Tag Archives: COVID-19

Since I’ve Dreamed

Songs and Scenes, , ,

My thoughts flicker back to the characters I had in my head when writing The Handel Letters.  Every now and then they seem to want to speak up again.  I expect I will be giving them that chance fairly soon.  Meanwhile, here is one more video—this one about dreaming, or not dreaming.

A decade ago the Dream Act offered immigrants who came to the United States as minors the opportunity to enroll in classes and work toward permanent residency.  While the Dream Act is an acronym (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), the notion that these young people were inspired by a dream for the future—that they were dreamers, in the best sense—has come to be a part of their identity.  Nighttime dreams, on the other hand, can often be troublesome, even frightening.  Then there are the dreams we cast as fantasy, fiction, or heartfelt desires—the stuff of fairytales, novels, movies, and plays.  I’ve indulged in some of this last sort of dreams as they serve to distract me from the months of isolation and inactivity associated with Covid-19.  Some years ago I wrote a song that I include here as a backdrop for a little survey of some of the many such “dreams” that have helped me weather the pandemic.

For the dreamers

A repurposed folksong

Always a Folklorist, , ,

As a folklorist, I have been dismayed at how our current administration here in the US has passed along misleading information, falsehoods, and vain beliefs about the pandemic now rampant in our world.  The failure to lead, the ready acceptance of myths and wild speculations, the casual relating of false information—all of these are attempts to placate with tall tales rather than help our citizens find a way to cope with this devastating virus.  Professor Geoffrey Joyce wrote an article for The Conversation July 8, 2020, titled “5 COVID-19 Myths Politicians have repeated that just aren’t true.” I adapt his “ 5 myths” here and call out the current administration for offering our people tall tales instead of the truth.

Last barrel down

Songs and Scenes, ,

What does a 20-year old think about when she is socially isolated?  Here is a song I wrote when I was around 20 years old, still in college, unmarried, wondering what life held in store.  I thought of the song again as I pondered the many effects our current social and physical distancing has had on people.  I would guess it is especially hard on young people who would normally be out there socializing, dating, making new friends, and thinking about love in its many guises—but especially the non-platonic sort.  I find my view of possible love in this song amusing now, but who knows whether young people chafing under Covid-19 restrictions are feeling the way I did back then.