Socially connected, physically distanced
The Spectator is speaking to people from various walks of life to find out how they are dealing with isolation and other challenges during the pandemic
Outside of his responsilibities as the president of Mohawk College, Ron McKerlie has been finding creative ways to connect with others while physically distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m pretty positive by nature, so I think that helps a lot,” he said.
McKerlie schedules regular Zoom dinner parties with friends, is reading books he didn’t have time for before, and even planned an outdoor Easter Egg Hunt with plastic eggs (disinfected, of course) filled with goodies for his grandkids.
Q: What are you doing to stay positive and/or calm your fears?
A: I definitely see the glass half full in everything. I mean, the good news is that working from home, I have more time to work out. I have more time to exercise and more time to go for a walk or a run. So that’s helped a lot, I think just to be outside and breathing deeply and remember that this, too, shall pass.
Q: What are your strategies for coping with isolation?
A: Every Friday I send a video to my staff and give them some personal insights and to encourage them. Many of them are writing back in response to those videos, so I’m reading about what they’re doing, how they’re supporting their students, what they’re worried about and how they’re staying emotionally connected to others. That has been good twoway communication for me.
Q: If you have kids, what are you doing to keep them happy and stimulated?
A: I’ve got two grandsons, so we had an Easter Egg Hunt. We filled reusable plastic eggs with crackers, cookies, a toy truck and some chocolate and hid them in our front lawn. Then we stood away from them while they went hunting for Easter eggs. And then afterwards, my wife had made a turkey dinner for my kids’ families, and we had a Zoom dinner together. So I got to visit using online technology that way.
Q: How are you staying connected with others?
A: For friends, we’re doing dinners two nights a week. We set up the laptop on our table and the friends will be on the other end of a Zoom call. We’ll have a dinner over the course of an hour or an hour and a half, and we’ll just catch up with them. And that’s worked pretty well.
With my mother-in-law who lives alone, we stand outside her window and call her on the cellphone so she can see us and we can see her.
Q: Reading recommendations?
A: I just finished a book called “The Illegal” by Lawrence Hill. I meant to read that a long time ago and never got through it. And then there’s another one that I really like called “Where the Wind Leads” by Dinah Chung. Again, I’ve had these stacked up and no chance to read them.
Q: Video recommendations (movies, series etc.)?
A: This is a little embarrassing, but we have quite a few DVDs, and so we’re actually watching them in alphabetical order. We made it through all the As. I think we watched eight over the last four weeks or so. We haven’t yet started the Bs.
Q: Podcast recommendations?
A: I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts and I certainly haven’t over the last four weeks while I’ve been busy with other things. So I can’t recommend anything to people in terms of podcasts.
Q: What message would you like to give the community?
A: Crisis brings out the best in many people, and the worst in a few people.
But I’ve seen the best in so many people. I’ve seen so many different organizations working together to produce PPE or to help seniors or others that are in need. We are going to get through this, there’s no question about that. And I think we’ll be stronger as a result of it. But, in the interim, we need to practice social distancing and keep our hands clean, our minds clear, and our hearts compassionate. I think if we do those things, we’re going to make it through OK.