And then it snowed. Okay, yeah, it’s New England. It snows here. But, did it have to snow in May? This unexpected weather behavior rather felt a bit like insult to injury this year. Perhaps it was because I was s tuck outside of my parent’s condo building while they s tood waving in the foyer during one of our social dis tancing visits. Or maybe it was one of our no contact grocery and jigsaw puzzle drop offs. I can’t remember- I was preoccupied with the snow. Did I mention it snowed in May? As I type this, we are in week 8ish or 9ish of This Corona Life- Worces ter edition. That’s two whole months and some change, give or take, depending on when you headed into your quarantine routine. It went by So. Damn. Slow. And yet, it also went by sodamn fas t. Almos t too fas t, though that is ABSOLUTELY being said from a place of privilege and luck. I keep deleting that line. And then I type it again. I find that I have so much I want to remember and say, but s truggle to say it. So much of it is tied up in a broad range of emotions I can’t quite put into words. So I become preoccupied with other things. Like snow in May. And also this Zine. Writing the odd reflection, helping to collect submissions, and taking pictures in and around Worces ter for inclusion in this Quaranzine has been … I can’t think of the right word. I’ll come back to it. I’m a bit preoccupied. Did I mention it snowed? In May? With much love, handwashing, and a (fairly) s tylish mask, Jess Cur tin
I’m Tired (A collaborative poem by Eloise and Dawsey, both a ge 8, who are s till sit ting at home and are very tired) I ’m ti red of ever y thin g I ’m ti red of tu rkey s a ndw iches I ’m ti red I ’m jus t ti red I ’m ti red of goin g to s chool on line Tota l ly I ’m ti red of my compu ter not workin g prop erly I ’m ti red of my fam i ly Even thou gh I love them I ’m ti red of on ly seein g them I ’m ti red of not seein g fr iend s I ’m ti red of bein g ti red I ’m jus t ti red of bein g home I ’m ti red of the whole neighborhood bein g ti red I ’m so ti red of s ay in g ti red It doesn’t even sou nd like a word a nymore Mos tly I ’m jus t ti red of bein g ti red
A Mother’s Point of View by And rea Let tic Being an introvert, I am envious of those who are quarantined alone who are able to binge watch a season of Ozark, Tiger King or any other series where murders occur and cuss words fly freely. I, unfortunately, am imprisoned with two toddlers. Once upon a time I limited our screen time. Today they each play on a tablet in front of the television. Our TV intake includes Ryan’s Toys Review, the dramatics of Annia and Elsia with Come Play With Me and all the other YouTube shows that they begged for at first, but now I happily put on so I can enjoy time on my laptop in peace. As I type this piece, I am armed with my plugged-in vacuum cleaner that I use on the daily to disperse the two tyrants who try to infiltrate my safe zone with fake cries...nothing makes them flea faster than the idea of having to clean. Pre-Covid I worked only part-time after having my children because daycare costs are outrageous so I am somewhat used to being at home. I was eased into this new world of not wanting to go many places because traveling with tots is borderline torture but we had outlets of ½-day Pre-K for one child, weekly library classes and visits with grandparents. Gone are the days of, “Me time.” Feck days...I barely get minutes. Since March 7th I have been in close proximity to two tiny humans for all but about maybe 8 hours. I sleep when they sleep because one of them will get up at 2AM so if I try to sneak a TV show in after they go to bed, sleep deprivation will crush me because naps are a far away dream for me. I never flirted with the idea of home-schooling. I read to my girls and help with the basic writing/reading skills, but that is it. I’ve trained my youngest to fetch her own go-gurts and cheese sticks and chalk that ups as W. Trying to corral one into learning activities sent from her teacher is a battle I am not willing to fight. Since Pre-K is kind of practice for Kindergarten so I am lucky in that sense and am OK with the idea of her being a dropout. Unfortunately it seems the opening of schools this September will be different. I fully intend to see an increase of at-home learning. Living in a town where Pre-K is a paid elective course, I fear it might be dropped from school offerings this year to help minimize classroom size for the older students. So this leads me to believe my hopes of dropping my two children to school for a full-day’s learning and
returning to a full-time job later this year will be shelved. I am empathic for anyone who is still working from home during this pandemic with children in tow. Knowing that some businesses could begin opening their doors as early as May 18th but daycares will remain closed through the end of June makes me question how those forced to stay home with their spawn will be protected from losing their jobs when some of their coworkers will be able to travel more freely. Will summer camps cease to exist? Job security for many will change and I pray that business owners step outside of their bubbles to take into consideration what people are faced with and not just focus on dollars. Being someone who was laid off after shortening her inoffice schedule after her second child was born, I am skeptical. My heart aches for single parents who are being denied entrance into stores such as Costco because they have their child/ren in tow. How, praytell, does one shop if he/she cannot drop the child/ren anywhere for care due to social distancing??? Instacart is an option although more expensive and the wait times are pretty substantial. The media pumps out stories of food shortages due to processing plants paralyzed by Covid and there are people who are literally unable to shop for their littles. Hunger has always been something that eats away at me and through this it is amplified. I also know that the new you-touch-it-youbuy-it mentality has already increased my solo-shopping-trip totals. If I had to bring my gals with me, those dollar amounts would grow exponentially and be equal to the trajectory of my frustrations caused by the unnecessary purchases. Watching my children participate in their dance classes via Zoom, I think about student athletes who have trained for years only to be sidelined by this. What will sports look like? I am saddened when thinking of families who have scholarships at their fingertips but might be on hold till our new reality unfolds. My kids, however, think that this is the greatest gift ever. They are at the age where they enjoy being home with their mother. The reaction to seeing weeks’ worth of pasta was something that compared to Christmas morning. Sure, they miss friends and family but it’s easy to redirect their sadness and usually their smiles stifle my tears and fears. They don’t understand the magnitude of what is going on during what I’ve termed, “Earth’s cleaning,” and they are at an age where they won’t remember what life was like before Covid but for the rest of us we continue to sit at home and wait for answers. I think our friend Tom Petty said it best, “The waiting is the hardest part.”
by Mia Sa n g u ine t ti
QUARANTINE by Ixander Gar finkel Q u a ra ntine You son of a g u n G ot me here feelin g like I wa n n a hold a g u n Lim ited to li fe Less sleep More thou ghts I ca n’t take this qu a ra ntine a nymore Not k now in g wh a t’s nex t Makin g me wait more a nd more As I a l re a dy h ave done Ple a se end soon End the m iser y End the pain I wa nt to be h appy to ca l l this pla ce my pla ce I don’t wa nt to feel a n noyed I don’t wa nt to feel u nbe a rable I ca n’t tel l If I ’m depressed I ca n’t tel l i f I ’m h appy I jus t feel there a nd los t
by Tra cey W hitney
TRAPPED by Vanessa Leon At times, I feel as though I am trapped, because of the quarantine. I am from the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, to be exact, so I am normally very social. I have a cultural organization named Guardians of Traditions... the last time I was out without being afraid of falling ill, was in February 29th, when my organization held a carnival exhibit and presentation at Worcester PopUp, as part of the Worcester Windows program. That was on February 29th, and the following Monday through Wednesday, I had my first round of infusions to treat an autoimmune small fiber-neuropathy, where the autoimmune system attacks the nervous system, which causes havoc for my entire body and how it reacts to pain, diseases, and even the common cold. I’ve been on quarantine since the first week of March. I only go out when I have to go to the hospital every month, 3 days in a row, to get my infusions so my body stops killing itself. I am lucky to have food security, a roof over my head, great medical insurance and a great team of doctor - Oh, I should mention that I have been on medical leave since December 12th, 2019! I get excited when I get in the car and am driven to get my infusions, because I get to see people and cars driving around... at the same time, I get scared that I may get infected, since I’m such a high risk. So, I’m out but I’m trapped, because I have to keep distance from everyone, even people in my household... I cannot afford to get sick, because it might really kill me. I’m normally a very strong, independent woman, but COVID-19 has highlighted my medical condition and I realize I’m only safe as long as I stay caged in my “safe space”... I’m free but I’m trapped, and I know this will eventually pass. We must be mindful of everyone, practice social distance, wear PPE so we can protect one another; it is restrictive, but is necessary. Let’s be good and kind with one another.
CONTACT by Victor D. Infante It’s the apex of the touchless time, when we are ghosts in various machines, and I try to recall my last contact outside this house – any handshake, any brush of a skin against my arm. I think it was two months ago, at a Margarita bar, laughingly bumping elbows with one coworker, hugging another as she vanished into a better job, pushing through the crowd to order drinks. I’m not certain. It bothers me that I don’t remember. Were those small touches so insignificant that they were easily forgotten? They seem important now. I’m a physically demonstrative man. I hug easily, dislike limp handshakes, am capable of sitting quietly with friends or dancing badly with strangers. What to do, then, when we are all locked behind computer screens, no brief spark of skin touching skin to remind ourselves we’re each real and human, to speak small poems when words evaporate?
Letter to future kids letting them know what life was like in quarantine in 2020 by -Erica the Flu ffy Kit ten Hel lo, my n ame is Er ica . I wa s 13 ye a r s old when the his tor ic coron av i r us event took pla ce. I k now how s ca r y it is to live in 2020, probably the wor s t chi ldhood ye a r of my li fe. Never in my li fe h ave I ex p er ienced ever yone in the enti re world k now in g abou t the s ame thin g a nd goin g th rou gh it. Some p eople on the on line game Roblox were yel lin g loud ly “EVERYON E’S GONNA DI E FROM TH E CORONAV IRUS!!!” Some p eople on the game “Adopt Me,” which wa s a m in igame in Roblox, were con s ider in g the v i r us a “celebr ity ” a s ever ybody in the world wa s ta lking about it. They weren’t exa ctly w rong, though . Everybody wa s ta lking about it! From the president at the time, to people on famous v ideo website YouTube, and singers on TikTok, and even famous a r tis ts, there wa s no es caping the coronav ir us ta lk . If you tr ied to wa tch a mov ie in p e a ce, you r d a d wou ld ba r ge in w ith some up d a tes abou t COV ID -19. On the mus ic app Sp oti fy, they s u gges ted “Help pu t a n end to the coron av i r us” a s a mus ic gen re. No m a t ter wh a t you tr ied to do, someone wou ld br in g up the coron av i r us a t le a s t once ever y 20 m inu tes. I h a d to take zoom cla sses ever y d ay. Sometimes I h a d to take five zoom cla sses for s chool a d ay! It wa s more s tress fu l th a n a ctu a l s chool to me. I s ti l l enjoyed
my free time by play in g the game Roblox, wa tchin g hou r s of YouTube v ideos, a nd lis ten in g to Bi l lie Ei lish a nd A r ia n a Gra nde’s hits on Sp oti fy. You m ight not even k now who those p eople a re, bu t they were s up er trendy a nd famous fem a le a r tis ts th a t ever y teen a ge g i rl looked up to in the 2010’s. These were some of the bigges t celebr ities when we were kid s th a t ever y g i rl wa nted to be like, bu t I ’m g uess in g th a t they a ren’t cool a nymore a nd th a t there is some new s in ger ever yone loves. So be cause the coron av i r us me a nt no more th a n ten p eople in a g roup, my fr iend’s concer t to see Bi l lie Ei lish p er form got ca ncel led . Th a t wa s he a r tbre akin g! It a lso r u ined wedd in gs, bi r thd ay pa r ties, g ra du a tion s, a nd lots of other thin gs p eople were excited for. Some p eople like me h a d nothin g to look for wa rd to! Even though the coronavir us is s till going on as I type this up, I have hope. I know it will end soon . Su re, the whole school year got cancelled which means more on line classes and all that for me, but yeah, whatever. Ima gine the day I’ll be reading this at a ge 40 or something! Ok ay, so th a t’s abou t it! I hop e you fu tu re p eople enjoyed le a r n in g ou r 2020 his tor y a nd s tu ff ! -Er ica the f lu ffy kit ten
Queen of Corona by Howard Johnson, 2020 24”x12”x.75”. Swiped the title from the lyrics of Paul Simon 1972 Tune “Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard” about a naughty incident in Corona , Queens NYC. War of The Worlds Tripods spread Corona Vir us in fection . The War of the Worlds Tale has a similarity to Biblical Revelation 19 in which Mechanical Locus ts arise from the Abyss and torment the population with pain ful s tings. It was documented that du ring the 1300’s Eu ropean Black Plaque Alien Devices were seen using wands to spray the population with the disease. Background: Comet Atlas Omen really a E.T. Probe of coming invasion . Bonus: can you locate the 3 rolls of toilet paper in the composition? my website: 8th ring.com
QUARANTINE by Grace Sarsfield
Q uiet times Unfortunate event At home all day Rembermable And hard National pandemic The country is, Isolated at home No human contact Extraordinary
by KATPENCIL
This is a Quaranzine! by Bella N. Today is another day in quarantine. It’s almost May, and we still haven’t been set free from being so comfy in our beds that we refuse to do anything at all, or eating so much our stomachs hurt, and we feel like we are about to explode. You may think it’s nice and all being at home doing nothing. Thinking nothing. Being nothing. It can sometimes feel depressing; it feels like you have to wear a hazmat suit just in order to buy some groceries. Also, you can’t even see your friends. You can’t hug them, high-five them, or even stand next to them… Sorry, too edgey? Ok let’s lighten the mood! I mean, you can eat as much food as you want, and you don’t have to worry about your family giving you strange looks, ‘cause they are probably doing it as well! Also, you can become more productive! Or less productive... I don’t know your life :/. Anyway. How I feel on this is I don’t really care that much but hey. Being stuck inside all day and not social interacting with other people? Heck yeah!
Grateful (Another collaborative poem by Eloise and Dawsey, both a ge 8, who are s till sit ting at home and are very tired, but are also grateful for a lot of things) I ’m g ra tefu l I h ave a compu ter So I ca n do s chool work a nd see Au ntie, M r s. G, a nd my fr iend s on cla ss meetin gs. I ’m g ra tefu l I ca n play on ABCya3 I ’m g ra tefu l I ca n go to the ba th room whenever I wa nt I don’t h ave wait for the ba th room pa ss I ’m g ra tefu l for my le gos a nd the time to play w ith them I ’m g ra tefu l for my desk a nd ch ai r ( I don’t re a l ly h ave a good desk a t s chool) We h ave a lot And I ’m g ra tefu l Bu t I s ti l l get up set sometimes Bu t I ’m s ti l l g ra tefu l for lots of thin gs.
Hey Worces ter, Here we a re. Sti l l in qu a ra ntine. Sti l l so cia l d is ta ncin g. Sti l l tr y in g to ju ggle it a l l whi le more a nd more keeps pi lin g up. S ti l l a djus tin g ou r d ai ly lives to the “new norm a l” ever yone keeps ta lkin g abou t. I, like you , h ave h a d my d ays. Days w ith te a r s, d ays w ith hop e, d ays feelin g los t, d ays th a t feel odd ly s imple a ccompa n ied w ith thou ghts of how s i l ly it wa s in the pa s t to m ake ever y thin g so complica ted , a nd d ays feelin g so complica ted you feel cr ushed u nder its weight. It’s a lot to pro cess a l l a t once. Some times you need to take a bre ak . Take one. Don’t feel g u i lty. Don’t ques tion . Don’t tr y to solve a l l the world’s problem s a t once. Take the moment. Take a bre ak . Do somethin g e a sy th a t m akes you feel like you’ve a ccomplished somethin g - it work s for me a nd motiva tes me to get more done or a t the ver y le a s t a ca lmer menta l pla ce. With so m a ny r ushin g thou ghts it’s n ice to do somethin g th a t doesn’t a l low you to think of a m i l lion other thin gs whi le you do it - this crossword pu z z le is p er fe ct for th a t! Tr y it ou t. Give you r sel f a few m inu tes to tes t you r Worces ter k nowled ge. It’s both e a sy a nd ch a l len g in g bu t there’s no press u re here be tween you a nd this m a ga zine. Jus t take a few, take a bre a th , let you r sel f s top a nd fo cus on somethin g “e a sy ” to think abou t. It’s ok . Fin ish it. Don’t fin ish it. Either way…. You’re doin g a g re a t job. Keep goin g. - Jess ica Wa lsh
CORONA CONFINEMENT DIARY Week Two by Kel ly Momber ger Second week of isolation and working from home. Did not leave the house (ok yard) once between Saturdays and feeling good about it. I spent a decent amount of time working on setting up my work from home space. There’s still a lot of cleaning and organizing to do, but I have breathing/thinking/spread out papers to take notes space which has made so much difference. I also got a whiteboard so I can keep track of ongoing projects in a visual way which works for my brain. The sad par t is that all the space claimed for work is being taken away from my hobbies, but I haven’t been doing any of them. I see so many people trying to fill their unexpected free time and I’m jealous and also sorry for them at the same time. I don’t know if it’s the ex tra stresses of the job or you know, the world around us, but I barely have the mental energy to do much of any thing besides prepare dinner, check in with Mom, and play some video games. I haven’t really gained much time in my day besides 20-30 min of commuting time max and 15 minutes of finding something work appropriate to wear every day, and I think work has just filled that time anyway. My routines are totally off and I’m feeling it. Matt and I were talking yesterday about what it’s going to be like when it’s all over. My theory is that it will be like after a foreign war, where society is going on but pockets of people are just gone. Empty homes, empty jobs, Missing family members. He theorized that in the end nobody will be untouched. Everyone will know someone who died from this. I suspect he’s right. In other news: The business is doing OK for having lost half of it’s clients. It’s hard to accept that a month ago we were marveling at how good business was and then the bottom falls out. But at least it’s still operating, unlike so many of our friends, so we focus on the positives. I get more apprehensive
about open hours every week, but keeping it to curbside only has made it seem safer-ish. I stay inside as much as I can but someone has to talk to the customers. Gloves on. Masks may be nex t. House life has been OK. Everyone has their space and keeps out of each other’s way as best that they can. It helps that we all have jobs and school to focus on. Some days we get together and eat dinner around the table together. Other days we zoom with friends instead. (Can I just say 3 weeks ago I didn’t know what Zoom was. Now it’s half my work and personal life.) If you’ve read this far, I want to sign off with something I”ve been thinking a lot about this week. There’s a subplot in the book Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy about the planet Golgafrincham “These tales of impending doom allowed the Golgafrinchans to rid themselves of an entire useless third of their population. The story was that they would build three Ark ships. Into the A ship would go all the leaders, scientists and other high achievers. The C ship would contain all the people who made things and did things, and the B ark would hold everyone else, such as hairdressers and telephone sanitisers. They sent the B ship off first, but of course the other two-thirds of the population stayed on the planet and lived full, rich and happy lives until they were all wiped out by a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone.” I can’t help but think of all of those grocery store cashiers, Amazon warehouse workers, and delivery drivers who our society looks down upon as disposable. Right now they are risking their own lives to keep our society functioning in quarantine and save us from a virus transmittable by dir ty telephones (most of whom don’t have a choice). Please treat them well and stay home so their sacrifices aren’t for naught.