‘‘’Seismic’ Events and Loss Have Shaped US History: World Wars to 9/11— Catastrophe Has Long Driven Social Change”, by Marco della Cava, USA Today, Weekend, April 17-19, 2020, 1A.
“The virus is a modern-day terrorist attack on us all, so if I lost my father or friend to 9/11 or Oklahoma City or COVID-19, the loss is the same,” Watkins says. “The sacrifice is the same.”
“Whenever we go through these national tragedies, people have to have a chance to rebuild their lives and move forward,” Watkins says. “So many are dying now, but we have to make the very best of the very worst.”
“We might take baby steps together, and maybe there will be mistakes on both sides of the political aisle. But we should all be working together now for America.”
Kari Watkins, Executive Director, Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum
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“Keeping Calm in Turbulent Times” by Margaret Foster, The Beacon in Focus for People over 50, Vol. 17, No. 5, p.1, 7.
“We’re all having anxiety about the future,” said Dr. Sally Winston, co-founder of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland, located on the Sheppard Pratt campus.
“Acknowledge your emotions. What you resist, persists (Carl Jung). Turning on the radio to drown out your thoughts is distraction which doesn’t work for long. The other way is to say, while one part of my mind is worrying, I might as well listen to music. It helps to acknowledge fear, anger, or confusion.”
“Stay in touch with others. Pick up the phone and call a friend. Learn some video chat programs that you can use on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger and WeChat are free. Many churches are live-streaming services.” [Someone did a program on letter writing and journaling is also helpful. I keep a daily diary as a mental activity.]
“Go on a news diet. Restrict your news-gathering time” especially if it stresses you out. [I look at one news cast a day and spend no more than an hour on Twitter every other day.]
“Try for mindfulness (staying in the present moment). Pause for self-reflection. When you are worrying, there’s a ‘what if’ mindset in which you are in the future. Try to do something that is sensory or active.” [I listen to an opera called the Flower Duet-Lakmè by Lèo Delibes which is two sopranos singing to each other. It is beautiful and restful.]
“Move your body. Exercise has therapeutic and physical benefits. Follow a free exercise video on YouTube.” [I have attended a Tai Chi for Better Balance class at a senior center for nearly four years. It is slow movement and you’ll find great company and make friends when things get back to normal. I also have an exercise video called Aging Backwards 3 Essentrics by Miranda Esmonde-White which is slow stretching. It also includes chair exercises (beginner-beginner) for those who have a hard time moving at all.]
“How to get help. Extreme anxiety or depression? Reach out to a mental health professional at the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland 410-938-8449. Or read Winston’s Psychology Today column, “Living with a Sticky Mind”, at bit.ly/worrytips. In Baltimore City, call the city’s free Crisis, Information, and Referral Line at 410-433-5175.”
Check out the Beacon for the details of the article from the news stand or online at www.thebeaconnewspapers.com. “How are you faring?” p.2 “The undeniable loss of experiences. Enjoyment is seriously lessened.” [The Beacon newspaper itself can also have a calming effect with the variety of topics it covers each issue.]
“These 25 Photos Show Why Things Were Designed the Way They Were”, by John Poe, Fetch Sport, April 15, 2020, online.
For example—the fifth pocket on jeans; ridges on the edges of corners; lines on outside of Solo Cups; cap holes on pens; loops on the grocery cart; notebook margins; dimples on golf balls; the arrow next to the gas gauge; the secret message in the exit sign; free fabric in new clothes; and so much more.
“Quaran-Stream”, by Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly, May 2020, pp.50-51.
“People—or most of us, at least—need people.”
“…pop culture is often what’s keeping us sane, from one uncertain day to the next.”
“So, will these methods of consumption become the new normal?”
“Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, says ‘There were all these other ways that [content] used to be delivered to us, and now it’s one single means of delivery, and that is online, to whatever device you feel like looking at it with… And once you’ve learned to stream stuff—what you want to watch, when you want to watch it—it’s hard to go back.’”
[I still have magazines delivered to me. Streaming to a phone can be hard on the eyes. A few of Barbara Streisand’s songs come to mind: “The Way We Were”, “People” (Needing People) and “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?”.]
Written by Rosa L. Griffin
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