Positive stories amid a pandemic

DEAR ANNIE ANNIE LANE

Dear Annie: You asked us to send you positive stories in the midst of the pandemic. I work at a newspaper in Findlay, Ohio. I have been writing “positive” stories about how people are responding.

I wrote about a man who owns a coffee shop. He wanted to do something for children who would not be getting a meal at school, so he began providing Lunches of Love for anyone who might need it.

I wrote about a woman who celebrated her 100th birthday. Her family couldn’t have a party for her. Instead, they organized a drive-by birthday parade. She was delighted!

And then there was the story about the man who was furloughed from his job. He and his girlfriend, who are also musicians, decided to livestream concerts, sending tips to area food banks.

There have been so many stories about the good things that I am having trouble keeping up with them all! Every cloud does have a silver lining.

— Reporter From Findlay

Dear Reporter From Findlay: Thank you for these wonderful stories of love and warmth. We may be quarantined, but the human spirit of giving and kindness cannot be detained. Great reporting!

Dear Annie: Our usual 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Sunday services are combined into one 9:00 a.m. service online. Despite difficulties, positives have emerged.

Our 8 o’clockers and 10 o’clockers are connecting in ways that never happened before, as our rector includes chat time both before and after the service. One 8:00 a.m. service couple realized how few people they knew from the 10 o’clock service. This gave them the idea of creating an updated pictorial directory — a big job, but they offered to oversee it.

— Silver Linings

Dear Silver Linings: How wonderful that strangers of the same church are now becoming friends. It is an opportunity for them to connect and share with one another outside of worship times as well. Sounds like you have a wise rector, too.

Dear Annie: We have moved our large-screen Mac computer into our dining room. There are thousands of photos on it, going back probably 25 years, and we have various external hard drives full of more photos.

So every evening, we sit whilst dinner is cooking and scroll through these pictures. And when we find one we want to tell a story about, we keep it on the screen and have a good laugh, or say whatever memory that particular photo brings to us.

We also order books online or get electronic downloads from our local libraries.

Also remember that we can get on the phone or email with family and friends a lot more than we do in virusless times.

— Photos Tell a Story

Dear Photos Tell a Story: Your suggestion is a lovely way to relive positive memories and transport oneself to a special time and place.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com. To find out more about Annie Lane visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com.