Fwd: More of your discovered joys

[George Duncan-2]

Per our Zoomversation re our Governor.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Fast Forward <[hidden email]>
Date: Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 1:06 PM
Subject: More of your discovered joys
To: <[hidden email]>

Plus Easter traditions

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Friday, April 10   |  Follow Teresa Hanafin on Twitter

More of your discovered joys

By Teresa Hanafin, Globe Staff

Programming note: I'll be off next week and the following Monday, the 20th; Fast Forward will be back on Wednesday the 22nd.

Good afternoon! It's Friday, April 10, the 101st day of the year. It's Good Friday, the most solemn day on the Christian calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But the tragedy is redeemed by his resurrection on Easter Sunday, a message of hope for these dark times. Sunrise in Boston was at 6:10 a.m. and sunset will be at 7:20 p.m., for 13 hours and 10 minutes of sunlight. The waning moon is 89 percent full.

Speaking of Easter, The Old Farmer's Almanac explains the origin of some of the holiday's iconic symbols: Eggs, for example, are a sign of fertility and new life, although you can leave out the fertility part when you explain this to your kids. Why decorate them? Well, they used to be prohibited to eat during the 40 days of Lent, but nobody told the hens, who kept right on laying them. Painting the eggs gave bored Christians something to do.

Bunnies are kind of in the same fertility vein, given their prodigious reproductive capabilities. But Lutherans in Germany treated the Easter hare like Santa Claus, judging whether children had been good or bad since apparently the little monsters revert to their naughty ways immediately after Christmas and have to be reined in again.

German immigrants brought that tradition to the US, and kids started building nests for the Easter bunny to use -- hence Easter baskets, although I suspect that polyester nesting material feels kind of scratchy. And of course, bunnies don't lay eggs, especially chocolate ones, so things got rather mixed up pretty quickly.

At least they weren't led to the slaughter like lambs, a popular food on Easter given its association with Passover (it was lamb's blood smeared on the doors) as well as Jesus as the Lamb of God. Pigs end up as Easter hams because of they are believed to bring good luck and prosperity (which is also why we have piggybanks and not skunkbanks).

What's it like outside? Rather appropriately, it's been a pretty rainy March and April in metro Boston, and despite the morning sunshine, that pattern will continue this afternoon, along with wind gusts. High 40s.

Hey, sport: Cam Newton as the Patriots' "bridge" quarterback? The Globe's Chris Gasper says despite his career being sidetracked last year by shoulder surgery and a foot injury, Gillette just may be the place for a renaissance.
 

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Today's US coronavirus numbers:
Total cases: 466,396 (was 432,596 at this time yesterday)
Total deaths: 16,703 (was 15,774 yesterday)

After I wrote about governors who acted aggressively to test, restrict, and buy supplies for health workers to contain the spread of the coronavirus -- measures that have been quite successful so far -- two FF readers from New Mexico, Susan Craig of Sante Fe and Larry Beck, wrote to sing the praises of their governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham. Grisham closed schools March 12, and on March 23 closed nonessential businesses and issued a statewide stay-at-home order.

"Our governor is doing a great job with limited resources. She's smart, unflappable, and science-based," Susan wrote. Larry agreed, but paused over one thing: "I hesitate to have New Mexico highlighted on the national stage because I want to keep our governor -- a thoughtful, experienced, Hispanic woman -- in New Mexico."

I'm just flattered that you think of Fast Forward as "the national stage," Larry.

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It's my pleasure to make this a TFF (Trump-Free Friday for the newbies) on my last day before vacation. So let's do some more of your e-mails about the unexpected and simple pleasures you are rediscovering or creating for yourselves during this crisis. (If you feel you still need the uplift when I return, I'll post more then.)

Many thanks again to FF reader Alison Picard of Cape Cod for setting us on this path. In fact, she wrote back with a suggestion:

Hi everyone,
I want to HIGHLY recommend the SGN channel hosted by John Krasinski on YouTube. Very funny, uplifting stories about life during the Great Pandemic. My favorite sequence from the episode I saw: John contacts a little girl who is terribly disappointed because the family trip to NYC to see "Hamilton" has been cancelled. Lin-Manuel Miranda shows up and chats with her -- then the entire Hamilton cast sings to her remotely. Little girl looks like she's about to pass out from happiness.

Alice Lanckton of Newton
Since I taught school for 51 years, I was always aware that each generation of students had an (often terrible) event that they all remembered as the most dramatic event of their childhood: the moon landing, Kennedy's assassination, the Challenger disaster, 9/11, Obama's election.

When one of these events was happening, I usually asked my students (middle and high school students) to write a letter to their grandchild describing how and when they found out about it and what they found out, their own feelings, the reaction of their family.

I suggested they use their five senses to describe things:
"I smelled the hamburgers Mom was preparing when I heard on the news that ... "
"I saw charts of the numbers of people in each country that had the virus."
"I remember learning not to touch my face and how hard it was."
"I remember how relieved I felt when I learned that kids didn't usually get a serious version of the disease."

Thus, a student has a role as a "prime source" and can also learn the term. Finally, I hope it conveys a confident spirit that the kids are writing to their grandchild.

Holly S. Kennedy Romano of Pound Ridge, N.Y.
I have rediscovered the joy in "making do," something my Italian grandmother spoke of all the time. We are making simpler meals and using things in the pantry instead of running to the store for just a few items.

I have discovered the joy in stillness, in not being constantly on the go, and in watching the magnificent birds at the feeder in our back yard. To watch them go about their usual springtime activities; courtship and nest-building, oblivious to the state of the human world right now, is both joyful and comforting.

I am appreciating e-books and the wonders of my local public library which is, like everything else in town, shuttered. Unable to sign up for e-books, I sent an SOS email the Sunday before last, assuming I would not hear back until the library reopened weeks from now. A staff member got back to me within hours and helped me complete the sign-up. I am on my third book! What a joy to be able to have such an amazing selection of books within my reach with just a few clicks on my iPad.

D.R. Ketten
With no commute, no need to dress properly, no need to shop, etc. ... I am finally getting enough sleep!

Bob (and Janet) Binney
We both are in our 70s living in a downtown condo with a connecting balcony to our lovely neighbors with 3 very young children (oldest in 1st grade).

My wife, a former teacher, came up with the idea of being Pen Pals with the kids because they are not allowed to visit our home during this crisis.

So we now have this constant pitter-patter across the balcony with a knock on the door delivering letters, drawings and …. not sure what to call them. The messages are delightful, the kids are engaged and out from under their parents' feet. We reply with our deliveries of new ideas and questions. If we don't respond in a timely manner, we get knocks on the door with messages like:
 

Thank God for kids.

Karen Shepard
Although I am fortunate to have a decent immune system, I am so sorry for those who do not.

Yes, I am still busy and being paid. Even though my office is closed, I am working from home and participating in webinars and tele-briefings (3 yesterday). I keep in touch with friends and family, read, walk, and play with my gorgeous cat, Tiger.

Ron Kendricks of Dallas
I am a disabled elderly resident of a senior living apartment complex. I have no transportation, no family, and am on a fixed income. We are in "shelter in place." I can find no masks.

So I asked my friend in L.A., Kittie Beletic (a member of the Screen Guild Association), if she could send Easter baskets for our truly needy residents who have no transportation, no family, and no friends, to include handmade unique masks, a thermometer, a roll of toilet tissue, stamps, and a roll of quarters worth to do their laundry.

I thought this was the least I could do. I named this creative project: Project Easter: With Hands and Hearts. Kittie has enlisted others to help with the project.

Help will be on the way in time for Easter baskets for those most vulnerable.

Kathi Dunphy of New Brunswick, Canada
I am lucky to be in a spot where I am surrounded by nature and space where I can isolate outdoors, but here is a mood lifter I use when the weather is bad and I can't get out: I ask Alexa to play forest bird sounds. I can be working away at mundane tasks pretending my windows are open to glorious peaceful sounds of nature! Especially now that it's spring and the birds are returning.

Dave Jacob
There are a group of close friends who have gotten together for many years on Saturday morning at various restaurants around Sudbury, Mass. We have continued the breakfast meetings on Zoom at the appropriate time on Saturdays until we can get together again. Everyone brings a dish to share.

Jeanne Davis
Sending "Joy" cards to everybody on my xmas card list, sending coloring/sticker books to some of my friends' kids, calling 2 people each day who I think might need to hear from "somebody else."

Bill VanKeuren
Happiness is a ukulele. Playing alone is great, but what's even greater is that a humongous group of online ukulele jams have exploded on the internet using Zoom (of course).

In the past 10 days, I've jammed with groups in Memphis TN, Santa Cruz CA, Portland OR, Philadelphia PA, London ON, and Coventry UK, all without breaking self-quarantine here in south Florida and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Boston has an active ukulele group on Facebook that I will explore. You can, too.

The only downside because of the latency is that only one person can play and lead a song while the rest of us remain muted, but we can see each other's happy faces and we can chat in real time between songs. What's not to love until we can once again meet face-to-face!!

Ginny Penik
I have been FaceTiming my 5-year-old granddaughter almost every day just to read her a story. She loves it, and it gives her mother a much-needed break. Which reminds me: I still need to call my sister and thank her for giving me all the books her daughters outgrew, a lot of which are books I gave her when my daughter outgrew them.

Ann Marie Harootunian of Walpole
I have 7 grandchildren from 20 to 6 years old and have saved all of their papers from school since they were in preschool up to graduation from high school. I got all of the pictures they drew and papers they did throughout the years and put them in plastic sheet protectors and 3" binders! It took me 7 days, but now they're all together and each grandchild can look at all of their own creations. It was such fun to see them all again.

Annie of West Concord, Mass.
With all this time at home, I started finally cleaning out my office and files of paperwork after putting it off for maybe a year ... Found a folder of letters my parents saved that I had sent them from college (my father saved everything!!). It was so much fun to relive those times. It was also really interesting to look back on what I was thinking -- or not thinking -- at that time. A nice afternoon.

Paula Carroll
I am so grateful to be able to enjoy sunshine, foliage, flat walking, grocery delivery, and all the technology that keeps us in touch. I feel/pray for those who are working, keeping things going, not to mention the courageous hospital workers.

One of the good things has been using Zoom with friends -- cocktails, of course, on a weekly basis -- and realizing that some of the groups who are in different states shouldn't need a pandemic to stay in touch! I plan to use it more in the future.

Ann Caldwell
My coping strategies are all about shopping in place -- for books on my book shelf I meant to read but haven't, cans in my cupboard for recipes I've made up, and clothes in my closet I haven't worn in so long they seem new! And on weekends, I take my 84-year-old husband on "pleasure drives" (we don't get out of the car) to places, mostly on the coast, we enjoyed in our younger days.

Joanne Tannone
A yoga instructor from the Old Colony Y has created a virtual yoga class in which I participate since our Y was forced to close its doors several weeks ago.

This class brings dozens of us together from our respective homes ... giving us the gift of her time to honor our bodies two to three times per week from the privacy of our own homes ... it is a unique feeling that so many of us share for an hour ... we're alone ... but we're together ... 🧘‍♀️Namaste.

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Thanks for reading. It's too bad that families whose members live apart can't celebrate Passover and Easter in person, but when we can get back together again, think of what a party that will be. Send comments and suggestions to [hidden email], or follow me on Twitter @BostonTeresa. See you April 22. Be safe and healthy.
 

Please tell your friends about Fast Forward! They can sign up here. The Globe has lots of other e-mail newsletters that are almost as good as this one, from breaking news alerts to sports, politics, business, and entertainment -- check them out.
 

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