Readers Sound Off About Life In The “New Normal”

Please join us in thinking about and supporting the many small businesses crushed under the restrictions imposed by this virus. As we read about the latest closures and restrictions we cannot help but think that many of the businesses we counted on in the past may not be with us when and if we come out of this medical/financial calamity.

I would also like to thank the first responders – nurses, doctors, firefighters, police officers and others who are suiting up and continuing to come to work everyday despite known risks to their own health and well being.

Gratefully,

Mario Robles/Concord

We recently returned from an extensive trip abroad to be met by far reaching restrictions here at home and some frightened looks on the faces of many of our neighbors.

Like most everyone else we are happily spending a lot of time at home together, preparing to lose a little weight as the food supply remains uncertain and trying not to watch our retirement funds plunge. Will we come out of this? Yes I think but we will not emerge unchanged. Many businesses large and small may be forever changed by this pandemic.

We’ve also determined that containment of this virus is possible. Taiwan handled it very well despite having many travelers to and from China.

However, the Taiwanese government started immediately, imposing drastic restrictions the rest of the world is only just now experiencing while many leaders, ours among them, dawdled and issued mixed messages about the significance of the problem and what we need to do to survive it.

For now we are taking comfort in each other and working to improve our time at home, while trying to shut out much of what our elected leaders continue to spew. We are living in perilous times.

Melissa Trottier/Walnut Creek

Has anyone wondered if this is all just an insidious plot by Mother Nature to get us to do what we could not do for ourselves: Drive less, Eat less, Talk with each other more?

Geoffrey Lee/Walnut Creek

Grateful to this site for its humor and news value and wanted to address the experience of many of us SIP (Shelter In Place) people making our way through this crisis with multigenerational households pulling together as one.

We do not much hear about extended families in some communities, where the senior parents live with the family, and the age and health of some family members make them especially vulnerable to Covid19. But we are lucky and blessed to have both parents living at home with us and their contribution to our home and lifestyle has been immeasurable.

We are grateful for Moms “Depression Meatballs” and Dads carpentry skills but even more than that we are happiest when we see them interact with our very stressed out children and hear their laughter when Grampy is caught trying to steal Monopoly money in the latest of his elaborate bank robberies.

An extended family living under one roof is an accepted practice in many countries and maybe not so much in this one but the practice may find renewed interest going forward. We would like to see our government encourage and support this approach going forward, which is both fulfilling and cost-effective.

For the moment we look forward to dinners together, take lots of family pictures, and Mom has even managed to teach the kids a few old songs.

And we’re keeping an eye on Dad whenever his money starts to run out during our Monopoly marathons.

Grateful to be together,

The Gallaghers/Walnut Creek