Which now places us here in Michigan at the beginning of week six.

I’ve stated before I’m an ex New York City guy so living in Ypsilanti is an odd experience to me even though I’ve been here since 1997. Although we’re technically a city I always think small town.

As such there are pluses and minuses, mostly balanced to the plus side. Outside my window it’s been uncharacteristically quiet, a counterpoint to the usual morning and evening auto traffic of people going and returning from work. Although there are still runners and walkers, people and dog, as well as families getting fresh air the numbers and frequency are much reduced. When we’re out at the same time there is a distance between us and a quietness to the conversations in the renewed awareness of the value in human contact.

I’m active on a number of neighborhood Facebook pages and although there are differences in geographic areas in Ypsilanti my New York brain sees us as one entity, less separate than we perceive us to be.. There’s a small town caring for our neighbors, people volunteering free food and household items, video chats and cooking classes along with the occasional squabble about our shared circumstance.

I feel we are treading water in a sea of information and disinformation, caught in a rip current carrying us out to sea and then parallel to the shore, one we can’t yet reach until the current disappears.

The decision regarding when and how to return to the daily business cycle is yet to be made….. how, who, what will or won’t be deemed essential…. all still on that as yet unreachable shore.

The photos of the woman in this blog are the last in my file from before I shut down my shooting space. From now on I’ll have to delve into some older files until things reverse… safely.

Clicking in the composites below will enlarge them full size for viewing.

Stay well and stay safe.