Day Three, March 19, 2020

I'm getting to this a little late, so I'll try to keep it on the shorter side. After working from home for most of three days, my son at UMass needed some survival supplies, and rather than have him hike into town on a damp chilly day, I offered to run the errands for him. So I left the insular sanctity of our little home and ventured out into the world... and this is what I discovered.

At CVS people were discretely cautious... no overt expressions of distrust, but nobody passed by anyone else in the aisles. If someone was focused on a purchase, the other person backed out of the aisle and went around. Three people were wearing surgical masks, and one woman had a scarf wrapped around her face. Another woman was consulting with the pharmacist about the potential success of using sunburn gel to make hand sanitizer (she was going to mix in alcohol). The pharmacy was cordoned off by boundary lines of bright yellow tape (stand behind the line), and a large table further distanced customers from the cashiers. Running down one aisle were evenly spaced hash marks in the same yellow tape to safely distance yourself from other customers. I wore my gloves the whole time, which took some concentration when pulling out my healthcare spending card, then my debit card (take glove off, insert card, put glove back on, use pen to punch in code, take glove off to retrieve card and return to wallet, and repeat).

I couldn't find all the things on my list at CVS, so I went to Target. In addition to what my son needed, I picked up more frozen strawberries for my morning smoothies, and veggie sausage patties for my egg sandwiches. Then, just for kicks, I took my own toilet paper panic photos. I arrived in the TP aisle just as another woman did and she let out a deep sigh and sadly said, "I thought I should just go ahead and check." We shared a moment.

I, of course, imagined the sorry state in her house, perhaps devoid of toilet paper for the last week, and the depravity they have had to resort to... and yet there was the resignation and resolve she demonstrated. Perhaps something we will all get used to, the way one gets used to doing something that one needs to get used to because of circumstance... like being a parent to sick kids... or the bodily functions of babies... or just becoming a parent... but I digress (and I love being a parent and you can substitute dog, cat, chicken in for kiddo).

I belong to the Community Economies Institute and in the last few days there has been an email thread where people have shared different examples of emerging cooperation and care in communities similar to how in our area Stop and Shop and other groceries have started senior only hours... or Target is now asking for ethical purchasing (only by one pack of toilet paper at a time). Ethan Miller expressed wonder at things he never thought he would see in his life time, that in Maine the Public Utilities Commission banned utility disconnection, that President Trump will direct HUD to stop evictions and foreclosures, and Republicans are considering a basic income payment for all Americans. "What a surreal reality," he proclaims! Further more, Ethan talks about the emergence of an ethical ceiling to market forces where consumers are calling for boycotts of stores that are price gouging, and that "even the far right is enraged about market-based price increases of scarce ammunition!" What a wonderfully fascinating read of our new reality.

A little later, I accompanied my spouse to visit the Handle Factory in Shelburne Falls, where she has been taking pottery classes, to retrieve her final fired pieces before an undetermined hiatus. I got to meet Luna the dog (sorry, I forgot to take her picture), and said hello to Molly Cantor, who talked about how she gets to continue doing all the things she normally does, like go to the studio and make pottery, go for walks in the woods, ride her bike, every thing except make money. We laughed a little resignedly at that. My spouse tried to decide if she should clear off and bring home her shelf of tools and notes, but then decided to leave them there, as if to tell Molly, don't worry, I'll be back.

On Molly's recommendation we ordered takeout from Healthy Eats, who delivers out to your car out the back door of the restaurant, and lo and behold who comes out with our dinner, but GCC's own alum and musician extraordinaire, Jess Dow! She seemed in good spirits, and it was great to see a friendly face, even if only briefly.

So, those are my notes from Day 3. See below for more online teaching resources (or look at the tab above), and a photo sent by Tony Reiber, and a video Martha Field sent around. And here's a photo of Franklin making nice with June Bug, because some people want to see more pets.

Online Teaching Resources

Some general tips about moving online from The Chronicle of Higher Ed, "So what do we do? How do we "pivot online" and — to put it bluntly — not have it suck? "

At Oxford University Press, we understand the challenges of building an online course, even in the best of circumstances. Whether you are an adopter of an Oxford University Press text or not, we can help you. Below are a number of free resources that will help you and your students experience as little disruption as possible as you move to online teaching and learning.

From Caitlin Worth: Here is a 4-minute video that I just made on getting started with Zoom. Please reach out if you have any questions or want to practice with someone. It's also a great way for me to help people with other technology issues via screen sharing. https://youtu.be/BBHqpjrPbOk

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