadband [Internet], and lots of kids �don't. There is a real concern now among school leaders that they're going to get hammered with lawsuits by parents who are rightfully arguing that their kids did not get the kind of educational services that schools are required, by law, to provide. There is just no easy solution here. This helps explain why many districts that are provisionally reopening are prioritizing, first and foremost, that children with disabilities can return first. 8. Is the government going to give more funding to reduce class size and provide more teachers? — Lynn, Phoenix This is the question on the minds and mouths of every school leader and teacher I have spoken with. Congress did pass the CARES Act a while ago. That included about $13.5 billion for K-12 schools. But just about anybody who works in and around or on behalf of schools will tell you they need at least 10 times as much not only to cover the costs of COVID-19, but also because this is happening at the same time that we're experiencing a pretty crushing recession. States are absolutely slashing their education budgets. It's also important to know that despite President Trump's very real push to reopen schools, there has been very little talk from his administration on actually helping schools pay for any of this. 9.What are you looking for this fall, as the school year begins? — Sarah McCammon, NPR I am going to be looking at the mental health toll this has taken. I have heard from a lot of educators and a lot of kids, and I've seen it myself — this has been incredibly difficult on kids. It has obliterated many of their support systems, and it's distanced them from many of the very important grown-ups in their lives. And obviously the other kids in their lives! That is going to take a toll. That is a trauma, and I don't even think we've begun to reckon with that. My hope is that everyone heeds the warnings and messages coming from public health experts and infectious disease experts that we all have to do the right thing if we plan to send our kids back to school. NPR. Not really reassured by these answers. �And to make you laugh: �I don’t write much myself now. The numbers continue to climb and states are struggling to cope. Craig and I continue to be very careful and try to be mentally prepared for anything. It is an exhausting way to live and we are not alone - I think people everywhere across the world are exhausted by this. As my friend Wendy said: even the Hundred Year War ended! Oliver. ���In the top photo he is sitting on a chair that Craig’s grandfather made for him when he was little. In the bottom photo, Oliver is sitting surrounded by early birthday presents. Oh and now he has 6 or 7 teeth. Its hard to get his mouth open to count. Continuing our action packed 2 days on the Orkneys. ������From the top: Kirkwall Cathedral. Kirkwall is the main town on the Orkneys. Inside the cathedral; Asher and I walking across a causeway to see a Viking village; two photos of the village ruins and then a photo of Yesnabey. This was a very spooky cliff top area. It had a notice which said that a number of people had thrown themselves off this cliff. Something about it drwas the people to it and encourages suicide. We didn’t stay long - it felt too creepy. Still more Orkneys tomorrow. �Hear, hear. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-07-19_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-130 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Day 130 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