A Change in the Weather

Another day, and I'm sitting outside again. We're still under "social separation," so I'm about 20 feet from the street. And I've lost the sun that was warming my body and washing out my tablet's screen. And the wind has resumed, bringing a wind chill that is about to drive me to grabbing my hoodie, if not actually to go inside!

Yesteday, I noted that "Spring's Sprung," but in this part of the world, spring is a tempermental lady. The forecast for tonight is rain, and in a few days there's snow expected within a few hundred miles of here. We joke that northeastern Pennsylvania can have all four seasons within a week, if not even inside a single day!

Living under rules of isolation isn't all that much fun, is it? Actually, I am wondering when I should head to the post office to check my mail. Can I wait a few more days? What if there's something urgent awaiting my attention, but by staying home I'm missing a fast narrowing window of opportunity? And I'm looking at my groceries, and realizing that it won't be too long until I need to get milk, at least, and maybe two gallons, and a few cans of fruit, and maybe more frozen vegtables. And surely it won't be too long until the pharmacy tells me I have something ready for pickup.

I am slow to adopt new technology in some ways. Sure, the guy who ran a "pirate" radio station from his dorm room, is nervous about shopping Walmart online and doing curbside pickup? Yeah, that's me. And the pharmacy will probably deliver, if I can figure out the payment system.

I thought I had rubber-type gloves on hand, like one might use for cleaning the oven. Not where I thought they were! Did I give them to my daughter last year? Or do I need to search another location or two?

What about masks? What do I have that I can fold in layers, lacking any bandana? I think I can find hair elastics, which I bought for a different purpose several years ago (think how some microphones are mounted to isolate them from the mic stand). But even with gloves and a makeshift mask, is it safe for me to venture out of my driveway?

I actually don't feel all that worried, but I'm being careful. We have to think about these things, because there's such a big delay between infection and symptoms. And even worse, a good number of us will never get sick, but instead will be asymptomatic carriers. And it's those who think they can go party (a recent raid of about 100 teenagers in the woods, underage drinking!) who are the most likely to bring home the virus, most likely to transmit it, to their elderly aunt, their immune-compromised neighbor, their high-risk brother or parent or cousin or friend.

So as the clouds overhead thicken ahead of tonight's rain, I'm about to pack up and go back inside. Not because I'm afraid, but because I'm fairly reasonable. With sun hidden by the clouds, it's not enjoyable sitting outside. And yet I've lingered, because as spring has sprung, it's also tempermental, and it might be days again until I can enjoy my relative freedom in my own driveway.

Be safe, my friends! God set the universe in motion, "his eye is on the sparrow," he gave the lillies their glory and cares about us, too. But He loves us too much to compel our obedience. And sometimes we have to choose whether to obey the very leaders whom, at least conceptually, he placed over us. Will you be safe? Will you maintain social separation outside your household? Will you disinfect and wear masks and gloves where appropriate?

I'm trying! I'm not technically "high risk," but I have an elevated risk, as my age and medical concerns suggest, and I don't want to end up in the hospital at a time when my city, a hotbed of viral infections, is not even near its peak along the bell curve of contagion.

Give me your thoughts.

Spring's Sprung

Early April, and I'm sitting outside. A few weeks ago, 60 degrees was a very warm day! But how quickly our bodies respond to the shift of seasons, welcoming the warmth of the sun and soaking up the fresh air, the breeze, the ... yes, the pollen!

I have two other public blogs, one is much more general where over the years I've written about books I've read and technology and everyday life. The third blog, via Wordpress, is much more about my spiritual life and thought. Here on Blogger, I'm trying to write more of my everyday experiences and observations, without being overtly or overwelmingly religious. Naturally, my faith will peremeate this blog, just as my life will creep into my "Musings on Things That Matter" blog on Wordpress.

Today, after too much time searching for answers to the lost key to my "Musings" blog, I finally dug out my printed notes, and found not the original email confirming the account, but at least a password reset from that seldom-used email account, and was finally able to go back to where I had left off five years back! So now, I'm sitting outside, trying to enjoy the fresh air in social isolation, and trying to organize my thoughts before I retreat to the climate-controlled upstairs apartment I call my abode. (I did write a post on Wordpress; you might be able to find it if you search.)

I suppose that one thing I could do here is discuss how my Autism affects my everyday life. How "executive dysfunction" delays my accomplishing anything beyond the minimum activity of living. How Autism causes a degree of generalized anxiety, and how anxity can lead to a form of intermittent depression.

Actually, because of an Autism group on Facebook, I've become online friends with a young married woman in the American midwest, whose autism experience is more steep than mine. I've become kind of a coach via chat, and she is writing a blog about her experiences. Her desire to share her journey, both the struggles and the successes, in prose, are part of my recommitment to my own blogging efforts. We both are frustrated by those who seek a cure, thinking we're broken; we're frustrated by those who only dwell in their misery and suffering and are unable to find ways to cope and find a degree of contentment in life; we also are frustrated by those who insist that we only celebrate the better aspects of Autism, feeling that admitting the pain and struggle diminishes who we are as a group of people. She and I agree that we must accept the bad with the good, and be honest with ourseleves and the world around us, because it does affect the world around us. And so, because of my online friend Dorothy, I'm returning to writing, not because I'm anything special of myself, but because the gift of writing gives me a special way to reach the world.

With 55 years of life under my belt -- with a spiritual journey that has had its zigzags and course corrections; with a marriage and divorce and a few failed attempts at romance; with a 25 year career; with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication; with somewhere over 1,400 Facebook connections; despite my frequent feelings of failure -- I have accomplished what many have not. People turn to me for advice, not because I'm especially wise, or knowledgable, but because I am willing to share what I know and admit when I simply don't know. Somehow, words come easy to me. Sometimes I'm able to string together a few phrases, or rhyme a few words, and in my own way reflect what others are also feeling. Or I'm able to convey my heart in a way that resonates in their own heart.

I'm nothing special -- and yet, just a common man, I'm also quite special, beloved, with friendships that span the globe. Just a common man, with common thoughts, and uncommon thoughts. This blog itself turns my thoughts into uncommon thoughts. I hope that you'll journey with me, as I continue to find my voice, and find ways to cope with the issues of life and my inherent Autism insights and outlooks.

Just a common man.... that's what I am.

Social Separation and Friends Afar

Well, it's been awhile since I last posted here. Life has changed a lot, and my friends and followers on Facebook know what I've shared there, so I won't rehash old stories.

But then, after I retired, after my employer tried to shut down my last workplace in an ivory-tower idealism, then the seasons began to change.

I watched the news, or rather listened to it, the audio newscasts, from around the world, and heard how an essentially invisible storm had rocked first one region, then a number of sea cruisers, and finally the world.

I expanded my world as my world shrunk, social separation instructions leading to almost total lockdowns here and there, and in some places, full lockdown. Will social isolation work? It's too soon to know. But my thought is, we're all going to contract COVID-19 eventually,  and the need isn't to stop the infections, but to slow it down so we can develop treatments, so we can improve outcomes, so we can "flatten the curve" so we as a society can survive.

So what's improved? Friends on Facebook, at first, more friends, deeper bonds with friends I've had. And then more international friends, and especially friends from the Phillipines. And now, a very significant friend, a story that will last years, a story that is just beginning, a story that will have to wait for another time. But, a story full of hope, a getaway, anticipation, separation, connection.

Stay tuned!