Day 14, March 30, 2020

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Day 14, March 30, 2020

So this is what 14 days feels like... what a typical quarantine is for people who have been exposed. It has been fourteen days since I was last in my office, plus a weekend, I guess. So aside from my short forays out into the world, I have stayed in a mostly insular prescribed space. 

Debbie and I went out for a quick trip to CVS and the grocery store, and for the first time wore her homemade masks out in public. Mine is a nice vibrant blue, and hers is yellow with little flowers on it. At the grocery store there were several other customers also wearing masks. Some people seemed to respect distance better than others, but everyone's wariness was palpable. I have been reading about the xenophobic virus response, and therefore felt hyperconscious about appearing in public wearing a mask, but at least at these stores, it seemed like everyone was equally wary of one another.

The trip made me wonder what will happen when this is over. How will we come back and interact with one another again? What will have changed? Will we be recognizable to each other?

Maybe it will be like when I was a kid and when I returned to school in September after a long languid summer of fishing, swimming, and music out at Tanglewood, and everyone was taller, or got glasses, or became more beautiful, or even more gawky.

Well, it is Monday and I'm having trouble warming up. There are a bunch of wonderful things people shared with me today, and you can see some of them below. Perhaps that is time better spent than watching me try to make something else emerge at eight o'clock at night.

Take care and stay safe,
Leo

From Our Friends:

Amanda Hyde's YouTube Channel

Check out Biology faculty, Amanda Hyde's YouTube Channel.
I particularly liked the peepers and wood frogs:


Lilian Ruiz shared this photo from Facebook:


The Western Massachusetts Community Mutual Aid Network

Now has a website where you can request for help, volunteer, contribute and help organize your neighborhood into Pods!

Alyssa Arnell shared this Free Dialogues Training

Three free weekly dialogues to help build compassion and connection in this moment of deep alienation.

From Poet and Oncology Dr. C. Dale Young

I met C. Dale Young in my Bread Loaf days. Today he wrote, "Wash your hands like you are Lady MacBeth...." That might be my favorite quote of the pandemic, so far. 

A Video Shared by Ted Johnson:

"Everything Will Be Alright!" a beautiful song by Andrá Tutto Bene


Today's Online Teaching Tips

Yamaha's Educator Suite

Yamaha has a nice range of resources for teaching music online including: How to teach instrumental lessons online, online teaching for the non-online teacher, music theory lessons and games, etc. 

The Politics of COVID-19, Readings

A group has started a reading list of articles about the pandemic and its impact on class and labor, social toll, future, economic policy, the anthropocene, capitalism, etc. Lots of international articles in multiple languages as well.

McGraw-Hill

The publisher is offering free access to digital materials, eBooks, tutorials, and more.

Resources for Teaching About Racial Discrimination During the Corona Virus Crisis

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