Category: Commentary

Observations of a Strange Time

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment
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We have literally stayed inside our home for the last two months so we decided to take another trip with our trailer to see our grandkids before they start back to school in a couple of weeks. We followed the same routine as before which meant preparing all of our food inside our traveling home, staying at our regular RV site, and visiting our daughter’s home in the evening when the sun has gone down and cooling breezes keep us comfortable as we sit outside under the stars six to eight feet away from one another. During the daytime hours we journey around the Texas Hill Country enjoying the vistas and seeing how people are reacting to Covid-19 which took a decided uptick in Texas just after our last trip.

Our first stop was at the Luling Buckee’s to get gasoline. Bukcee’s is a Texas gas station known for its spotless bathrooms with countless stalls and a cornucopia of food, snacks and drinks. With our concerns about going into crowded places we only filled up our gas tank and never stepped a foot inside the store. We used our own clean restroom and I made sandwiches in the trailer. For the most part people were waiting until the very last minute to don their masks and there did not appear to be any efforts to keep the number of people inside down to a minimum. I got the feeling that lots of people were resentful of having to take any precautions at all. 

Our campsite was wonderful as usual. The people who work in the office are quite cautious and make the process of checking in both easy and quick. We got a nice spot under the shade of an old tree which was also right next to the Wifi antenna. The place is always very quiet with few people mingling outside since it is a very hot time of year. Most of the folks are senior citizens who reside there all year long. 

Our first outing was to Fredericksburg where we hoped to pick up some wine at Becker’s Winery. We noted that they are open for business so we decided to stock up on some of our favorites. The winery itself is located in a lovely setting with vistas of native flowers and lavender fields. We soon learned that they are only providing pick up orders at this time so we chose a lane to park our car and called in our selections. While we waited we watched a flock of hummingbirds flitting from one blossom to another. They were quite entertaining and we were cooled by the shade of an old oak tree and a breeze. I would have enjoyed staying there doing nothing for hours.

We were the only people aside from a few workers so it was pleasantly quiet. We decided to eat our packed lunch in the peaceful setting. It turned out to be even nicer relaxing there than we had anticipated. A  woman wearing a mask eventually came out and placed our wine purchase on a stone wall in front of our truck and waved with a friendly gesture. It seemed to be a great way for all of us to stay safe.

Since we needed some bread we drove to a German bakery on the main street of Fredericksburg. Unlike our previous visit in June, on this day everyone walking up and down the street was wearing a mask. There was a big sign near the intersection of the major streets urging everyone to social distance and wear masks by order of the governor. At the bakery another sign indicated that we needed to wait for permission to enter, which happened rather quickly. There were large emblems on the floor marking the six feet intervals on which we were to stand. Everyone with the exception of those eating  was wearing a mask. Screens separated us from the workers behind the counter. We made our selections and were once again on our way without spending much time inside. It all felt very clean and organized giving me a great sense of confidence that I had not been exposed to the virus..

Later that evening we sat on the balcony overlooking a scenic Hill Country vista at my daughter’s home. She had fans interspersed with the chairs that kept us cool as we visited and caught up on news from our grandchildren. We had a great deal of discussion about the coming school year which is fraught with so many uncertainties. All of my grandchildren will be attending high school and sadly there will be thirty brand new teachers and a fleet of substitutes to take the positions of  the many teachers who chose to leave when they learned that face to face classes would begin in mid August with an estimated 3000 students choosing to return even though remote learning was also offered. Most of the other school districts in the San Antonio area will have remote classes until the end of September but the superintendent of my grandchildren’s district chose to go face to face immediately and have a choice of remote that cannot be changed after the start of school. My grandchildren have little idea who their teachers will be and phone calls or emails to the school have been generally ignored. It will be very different from the comfort they have formerly known.

On day two of our adventures we drove out to Junction.Texas by way of Boerne. The people there were far more relaxed about Covid-19 precautions than the ones we had seen in Fredericksburg.  The same had been true in June. It made me sad because there are places in Boerne that I enjoy visiting each time I travel that way but both this time and last I chose to just stay put in my truck and drive straight through town. 

The drive to Junction is quite lovely. It takes on the hilly and desert- like scenery of the west. Since it is always quietly quaint there the virus appeared not to have changed a thing. There were still the same stores and family owned restaurants with the “vibrant” area of town hovering around Interstate 10. There is not a whole lot of civilization past Junction for many many miles so it’s a good place to gas up and grab some provisions. Instead we found a little roadside park and had a picnic and enjoyed the sound of silence.

We spent our last evening with the grandkids. We all ended up wishing for the routines of the past when they would have spent a week visiting us and going to ball games, the beach and other fun places. Our visits to see them would have meant eating out and seeing the sites around San Antonio. We wondered how long their school would stay open and worried that maybe Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas would be quite different this year as well. We finished our time together with virtual hugs and a thankfulness that we were able to get together but a sense of regret that our time together went by so quickly and in such a strange way. 

What I generally observed in my time on the road is an effort to keep things as normal as possible even as they are so obviously abnormal. We will talk about this time for the rest of our lives. We can only hope that we are handling it the way that we should. These are strange days indeed.

Somebody Needs You Today

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

Even in normal circumstances there are many stressors that threaten our mental well being. Depression is not just a controllable reaction to ordinary life. It is a disease that often requires treatment. Quite sadly society still tends to see it as a kind of weakness in those whom it afflicts. Far too many believe that dealing with depression is little more than a matter of changing one’s attitude, thinking positive thoughts, trusting in God. They believe that depression is a kind of selfishness that only occurs because the person afflicted with it is unwilling to “get a grip.” Depression as other mental illnesses is still hidden and all too often viewed so negatively that it is barred from open discussion. We will listen to someone describing a heart attack and even support them as they recover but we tend to squirm uncomfortably in conversations about depression. 

Depressed people often feel abandoned, alone and misunderstood. They fear mentioning their illness lest the lose jobs or friendships. Society values strength of character so highly that depressed persons are wary of mentioning their affliction, often making excuses for their absences. They too often live in a world darkened even more by the white lies that they tell to hide their affliction. 

I recall the furor that occurred in a presidential election when it was discovered that one of the vice presidential candidates had been treated for depression. Rather than applauding him for seeking treatment he was derided as someone who would be unfit for the job. The backlash was horrific and set back mental health even more than it already was. Ironically few people were aware that one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, suffered from depression that was so extreme that he had a breakdown after the death of a person who had been very special to him. 

Of late famous individuals are courageously stepping out of the shadows of depression and speaking of their own journeys with the disease. Michael Phelps is one the most notable among them. He has become a spokesperson and advocate for seeking medical help when darkness of the mind becomes crushing. He has now admitted to being plagued by crippling depression for most of his life. He had moments when he was so sick that he seriously considered killing himself even as he was one of the most celebrated athletes in the world. It was only when his pain became unbearable that he sought the medical therapies that he needed to feel whole and healthy again. 

During this time of pandemic depression is on the rise. It is often triggered by stress and uncertainty or extreme changes of normal routines. It knows no demographic limits. it can affect young and old, poor and wealthy. No doubt it is reaching into thousands of households as individuals deal with the threat of illness, loss of jobs, dwindling incomes, concerns about sending children to school, fears of eviction, struggles with the deaths of loved ones. The world is being slammed to an extent rarely endured and depression is spreading suffering on a scale that we rarely see. 

In a recent podcast Michelle Obama spoke of her own sadness during the pandemic. Even though her situation is safe and secure she has been troubled and worried by what she sees happening to so many Americans. She realizes that there is a kind of national grief that so many of us are experiencing. Sometimes the brain chemistry that creates those dark feelings gets out of hand and the level of depression becomes unbearable. She urged all of us to reach out to those that we know and love, not just in emails and texts and posts on Facebook but with phone calls and face to face conferences.

We need human contact even as we require social distances. Behind our masks are psychological needs that grow into physical illnesses of the mind if we do not care for ourselves. As someone who is an unreserved advocate for mental health I know how dire depression can become if left untreated. Many times I watched my mother devolve into a paralyzing darkness that literally led her to a state of psychosis. Time and again I had to force her to accept medical attention that she desperately needed. I implore everyone to watch for signs of distress in both themselves and those they love. Do not hesitate to reach out for help. Contact friends. Contact doctors. Do not ignore the signs. Depression is a treatable disease. 

It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to be as vigilant about depression as we are with Covid-19. The virus is creating havoc in often unseen ways. We have to wear our masks and follow the guidelines for social distancing but we also need to support one another emotionally. If the government will not provide security for those who are in dangerous economic situations then those of us fortunate enough to be okay need to find someone who is not and adopt them. Nobody should be thrown to the wolves during this time. It is up to all of us to provide support, love and understanding. Somebody needs you today. 

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

adult black pug
Photo by Charles on Pexels.com

I am a planner, a controller, a doer. I usually fill up my calendar and keep myself organized and busy. I’m like the energizer bunny on steroids. I make my bed each morning and put everything away in its place each evening. I know what I am going to do and how I will accomplish it weeks in advance. I rarely waste a single minute of each day even in retirement. Suddenly my way of living for a lifetime has been upended. My calendar is empty. I’ve come to fully appreciate my mother’s mantra of “God willing” when agreeing to any future activities. Covid-19 has forced me more than any other event in my life to slow down and smell the roses. 

I now allow myself to stay awake until 2:00 in the morning if something catches my interest late at night. I no longer feel guilty about sleeping until 9:00 in the morning or staying in my pajamas until noon. I eat ice cream and make banana bread instead of worrying about my waistline. I have not used makeup since February. The only time I wear shoes is when I’m walking on my treadmill or working in the yard. I “attend” mass on Sundays in jeans and baggy t-shirts. I get great joy out of very small things like a strikingly lovely bumble bee who hovers over my hibiscus bush or the family of cardinals that feast at my bird feeder. I enjoy the laughter of the children playing in my neighborhood as much as the sound of a symphony. I celebrate the mere act of waking up each morning and still being virus free. 

It’s not easy to set aside a lifetime of habits. Nothing before made me change my ways, not even retirement. I measured the success of my day by the number of my accomplishments. I judged myself on the miles that I walked, the pages that I wrote, the places that I went. As I erased my future plans one by one from my calendar I became less and less sad. They were just ways of filling the time, small sacrifices compared to the ones that so many people have been making. I realized that nothing that I did was as important as doing my part to help slow the spread of Covid 19. That meant curtailing my usual activities and being conservative in my outings and contacts with people. 

I’ve had to find ways to make my quietly mundane days bearable. In doing that I slowed my pace and learned to revel in silence. I have always struggled with the idea of meditation because my mind seems always to be racing. In the past many weeks I have enjoyed sitting and listening to my own breathing. I have felt the pulsating beat of my heart. I have noticed the wind and the birds and rain falling on the pavement. I have felt a greater appreciation of just being alive.

I would love to go back to church and sit among the people there. I want to get my hair trimmed and enjoy a pedicure. I long to hug the members of my family and my dear friends. I want to travel again before I grow so old that I am no longer able to walk for miles exploring new places. I dream of  being able to visit my aunts and uncle who are in nursing homes once again. I miss having tea time with my niece. I find that there is little else that I now want to do. I don’t need to shop or eat out or go to a movie theater. I don’t want to run around all day doing things that I may accomplish inside my home. Covid 19 has allowed me to think deeply about what is most important. 

I am happy to do my part to help end this tragic occurrence that has so changed our world. I still teach my little band of students remotely. I wear my mask willingly. I order my groceries through Instacart and give the workers who bring them to me very generous tips because I so appreciate what they doing. I get most of everything else I need from Amazon or by purchasing from other online vendors. I support local restaurants by getting take out now and again. I mostly take rides for diversion rather than mixing it up with people in enclosed spaces. I’ve already signed up for voting by mail to insure that I will be able to cast my vote in November no matter what the state of things may be.  

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but somehow Covid 19 has managed to do that for me. In a strange way it has actually made me more aware and thankful. Nonetheless I feel great sadness for those who have been so hurt by this sometimes deadly virus. I cry at the news of a teenager losing both of his parents or the story of an elderly couple dying on the same day. It is difficult to see Covid 19 as anything other than a great tragedy. I pray constantly that an end to all of the suffering will come sooner rather than later. I pray that each of us will do whatever it takes to make that happen. I pray that we will never forget how dependent we are on one another. I pray that I will spend however many days and years I have left on this earth always remembering what is truly important. 

 

Leadership

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

antique antique globe antique shop antique store
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My mama would never forget the calm that Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor brought to the American people during World War II. She often spoke of gathering around the radio to listen to updates, encouragement and calls for a national effort from the president. She quite proudly outlined the many sacrifices that citizens made and the overall unity of purpose that spread across the land. She would get quite emotional when describing how things were and she always ended such remembrances with tears as she described how she felt when President Roosevelt died. 

My mother also held up Eleanor Roosevelt as an exemplar of womanhood. I suppose that I grew up admiring this wonderful First Lady because of my mom’s influence. Mama told me about Ms. Roosevelt’s intelligence and compassion. I would later learn even more about this remarkable woman in books and documentaries. She was the favorite niece of Theodore Roosevelt and her influence on her husband and our country was profound. 

I’ve had a fascination with the era of World War II when my mother was still just a teenager. My interest in life during that time only increased when my mother-in-law told me stories that added to my knowledge of the incredible efforts made by ordinary people to help in the battle against Germany and Japan. In the face of early losses the American people remained determined to support the Allied Forces even if it meant enduring great privation. 

I suppose that I have always believed that the American people are living heroes and people of great selflessness and resolve. Even as I see a deterioration of those important values I am not yet ready to accept that we have somehow lost our willingness to work for a common good even when it is difficult. I still see incredible resolve and compassion in the work of our medical community that is being battered by Covid 19. In spite of the dangers and the exhausting schedules they return day after day to save lives even as they hear whispers that they are somehow hiding information or cures from us. 

I see our nation’s teachers preparing for a new school year that will most certainly be wrought with problems. In spite of concerns for the health and safety of themselves and their students they are gearing up with masks and face shields and disinfectant in the hopes of keeping everyone safe. They are marching into the unknown with the resolve to educate our children and allow parents to return to work even as they know the dangers that may lurk ahead. 

Our first responders continue to answer calls for help never quite knowing what they may encounter. Already their ranks have been thinned by the virus and sadly some of their comrades have died. Still they do their jobs just as they have been trained to do. 

The vast majority of citizens want to help beat back the virus. They wear masks, ignoring their discomfort in support of a cause bigger than themselves. they keep their interactions with others to a minimum, avoiding crowds and large gatherings. They are very conscious and respectful of other people’s needs. They listen to their doctors and follow guidelines in the hopes of keeping Covid 19 at bay. 

So why is there still so much pushback in the country and a rapidly growing feeling that Covid 19 is out of control? I suspect that the problem lies in a lack of proper leadership. More than  anything we need to see politics set aside and a united effort from national, state and local offices. A successful program will have to begin at the very top with honesty and compassion, not efforts to undo safety measures or cater to a fringe group that is unhappy. Here a a few suggestions for our president:

  • If we should all wear masks then make it a nationwide program and lead the effort by modeling mask wearing behavior whenever you are in a public gathering. 
  • Give us the data without boasts about how much better we are than other countries. This is not a contest. 
  • Help us to believe that you actually care. Do not dismiss the suffering by noting that most old people and those with underlying health issues are the ones who are dying while it’s just like sniffles for everyone else. 
  • Have some earnest compassion without ever drawing comparisons or using the “I” word. 
  • Support governors and mayors regardless of party affiliation. Help them rather than pointing out their faults.
  • Ask the First Lady to speak to us as well. She is a charming woman who seems to have a genuinely kind heart. Allow her to show it in ways other than redoing the  White House garden.
  • Ask the members of your base who are ignoring the guidelines to join in the united efforts. They will listen to you and do whatever you ask of them.
  • Help us to believe that doing the right thing is more important to than winning the election.
  • Bring us together so that we can be the kind of Americans  who helped the world the eliminate the tyrants of World War II. Let us join the rest of the world in defeating Covid-19, not to win glory for ourselves but to save lives everywhere in a spirit of cooperation.
  • In other words, pull us together like FDR did. 
  • Be a true leader and we will follow.

I want to make America great again. I want a leader who is sincerely working for the good of all  of us. Is that too much to ask?

 

Facing Our Fears

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

pexels-photo-1134204Fear is a normal human instinct that serves to keep us alert and safe when it is present in healthy doses. Unfortunately we humans all too often obsess over our fears and turn them into anxieties that crowd our minds with dark possibilities. The worries over Covid 19 combined with civil unrest and a national election have collided into a kind of atomic bomb of concern that is affecting people in different ways depending on their personal experiences. 

Appearances are often misleading because there seems to be a continuum of beliefs about our present situation that run the gamut from near inability to function normally to outright disbelief that there is any real danger. As our society navigates through the daily updates on numbers of sick and dying from the virus and the status of protests and demands we each react in slightly differing ways that eventually seem to gel into associations and groups. Because it is in our natures to protect ourselves from whatever we deem to be problematic we end up seeing those outside of our own belief system as being part of the problem. We worry that the ranks of those who dissent from our way of viewing the situation will swell and change our world in questionable ways and so we attempt to change minds even as we realize that the only people listening already agree with us. It becomes a zero sum game that all too often results in the loss of friendships and the surprise that our relationships were so fragile that a national crisis tore them asunder with little effort. 

In truth we miss the reality that everyone is actually afraid, even those who boast of their daring and appear to ignore precautions. Each of us is demonstrating what most bothers us and political forces are playing on our deep seated worries. There are those who do not deal well with death and suffering and those who fear changes in society. There are those who fear loss of economic well being and those who fear that changes will not be enough to rid society of injustice. There are those who fear that our country is not as exceptional as we once believed and those who fear that our exceptionalism is being destroyed. The list of fears is too weighty and complex to describe in a single tract but it is enough to divide us if we allow it to happen. 

I am reminded of a time when I was beginning a new job at a new school. I was rather nervous because I only knew the principal and two women who had decided to move to the campus with me. I was slated to speak to the faculty on my first day and I stewed over what to say and how to appear to them. The principal had warned me that the environment was tense and fractured so I chose my words and even my wardrobe with great care. I wore a nondescript black pantsuit on which I placed a good luck pin that a very dear friend had given me the weekend before. It was a gold star that she said would remind me that I was going to do healing work and that God and people who knew me would be wishing me all the best. 

Things didn’t go as well as I had hoped. There was great tension among the members of the faculty and much suspicion of who I was and why I was there. I did my best to be friendly and I indeed found kindred spirits with whom I am still friends to this very day but there was a rather large contingent of people who were quite obviously wary of me so it became my goal to find out what fears were in their hearts and why they viewed me as a threat. 

It took a great deal of time and patience but by listening rather than lecturing I began to break through the icy reception I had received but there were still those who held back from accepting me as anything but a potential enemy. Nonetheless I persisted in efforts to hear their voices and one day as one of the teachers most opposed to me vented her frustrations in a tirade of anger I suddenly felt tears streaming down my cheeks, not because I felt threatened but because I truly understood the source of her pain. I took her hands and told her how sorry I was and then she exclaimed, “Then why did you choose to put us down with that stupid star pinned to your chest like you were the new sheriff in town? Why did you humiliate us before you even knew us?” 

All too often we see or don’t see another person’s reality. We form judgements from our own experiences and sometimes we are completely off base. When we see glaring differences that seem to be at odds with what we believe to be right we would do well to patiently set our preconceived notions aside and attempt to get to the heart of the fears driving each of us. We may find that we want the same things but have conflicting ideas about how to get there. 

Each of us have triggers that raise our worst fears to the surface of our minds. Losing people through death or misunderstanding are two of  mine. Unwillingness to Ignore the pain and suffering around me is another. When I react to the issues facing us those fears direct me either consciously or subconsciously just as the fears each person determines how he/she will behave. We all worry about losing something whether it be a loved one, a job, a home, a freedom or an election. If we bear that in mind when someone is ranting or seemingly ignoring the gravity of a situation we may be able to finally understand. It will be in that understanding that we achieve the common ground that we need to finally be able to work together.