Pandemic Projects 1: The Family in Arkansas
Excerpt from "The Family in Arkansas". I suppose this piece arose because the family, its safety and its continuance were very much on my mind during the pandemic. This history required a good deal of research, which was possible on line, and it could be shared with my family as a holiday present. We could not be together but we could share our history and speak online. For me, the intense concentration and the attention to detail that was required felt therapeutic. I was thinking and creating something for my loved ones. I cannot sit still in ordinary times. With all the time that the pandemic gave us and with all the stress that came as well, my hands and my head needed something productive to do. Feeding my family by cooking and by raising my garden was therapeutic. Writing was also therapeutic in giving me something to concentrate on besides news of the pandemic.
