What I’ve Learned on My Quaran-cation (So Far) - By BP Miller - Age: Late Fortysomething

During this current global crisis, I’ve been waiting for inspiration to strike for me to write. I was waiting and waiting and waiting. I can’t just sit down and write, I need to be inspired.

That finally happened this past Sunday morning.

One of my lifelong friends had posted this thing called “The Saturday Night Seder” – it was sponsored by Tasty and hosted by Jason Alexander and offered up a who’s who of Jews and non-Jews alike in a very clever but not “in your face” fundraiser for the CDC Foundation. While I identify more as “Jewish Lite” than the Reform Jewish family I grew up in, this was still a port in a storm filled with the story of Passover, sprinkled with the guests’ own memories (Judy Gold’s story of her mother sounded VERY familiar), and some broadway-esque tunes. It was a beautiful thing to watch on a Sunday morning.

Then all of a sudden it hit me.

Each celebrity I watched pass before my eyes, the same thought kept coming to my mind.

“These people are all at home…just like me.”

“No makeup done by professional artists, no styled hair…no “WHO ARE YOU WEARING?” being yelled out on a red carpet.

Although truth be told, I’d love to hear someone say, “Today, I’m wearing a Champion Sweatshirt for the fourth day in a row, with sweatpants that may or may not have been washed since early March.”

I didn’t see them as celebrities anymore, I just saw them as people. People who have been sequestered in their homes, looking for ways to fill the time. To take a break from the monotony of doing nothing, going nowhere and having no better idea of how long they’ll be there as I do in my home.

But it also opened my eyes to a much larger commonality.

Almost the ENTIRE DAMN WORLD IS DOING THE SAME THING!

This is the first time in history (to my mind) that most of the world’s populace is in the same boat. Yes…the living situations might vary, but we are all in some form or fashion…looking for ways to fill our days, and having far more of a debate than one should about taking a shower. We’re standing outside of our homes, screaming and yearning for human interaction that doesn’t involve a four inch by four inch box on a video conference screen.

Most of us are missing the hug of a friend, the din of a restaurant, the normally frustrating feeling of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.  We miss the daily routine of adult life that we took for granted, but never in our lives did we think we could miss!

We miss the soundtrack of life.

The entire planet came to a screeching halt, and almost none of us were wearing seatbelts. So much so that many of us are still feeling the dull pain of whiplash nearly 30 days later.

This collective experience has also shone a light on what is good AND bad in the world. Now it’s just a matter of time to see which one emerges on top at the end of this.

The creativity of actors and musicians during this time has been great. From the Seder broadcast, to the SGN (Some Good News) channel on YouTube founded by John Krasinski. They have allowed us to feel like we’re all apart of each other’s lives. It’s given us a sense of family and belonging.

Copyright: John Krasinski / Emily Blunt via Twitter

It’s given us a sense of much needed normalcy.

But what about those of us who can’t call up Sting and get him to do a remake of “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”, or reach out to Lin-Manuel Miranda to get his entire original cast of “Hamilton” to get together via Zoom to personally serenade a forlorn 9-year-old who was supposed to see Hamilton for her birthday.

What about the people who are just…people?

People who have been laid off from their jobs…people who may not be able to reopen their businesses after this passes…people who are struggling to put food on the table or keep a roof over their heads?

AHHHH…you thought I was going dark there for a moment, but fear not my readers. Fear not.

While I’ve certainly seen some of the worst in humanity during this unique moment in history, I’ve also seen some pretty amazing shit.

I’ve seen people with NO pre-existing sewing skills at all, learn about it online and then spend their time doing NOTHING but make all variations of masks for those on the front lines. The doctors, nurses, police, fire, etc. – They’ve been making them for almost a month nonstop while the “leaders” argue.

I’ve seen the grocery worker, normally ignored on a routine day…become as big a hero as the doctors and nurses who are putting their lives on the line just as much. I make sure to thank them anytime I suit up and venture out into the void my town has become.

I’ve seen small business owners come together, while their own business is dying a slow death, putting others before themselves.

Good friends of ours who own a brewery in our hometown have taken proceeds from their severely diminished daily sales and opened up a small convenience store in their shutdown taproom for their employees to come and “shop” while they’re laid off.  Including not only essentials like TP and the like, but fresh fruit, vegetables, proteins and so on.

Copyright: Root Down Brewing Company

I’ve seen MY community and others like it all around the world come together to help each other. Not waiting for their local or federal governments to figure out how to cut through generations of red tape while simultaneously figuring out how to stay in office.

They’ve taken the control that we would have expected from our governmental officials at every level, and made sure that those that need help, get it. Those that have it (whatever “it” may be), share it. And those that need the comfort of connection, stay connected.

I’ve not seen sympathy, I’ve seen empathy.

My epiphany and inspiration to write this after watching the Saturday Night Seder was a clarifying moment for me in a time of ever-changing uncertainty.

Will we continue to remember this in the weeks, months and years after life returns to a very different normal? Will the humanity that has started to bubble back up to the surface of our day to day lives continue to rise? I keep thinking back to life in America post 9/11. We were all nicer to each other, there was a larger sense of community. But sure enough, within a year…the political blame game started up, and we ended up on the road of a now polarized America. The one I hope above hope decides not to come back when life catches back up.

I hope that what makes us different as people is what continues to bring us together, not furthering to drive us apart. That empathy is not a fleeting thought or a footnote to this point in history.

I hope the celebrities that have been so giving of their time, continue to do so and realize we appreciate and love them for the people they’ve shown themselves to be during this time, and not because of who they wear, or how their makeup or hair look, but because they made a 9-year-old’s birthday a happy memory that will stay with her for her entire life.

I hope this is the end of the old “social media influencers” – these vapid, useless creatures who are more concerned with free hotel stays, food, and whatnot, and are replaced with the REAL social media influencers. The ones that have driven people to do good, not because it gets them things…but because it helped others through one of the most frightening and unique moments in our lifetimes.

When history looks back on these moments, I truly hope that it chooses NOT to focus on the ones that spoke empty words, made empty promises, and put their own wants and needs before those they were elected to serve. But focuses on the ones who stepped up no matter where their lot in life was. The ones who answered the call and yelled, “HOW CAN I HELP?!”

Because as this has shown, we are all very much in the same boat. The virus has been the great equalizer in its own strange way. It reminded us all of the one simple thing we overlook the most.

We are all human, we are all fragile, and like it or not…regardless of race, religion or wealth, we all need each other more than we’d care to admit.

Remember that six months or six years from now when these times come up in your Facebook memories.

Remember what it was like to feel alone.

And remember what it felt like when someone reminded you that you weren’t.