Isolation and Contact

Slowly we are finding new ways to communicate while remaining isolated in our homes. I am reminded of a movie I saw many years ago — it might have been a Truffaut — in which a small girl is left alone in her family’s apartment. She’s pretty upset by this, but never in danger. She gets a megaphone and begins to tell her neighbors what her family has done to her. They rig ropes and soon fruit, fresh bread and desserts arrive at her window. In a way she has the last laugh as now everyone is suspecting that her parents have been negligent.

We, too, are feeling sorry for ourselves — even though we are ashamed to admit it. We are definitely out-of-step with this new pace and rhythm of staying at home and being barred from our favorite activities and restaurants. Each of us has something we miss the most and yet we may learn something about the importance of losing it.

As many of you already know I love to sing. I miss the choir that I am part of. Each day I try to rehearse many classical choral pieces that are on YouTube. But I have found a new way of singing with others using Zoom and Virtual Choir. Here’s a example from Camden Voices (True Colors by Cyndi Lauper.) This is really singing in isolation, while singing virtually together. I can’t wait until our choir tries this method of singing.

Great Blue Herons are seen as solitary birds. I don’t see many in Asbury Park, but I used to see a lot of them while living in Dutchess County. If you have the eyes you will spot them in pools of water waiting with great patience for their prey to surface. They hunt alone. And then if you are lucky you see their bodies leap heavenward. Their very long legs trail behind their bodies, as their wings stretch up and out into the sky.

Stroke your cat or dog, but always remember the solitary Great Blue Heron. However, it turns out it isn’t always solitary. It nests in colonies. Soon we will be back to congregating in public places, dining, and walking in the park with friends. Soon, but for now enjoy this time of isolation or this time of distance as you nest with your family.