LIVING IN DESPAIR 2020 Style

LIVING IN DESPAIR 2020 Style

Some of us are truly suffering. No job. Stimulus check spent before we received it. Stretching everything we have hoping that stay at home orders, and food handouts will soon become a thing of the past.

We are in a place that we have never been before -- at least some of us have never been here before. Some of us have not only been here before, but there was no stimulus check, no unemployment check, and no food handouts.

We are in a dark place that we promised God that if we could just make it out, we would rather die than go back there again, And, here we are -- on the brink of destruction without hope!

Back in those days, we had hope, our dreams, and there were possibilities. The world was ours for the taking, if we just worked hard enough, got a good education, kept our heads down, and put in the time. We would eventually make it, maybe not to the top, but we would no longer have to live on hand-me-downs, insults, and a belly full of put-downs.

Yet, things to the ever-growing pandemic, we have once again been stripped of our dignity. It wouldn't be so bad if we just had enough food for our children, but they, too, know that life has changed and taken a turn for the worst. No hiding the tears, no getting around the empty cabinets, and no way to avoid standing in a food line for a bag of groceries that you know will not last long.

In a land of plenty, you are now just a tad above the men and women sleeping under the bridges and over warm drakes. Why, because you have a roof over your head and not the open sky, but you also know that too will begin when the crisis is over and you owe three or four months back rent, utilities, car note, credit cards, and you will have to pay child care just to go job hunting. Did I forget transportation to the job (if you have no money for gas)?

It is a very scary time, with just the pandemic, but when you put everything else together, it is the best of times (which you cannot enjoy), and the worse of times because of your loss of income. Life is hard.

You are the ones who have not had to experience COVID-19 up close and personal. That is a whole other bag. You can't visit your loved ones. You can't hold funerals for them. You do not have health insurance. God forbid that it is you sick, at home, under quarantine, no family or friends to call or bring help to you.

Despair!

Then there is the rhetoric. Big bailout coming from Washington. No waiting for unemployment. $200 Visa card for those who qualify. Stimulus checks for @1,200 for individuals and $500 for each child. Lord a mercy that would make a difference, if you could just get it soon. Oh, no, I have not filed my taxes for the past two or more years. I just couldn't afford to pay someone to do them. Will I be eligible for one of those checks? I guess I have had it because I don't have a green card, or my TSP status has not been renewed. Constantly on the watch for ICE, better to stay home and be hungry.

Nightcrawlers!

Hopefully, everybody is in, and no one will see me sneak out of the house to go to a store, and see if there is anything available. I am told that I must wear a mask, a mask I don't have and no one is giving them away. Even the doctors and essential workers can't get those. Besides, I will not be gone that long and who is it going to hurt if I just run out and in the store and not stay too long.

They throw out a lot of stuff at night, and if I am lucky, I can find enough in the dumpster to get me and the family through the next few days. I just have to be careful and not get caught.

I just don't understand!

Why are these people out here without masks? The Governor and the County Executive have issued executive orders that require everyone to wear a mask. Better yet, there is a stay at home order and people are out there in the park. No social distancing. Somebody ought to do something about them. They just don't care about anybody but themselves. I am definitely not going over there to tell them that they are at risk or that they are risking everybody else's life, and the devil is a liar if they think I am going to give them my mask (even though I have a case of them at home). They should have been better prepared.

There are so many other stories out there, and there is even more pain, misery, disillusion, and heartache. Those of us that are living a different kind of life for so many reasons (better jobs, savings accounts, investments, guaranteed pension/social security, and a host of other reasons), please keep in mind that but for the grace of God goes I!

Yes, thank God, I am grateful that there are those out there in a great position, and simply riding this pandemic out -- working from home, have health insurance, taking in more work than they can handle. For them, this is just an interruption to dining out or taking in a great play.

There are also those that are barely making it but making sure that others make it to. They are sewing and donating masks. They are cooking and delivering meals. They are shopping and sharing food with other families. Some are just calling to check in on neighbors that they have not seen for days. There are also those wonderful volunteers who looking daily for a way to give back, to help, to make a difference, and will not stop until they do. Thank God for them.

Epilogue!

There is also a group of vulnerable people out there going through this pandemic feeling useless and scared. They want to help. They want others to help them do something that will make a difference, so they sit and look out of their windows and wonder what tomorrow will bring.

They long for that human touch, a hug, a smile, a phone call, or even a text that says hello and you will be okay. Today, I read a story about going crazy for the human touch -- skin touch. Check it out.

Something to ponder over the next several weeks as we watch life as we know it takes another major turn. Grab your mind and hang on for the ride.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3gzba/the-life-of-the-skin-hungry-can-you-go...