Category Archives: pandemic

COVID -19, daily writing, inspiration, pandemic, Uncategorized

Day 13: Holy Week in the time of COVID-19 quarantine

April 5, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Reality sinks in

By Emma Palova

Today is Palm Sunday. Bishop David Walkowiak served the mass with palm branches in the empty St. Andrews Cathedral in Grand Rapids to the recorded Hosanna, commemorating Jerusalem greeting Jesus. This was the fourth Sunday broadcast without an audience, but with a 300 percent increase in TV spectators. The Pope served the Palm Sunday mass in an empty St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. Queen Elizabeth gave a special address for the fourth time only in her 68-year long reign.

This will be a Holy Week filled with tragedy as the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths are expected to rise again. The clergy prayed for the deadly pandemic to end.

I also watched a Czech mass on Zoom from Velehrad, California, broadcast from the Czech missionary priest’s home. There were only 23 Czech and Slovak participants from the entire world.

The surgeon general warned that the upcoming week will be our “Pearl Harbor” moment and “9/11” moment.

“Do not leave your house unless you absolutely have to,” warnings rezonated all over the TV.

The year that Easter didn’t come

We’re only a week away from Easter Sunday. There will be no public egg hunts or girls wearing pretty spring dresses with laces and ribbons due to the Coronavirus quarantine. There will be no Easter specials as the malls are closed. More than half of the world’s population is under a stay-at-home order.

However, a glimmer of good news arrived from the pandemic epicenter NYC that the number of coronavirus deaths has dipped.

Exploring nature, finally

Walking the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail.

Earlier in the day we went for a walk on the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail that almost abuts to our front yard. Only a gravel road separates us from the trail that connects Lowell to Belding.

For years, the trail group worked hard to convert the old railroad bed into trail for public use. Recently, the trail has been surfaced with crushed asphalt. It took the Coronavirus quarantine for people to discover this treasure.

As I delighted at the new trail bridges, I discovered a rock with chalk art. Someone left a message of encouragement: Be brave.

Since my husband Ludek had to pick up some groceries in Grand Rapids, we stopped at an eerie scene.

The usually year round busy Woodland Mall looked like a ghost town with vast empty parking lots stretching from nowhere to nowhere.

All this was happening under the deceiving April sun. My daffodils are ready to open their yellow beauty to the world, oblivious to the coronavirus horrors.

Stay tuned for day by day coverage of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S.

COVID -19, daily writing, environment, healing, hiking, Lent, pandemic, Uncategorized, writing

Day 11: COVID-19 quarantine gives time to enjoy nature’s gifts

April 3, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

First walk to the Franciscans

The nature oblivious to the Coronavirus horrors is waking up from its winter’s sleep.

I enjoyed nature’s gifts during my first walk to the The Franciscan Life Process Center: daffodils getting ready to burst open, birds singing and frogs croaking in the swamp off the gravel road.

Just under two miles, the walk covers a variety of terrain and vegetation enhanced by the beautiful landscape at the Franciscan campus outside of Lowell.

The ornamental grasses were neatly trimmed and the colors of the meadow were changing from yellowish to green. I walked past the vacant parking lot to the St. Mary’s Rosary Walk.

On normal days, the center is busy with arts and music programming. People from far and near enjoy the Franciscans’ offerings: everything from painting au plain air, music instruction, community gardening, trails to retreats in the yurts or the San Pietro house.

The gardening team is usually busy with their landscaping tasks.

But today it was quiet as the silence pierced my ears and only an occasional robin broke the spell.

I spent some quiet time on St. Mary’s Plazza as one of the sisters, who was walking her mutt Pico, greeted me.

“What a beautiful day,” she said.

“Yes, it’s gorgeous.”

At that moment I realized how fortunate we were to enjoy the beautiful Friday afternoon far away from the nation’s Coronavirus hot spots.

“What is your name?” the sister asked.

“I am Emma,” I answered. “And yours?”

“I am sister Mary Paula,” she said.

There has never been a need for social distancing outside the buildings at the center surrounded by open space. I walked the way of the cross several times and I have never encountered a single soul. The same goes for the trails on the 230-acre campus, where you immerse yourself in serenity.

When I got home, my husband Ludek was cleaning up around the outdoors furnace after a long winter.

“Let’s go somewhere, it’s Friday afternoon,” I said.

“There’s nowhere to go,” he said.

There is still nature left and its bountiful gifts for us to enjoy in the times of the Coronavirus.

Tips: Consider the COVID-19 quarantine as your personal retreat away from the society’s hustle and bustle. Let it transform you.

Featured photo: the retreat yurts at the Franciscan Life Process Center.

Stay tuned for continued day by day coverage of the Coronavirus crisis.

Visit the Franciscans at: https://lifeprocesscenter.org/

Franciscan Life Process Center, Lowell campus

Camp NaNoWriMo, COVID -19, daily writing, Greenwich Meridian memoir, immigration, inspiration, pandemic, Uncategorized, wellness

Day 9: COVID-19 as Catalyst

April 1, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Coronavirus brings us closer together

“When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of, what we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go from darkness into darkness.”

Maya Angelou

Lowell, MI- Together we can accomplish anything. We will get through this together. Each one of us has a part to play.

How many times do we get to chat simultaneously with people from Florida, Oklahoma , Minnesota and Michigan?

I did for the first time earlier in the day via video chat Zoo room app. I connected with familiar faces, and I am so grateful for technology with all its whims.

https://zooroom.chat/

Today marks the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo. It’s a great platform to start or finish your writing projects.

https://nanowrimo.org/what-is-camp-nanowrimo

Coronavirus quarantine survival tips

How many times in the past have you complained, that you don’t have time for anything? Now you do.

Ludek Pala works on isolating and putting up drywall in the laundry room.

Find a home improvement project. Finish what you have started years ago.

Learn something new: cooking, baking, writing poetry, painting.

Go outside and take pictures of spring arriving.

Offer to help others with their struggles; it will ease your own.

Keep a journal.

Live, love and laugh.

Camp NaNoWriMo, inspiration, National Novel Writing Month, pandemic, Shifting Sands Short Stories, Uncategorized

Day 5: Creativity offsets COVID-19 anxiety

March 28, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Perfection: All the shades of white

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – I have found out that creativity battles the anxiety invoked by the Coronavirus shutdown the best.

Facing the dark stats, how do I wake up inspiration from its gloomy dream? First of all, I had to turn off all the devices I own. Next I am trying to push out of my head all the images of suffering and exhaustion I’ve seen over the last two weeks.

I have to substitute the negative with the positive; easier said than done. I have to transform and focus on the light with its different shades.

I found relief again in the “Hope in Uncertain Times” meditation with Oprah & Deepak Chopra. I can see light instead of darkness.

You can also participate in NaNoWriMo’s initiative to keep your sanity. https://nanowrimo.org/stayhomewrimo

You can sign up for @Camp NaNoWriMo starting in April. It helped me finish my writing projects.

Also watch for my kindle giveaway of Shifting Sands: Short Stories on Amazon.

Featured photo: Perfection: All the shades of white.

daily writing, Greenwich Meridian memoir, inspiration, pandemic, Uncategorized

Day 4: COVID-19 isolation tool

March 27, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

“The single biggest threat to man’s continued dominance on the planet is the virus.”

— Joshua Lederberg

We continue to stay at home per Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order due to the Coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. takes the lead in the number of virus cases in the world-100,000- and counting. We are allowed to go outside for walks but minimize our trips to the grocery store.

“Remember, this is an order, not a recommendation,” Whitmer said in a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday evening.

Personally, as a writer, I am used to isolation; it’s the only way to get anything done. I finished making corrections to 150 pages of the Greenwich Meridian Memoir in the afternoon.

My tips:

If you ever wanted to write a book, now is a good time to start. If you want to finish your book, now is a good time to pick it back up.

You can make an outline and write two to three chapters or you can write a short story. The inspiration is all around us as well as in us waiting to spill out into the world.

Using your creativity is the best way to battle containment. Watch for excerpts from the Greenwich Meridian Memoir- how mom Ella battled with loneliness in Texas during the first immigration from former Czechoslovakia.

To be continued…

events, pandemic, Uncategorized

Day 3: COVID-19 shutdown

March 26, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

By Emma Palova

Weighing in on the positives of the coronavirus pandemic: in search of humanity

In spite of the state shutdown, and shows like the Lowell Expo not happening this weekend, I see positives of the coronavirus shutdown in Michigan.

I pay more attention to the good things around me: my flowering orchids and amaryllis. My husband Ludek can get caught up on stuff rather than wining that he never has time to do anything around the house.

Our son Jake is homeschooling the grandkids and loving it.

I talk more to my daughter Dr. Emma, who is on the frontlines of fighting COVID-19 in France. Before the outbreak, I never heard from her. My brother calls me more nowadays and I return his phone calls.

I finished the FallasburgToday newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/065459a763c2/springtime-in-fallasburg. Check it out and visit Fallasburg during this shutdown. We are allowed to go outside for walks and visit parks.

There is goodness coming out of this pandemic. The pandemic too shall pass and we’re in it all together.

I think in this isolation we find a common bond- humanity and we recognize the need for each other.

I spoke with Dr, Emma Palova- Chavent about the Coronavirus pandemic this morning.

Dr. Emma Palova-Chavent on the frontlines of fighting COVID-19.

“We’re treating COVID-19 as triage,” she said.

She stressed that the social isolation is the most important and effective tool in the battle against the COVID-19 spread due to the resilience of the virus. It can live on surfaces up to seven days outside of the human body unlike the HIV virus. It has yet to be determined if the Coronavirus can be airborne.

France has reserved up to 50 percent of hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients after observing outbreaks in Italy and China. The remaining 50 percent is reserved for cardiac emergencies, chemotherapies and births.

“We’re behind them like two weeks,” she said.

According to Chavent, the USA and France, as well as other countries have taken late confinement measures.

The isolation must last at least two to three weeks to be able to assess the drop in new cases.

However, not every patient gets tested and most are not hospitalized. Patients with risk factors such as diabetes are more likely to get tested. Any low number of cases is an indicator, that infected people have not been tested, such as the Russians.

Ultimately, the death caused by the coronavirus results in respiratory failure.

“We’re not able to untubate people,” she said.

The outbreak should definitely not to be underestimated.

“It’s a highly infectious illness.

Hang in there. Stay at home. Stay well.

Featured photo: Melinda Cosgrove of Snow Avenue Greenhouse at last year’s expo in Lowell.

pandemic, Uncategorized

Day 2: Fighting COVID – 19 on all fronts

March 25, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Dr. Emma Palova- Chavent in full protective gear against the COVID-19 virus fighting on the front line in ER in France.

The battle against the Coronavirus at home in the USA continues with more than 40 percent of population under the Stay-at-Home order as the number of cases rises. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the USA could become the new epicenter of the pandemic.

pandemic, Uncategorized

Day 1: Tracking the Covid-19 shutdown

March 24, 2020 emmapalova Leave a comment

Fighting fear, anxiety and boredom during the three-week shutdown

Note from Emma Palova:

I will be tracking the COVID -19 shutdown in Michigan for the next three weeks in this series, in order to offset people’s, and my own worries about unemployment, boredom and anxiety by providing resources and tips. The good news is that spring is here inspite of the Coronavirus shutdown of 43 percent of population in the U.S.

Day 0: Monday, March 23, 2020

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a stay-at-home executive order on Monday at 11 a.m. for the next three weeks effective at midnight on March 24.

In the evening, we watched Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion.” Released in 2011, the movie tracks exactly what we’re experiencing now with the Coronavirus outbreak.

At times, I did not know if I was watching the movie or the news on TV.

Heeding all the warnings of the worsening Coronavirus pandemic, I am staying at home and making the final corrections to the upcoming book “ Greenwich Meridian Memoir.”

Thanks, to editor Carol Briggs, for editing the manuscript that covers more than 50 years of the Konecny family immigration saga from former Czechoslovakia to the U.S.

There has been a wave of cancellations of shows and events including the West Michigan Women’s Expo, Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce Expo and the upcoming Spring into the Past historic tour in early May.

I fear for my parents who have decided to travel from Florida back to Michigan this Sunday. It’s a 1,500 mile trip across four states.

I fear for my daughter Emma, who is a practicing ER doctor in France, where the spread of the Coronavirus is as bad as in the USA.

One member of our extended family has already been diagnosed with the Coronavirus.

In face of these challenges, I found consolation and strength in several things; the televised mass from the St. Andrews Cathedral sponsored by the Grand Rapids Diocese. Bishop David Walkowiak served in an empty church.

Deepak Chopra released his “Hope in Uncertain Times yesterday.” The link to the free meditation is https://chopracentermeditation.com/store/product/156/hope_in_uncertain_times_streaming

Ludek painted our basement in warm earthy tones on his fist day on unemployment due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

The COVID-19 Unemployment website is:

http://www.michigan.gov/uia

We will be making our own homemade hand sanitizer. Watch for recipe.