Adventure in the Time of Quarantine

As the quarantine wears on, I've gone through various stages of "Wow, this is fun!" to "I can get all this work done!" to "Do I have to get up now?" to "What are we getting for takeout today?". Every week my attitude changes and just when I think I'm doing alright, my brain sends another message. This week's is : We still don't know enough about the Coronvirus, how can we go outside?

I had to get a prescription from my friendly neighborhood CVS which happens to be in my friendly neighborhood Target. This would be the first time I've entered a store since March 11th. We've done curbside grocery pickups and curbside take out but this time I had to go into the store. Sure I could've waited for them to mail it to me, but knowing that I am within hailing distance of Target made mailing seem outrageous, especially since I REALLY needed the RX!

After some discussion in the house, it was decided that I would go with a jacket and mask and just go in and out. This was a reminder for me because I love to browse Target. Running to the store usually takes an hour and a half because of this browsing. Just picking up one thing? An hour and a half.

Once I was in the parking lot, I adjusted my mask and locked my car. Remember I said I lived a ten minute walk to my Target? Still I drove and I'm not sure why. Now I remember. I wasn't feeling well. With the car suitably parked in what has been called another zip code, I started for the door feeling uncomfortable. People were going to stare or maybe, ugh! talk to me! Do I look awful or just paranoid or like I'm contagious? These are the thoughts running through my head as I avoided anyone walking in or out of Target while I stared at my home screen on my phone pretending to read something.

It was better in the store. Not many people had masks on which immediately triggered my germ alarm. How do they know they aren't infecting someone who could die from it?

But I was still wrapped in my own masked covered world as I walked the main hallway noticing that the shelves and end-caps weren't as neat as they usually are. I ducked into the shampoo aisle to avoid a couple about to walk by me, not because I was worried about getting something (I had my mask), but just not wanting to make eye contact, or anything with another human being. Is it sad that your everyday person in a store makes me nervous?

Zig-zagging through the beautifying aisles (which are useless right now), I reached the pharmacy without incident, meaning without having to pass anyone. The pharmacists were masked and working hard. A fabric divider kept me four feet away from the counter but I didn't mind. The pharmacist which I've known for a long time didn't recognize me. I'd shaved my hair and don't have bangs anymore. It's definitely a change. But I like it.

The pharmacists smiled behind her mask. I know this because she always smiles at me and probably all the customers. She look tired and worried but friendly. The tired and worried are very different from what she usually is like so I ask how she is. She tells me that things are going and that she's getting by. I tell her how glad I am she isn't sick. As I slide my card through and finish the transaction, she reminds me to enjoy the sunshine, something I didn't even notice when I was walking into the store. Sunshine, a rare commodity in the Central New York area this time of year and I missed it. By the time I exited the store only five minutes from when I entered, and there were tiny snow flurries dancing about. That's the kind of weather we have in spring.

The breeze was chilly as I walked the long trek back to my car, unlocking it and sitting down before I lowered my mask. It was a relief to take off the mask but also a relief to have entered a store for the first time in a long time. I try to be brave but invisible germs of a disease that is new to the best doctors just makes my terror meter rise. My terror meter doesn't even flinch when I watch a gory, slasher movie now, but give me a psychological thriller and I'm terrified. It's the things one can't see that are the worst.

After that trip, I felt proud to have done something outside of my house that was typical for me. The ride was nice (I love my car!) and I was able to get medicine I needed to feel better.

Now the rest of this week's message is: "I'm happy to be feeling better and can't think beyond that."

Maybe that's what I am taking away from this. We can't think too much about the future, not all the time. We have to think about the little challenges that were met and overcome.

I'm on my way to pick up a take out order with a firmer sense of contentment instead of dread. Little victory for a quarantine stuck writer / librarian!

AG

Images from https://pixabay.com/

Rewrite of an Old Article: The Foreigner and Logan

        

The Action, Suspense, Thriller Aspects of Story based on The Foreigner and Logan

I love movies but usually don't go to them alone. It makes me uncomfortable. Maybe because I don't 
have anyone to talk to before and after or maybe I just feel like a loser sitting by myself (of course the 
theater is dark so who can tell?). I did, however, go to see The Foreigner with Jackie Chan and Pierce
Brosnan. It’s about a Chinese immigrant to England whose teenage daughter is killed by a terrorist 
bomb. The movie relates the man's quest for vengeance against the bombers while bursting into the 
long-standing conflict between England and Northern Ireland.

This movie is especially relevant to today's times since Great Britain's move away from the European 
Union. The Foreigner brought home to me how precarious the situation still is in Ireland. How will the 
relationship between England and Ireland withstand this huge change? Ireland is staying with the 
European Union so all the complex trade and border crossing issues are going to have to be worked 
out by people smarter than me.

It also reminded me what a good suspense-filled story can do. My heart was still beating for hours 
after I finished the movie. Reviewers said he was wooden but his portrayal made sense as his history 
unfolded. Each small insight into his character, hinted at in the initial scenes, wove a tapestry of events
that shaped the man and drove him to react to his daughter’s death. That is the heart of a good story 
- the behavior of the main character must be driven throughout to actions that seem to have no other 
recourse.

There is something ultra-organized and technical about writing suspense and mystery. Planning for 
inclusion and exclusion of facts are integral to improving suspense (and to avoid giving away the 
ending!).  The story must be mapped out, keeping meticulous track of each fact, scene and dialog so
that it pulls the reader closer and closer to the solution but doesn’t quite get them there until the end. 
The importance of a tightly-knit story, like The Foreigner, has to be honed to the bare essentials 
(including misdirection) but with enough detail to make the reader think they can solve the riddle.

Then there is Logan. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine character has his swan-song that is filled with, not 
superhero battles and world-saving events but one man saving one young girl. Logan’s reluctance to 
help in the first half of the film truly sets the stage and creates suspense, waiting for the inevitable. He 
must take action because we all know it isn’t in his nature to leave someone in distress. 

Logan was suspense-filled not so much because of the writing but the established characters. Fans of 
Wolverine know the backstory of this character and have certain expectations. To change a beloved 
character due to age or story line is taking a gamble but for this movie, it works. Logan is older, slowly
losing the strength and regenerative powers that made him invincible. After years, he is mortal and
liable to be wounded so that he won’t ever heal. Logan had so much to tell and put into the story 
because of his past, that the fundamental story was muddied.

The Foreigner couldn't rely on audience knowledge to help tell the story but that is actually one of the 
movie’s strengths. It all had to be told meticulously, introduced bit by bit to build suspense, curiosity 
and care about the character. He cannot commit to the woman who has been his helpmate for years 
and stops working in his restaurant because of his inner conflict. Still, even the little we learn initially 
reveals a character that has no other choice but to seek vengeance. 

Logan, to me, seemed different from The Foreigner but actually it has many of the same themes. The 
main character is on a journey (like all good story characters do) and that journey is filled with peril.  
Logan spends much of his time avoiding involvement, to stay out of the situation - but can't. Why? 
Because of who he is. As in The Foreigner, Logan is driven by his personality and experiences to be 
involved, and to sacrifice much of himself in the process. Ironically, in each of these movies, neither 
main character changes very much at the end but the world around them, the people around them, does. 
These men make a difference to those they have influenced and that is their lasting achievement. 

Violence and action play a huge role in the plot of each film. Both characters avoid violence until an act 
of violence hurts someone or something they care about. Both make a conscious decision to be the 
wheel that drives others toward success or failure. They know the consequences of their involvement, 
shy away from it, but still take action.

It's been three years since these movies came out. Why am I mentioning them now? Because they still 
resonate. They still speak to us about the power of a common man, a person who has to step back 
into a former life in order to exact revenge or save a life. It is relevant because there are still times when 
all of us at one time or another want to exact "our pound of flesh" but can't. We stop ourselves because 
as much as we want to be as brave as the people in our movies, we live in the real world where the good
guys don’t always win. 

AG Jerome

Being a Good Friend

What is being a good friend? Do you have more acquaintances and few close friends? Who do you call on when you are in trouble? 
I've been pondering these questions lately. It seems to me that family is who you're stuck with and can interact or avoid as you wish. But friends need nurturing, at least the close ones. I try to feed my close friends whenever I can. That leads me to what has been happening lately.

I think sometimes it doesn't work to try to give your friend everything they want, to always be there to help them and support them. It sounds like I'm a rotten friend but it's true.

In order to be a good friend you must first be a good friend to yourself. I recently realized this. I would give up something I wanted to be with a friend or rushed over to help someone instead of taking care of myself.

The consequence of always being there:

• Your "friend" thinks you will always be there and will call you for anything including things that are inconvenient for them and nearly impossible for you.

• They will take all you have to give and throw scraps to you because often you don't ask for much.

It makes sense that I'm angry. I look for opportunities to help people every chance I get. I like helping people. It's rewarding.

But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. A "friend" who, over the years takes and takes, will expect to always be able to take.

Make no mistake. I'm responsible for what happens. It's easy to take advantage of me (well, not anymore).

A good friend recognizes that trait in me and refuses to ask for too much. I know this to be true since I have friends who are like that. These are my most cherished people. They want to be equal partners in the relationship - giving and taking.

That leads me to the second point: Saying NO.

No matter how important that person is to you, you can still say no to them and they will have to deal with it. No isn't goodbye. It's, 'I can't help right now. I have other responsibilities'.

It is difficult. And I'm still learning. 

Keep posted!
AG