AMERICANA CARANTINING

McCormick-Deering Tractor, Stokes County, NC

I had to escape from quarantining during the worldwide pandemic this morning so I fired up the SUV and went on a carantining road trip looking for photo opportunities.  I was richly rewarded when I briefly spotted a tractor in the weeds as I motored down the interstate.  

So I turned around at the nearest intersection and slowly came upon an Americana scene with a rusting McCormick-Deering tractor in the foreground and the Red Birch Country Market in the background with an old Coca-Cola porcelain button sign perched at the top.

The old tractor had been retired years ago, but the classic design and functional engineering were still very apparent and photogenic.  The reddish rust patina only added to its beauty and character.

PANDEMIC WINDSHIELD

Invisible Shield, I-73, NC

I was driving north on I-73 today on my way out of quarantine into the wide open spaces of nature.  The serene drive was interrupted by the all too familiar splat of a bug hitting the windshield right in my line of sight. My knee jerk reaction was that I would now have to spend the remaining road trip inconvenienced by this minor blip on the EKG of my life.  

Then it occurred to me that the incident was everything for the bug.  There’s a parallel to this little scenario out here in a world coping with a serious pandemic...we’re all on this perilous ride together, but some are protected on the inside while others are vulnerable on the outside of the invisible shield and we need to remain compliant,supportive and empathetic.

RECLAMATION

Reclamation, Stokes County, NC

This abandoned man-made structure being reclaimed by nature serves as a  good example of how previous civilizations disappeared.  The structure is almost swallowed up by time, wood rot and the creeping vines.  

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Matthew 6:19-21

DEJA VU TIME OUT

Time Out Meme, Internet Domain

Anybody remember a time in the distant past when a parent sent you to “time out” in your room so that you could sit silently and calm down, think about what you’ve been doing and perhaps do things differently next time?  Deja vu.

DISTANT SOCIALIZING IN NATURE

NATIVE ARROWHEAD, Kansas Flint Hills

Ironically as I write this post, I’m joined by most of the world this April 2020 as we shelter in place and social distance from one another in hopes of slowing the COVID-19 viral pandemic.  The virus primarily spreads as humans come in close contact with one another by coughing, sneezing, hugging and shaking hands.  But there is no danger in venturing outside by ourselves and experiencing the spirit of our creator on the winds.

As a youth, I loved to roam outside in the Kansas Flint Hills amid the wind blowing unchallenged through the tall grass prairies and along the rim rock edges of the grassy hills where grazing Herford cattle had replaced wild buffalo.  That experience nurtured a new found love of the land that has stayed with me all my life.  Many of these adventures included having a shotgun over my shoulder in anticipation of the exploding rush of pheasants, prairie chickens, ducks, and coveys of quail.  I spied a flint arrowhead on the ground on one outing that had possibly been launched by a lone kindred spirit onto the south wind, flying on a feathered wooden shaft in pursuit of the same small wild game that I was hunting.  I always admired the native Indians’ respect and stewardship for the land and their ritual of offering up a prayer for the spirit that had given its life to sustain theirs.  Their existence was entirely outside in nature, enabling them to relate to the oneness of the universe and possess an acute appreciation for the gift of life. 

These native people living in a rather pristine land had no concern for pandemics.  The diseases that later decimated their tribes were carried and transmitted by intruders from across the oceans.  Those people had lived in crowded areas during a period with no means to stop a pandemic from spreading.  Fortunately, we have now evolved into a time of scientific knowledge with the ability to develop vaccines and therapeutics and even social apps like FaceTime and Zoom.   And one of the best ways of coping with this quarantine is to venture out into nature and distant socialize with our creator.

BLACK FRIDAY 2020

Empty Tomb, Israel

This world-wide 2020 pandemic has created empty hearts, empty rooms, empty offices, empty malls, empty theaters and even empty sanctuaries all across the land, enabling a contemplative time this Easter Sunday to focus on the personified hope of an empty tomb.

APPRECIATING CAREGIVERS

Nurses awaiting helicopter, FaceBook

The current coronavirus pandemic certainly has given all of us around the world a focus and heightened appreciation for all of our caregivers in a multitude of specialties.  And in this time of world-wide digital communication we’re now in close touch with those on the battle fields fighting for those stricken with the virus.  Some of them are saying that those that stay at home and do not facilitate the movement of the virus are on the front lines and that they are behind the lines caring for the patients that are seeking medical treatment.

Observing this crisis unfold called to mind a response of the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead when a student asked what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture.  Excavations of ancient sites have uncovered the remains of fire pits, flint stones used for hunting and tools, clay shards, etc.  But she didn’t use any of these common examples.  Instead she replied that it was a healed thigh bone.  She explained that in evolving cultures a broken leg was a certain death sentence in the animal world.  “Helping someone through a time of crisis is where civilization starts”, she concluded.

Heroes aren’t born.  They’re created in times of strife and struggle.  We humans are hardwired for empathy.  And research has noted that when we observe others suffering, our brains are stimulated so that we experience the pain ourselves. 

There’s a great void between empathy and apathy.  People seem to have a range within which we can nurture either trait.  Learning new skills will grow parts of our brain for instance.  Practicing generosity, concern for strangers and others’ emotions grows our ability to create a kinder world.  And empathy is primary in the caregiving profession.  I still remember a senior ICU nurse that came into my room around midnight after major surgery and talked for quite a while to assure me that everything would be OK. 

But full time caring for the sick and being witness to dying patients will take a toll on our caregivers, demanding our own empathy for them.  I was witness to friends when the husband was terminally ill and required a demanding amount of time and energy from his wife.  She actually passed away before him.  And our oncologist that worked tirelessly with my wife to seek treatments for her metastasized breast cancer was said to have a terrible bedside manner and lack of empathy.  Once we spent time understanding his world, we came to realize that we too would have to emotionally detach ourselves from multiple patients with critical diseases for our own sanity.  Nevertheless, when the end was near, he still revealed his underlying humanity we had appreciated all along and for which I was grateful.