Week 2 of the quarantine

WE are into the second week of the enhanced community quarantine, a lockdown.

I have made myself a schedule. It begins with exercise (one hour walk around the driveway before breakfast) and then addressing what needs to be done in the house. For me, it is primarily decluttering. It took me three days, but I have cleared my desk and have now taken on the rest. These were folders full of papers of my days as a National Museum trustee (for eight years) and current member of the Subcommittee on Fibers of the Department of Agriculture, plus another welter of papers from various boards I am involved with. Too much paper, which I have turned to either paper for the printer or scratch paper, and done away with the piles of folders and envelopes they were in.

Aside from paper, I have also cleared all kinds of items — Christmas gifts not yet put in place to be useful, purchases of handwoven cloth from my textile advocacy, books and magazines galore, and long out- of- sight photographs. I am making a dent using imaginative storage solutions or outright decisions to put them to use. The photographs are echoes of the past. One photograph in an envelope with the name of a friend pictures eight women in a garden party, all in a row, looking at my camera. The friend for whom it was intended is at one end next to another one. They are the only two alive, the other six have departed to the other world. It makes one think.

I have placed the books scattered about on my somewhat extensive bookshelves around the house, but have realized they are no longer that extensive. It will soon be time to make book donations to libraries or secondhand bookstores. Work on decluttering is still ongoing and if the quarantine ends in a few weeks, I may run out of time.

I have been addressing the garden, too. It is the beginning of summer and we are only watering the essential plants, not the grass or trees. So, things are turning brown. Birds are always around here, but these days they are very vocally around with the silence of the quarantine. Orioles whistling, kingfishers uttering guttural calls and sparrows joining in with chattering sounds. It was amusing to see a kingfisher dive into the pool to drink several times one afternoon. I have always suspected that they have a nest somewhere in my garden. When dogs go near a certain corner they fly about and once or twice get on a dog to peck him as punishment.

We have been able to do weekly marketing, going to the grocery and even the ATM, in brief sorties out of the house only when necessary. The (village) has given a quarantine pass for each house. When the ( village councilor) brought them over late one afternoon for our residents’ association, he looked exhausted. I asked him how they, the barangay officials, were doing and he said they never had so much work and had their hands full chasing quarantine scofflaws. They, too, are heroes. Let us not forget them.

And,speaking of public officials, I wish we could forget the shenanigans of our politicos, from capturing coronavirus test kits that are scarce and needed for those who show symptoms to making spectacles of themselves in masks playacting as medical personnel to be considered heroes for going to office, which is their duty. Please spare us your undistinguished, stupid and self-serving public presence in this time of crisis. Let us press DELETE when they pop up.

I have managed at 2 p.m. daily to tune in to Pope Francis live as he celebrates Mass at the Casa Sta. Marta in Rome (8 a.m. there). Just him at the altar, three priests and about three nuns in the room as the congregation. No flowers on the altar, just a few plants around the room and Lenten purple vestments. Plain and simple rite. He starts by giving his intention for the Mass — people ill with the coronavirus currently ravaging Italy and the world one day; the next day for the health workers coping with the pandemic; the third day for the priests and nuns involved in caring for the sick, especially the ones who have lost their lives in the process; and today for the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, whose vocation is to care for the sick. Their hands are full in these times. His homily is always short, simple and on target with the gospel or reading of the day. I look forward to it daily. The Pope does not try to impress, he tries to connect, understand and counsel.

I actually have to make time for reflection, as my schedule keeps me busy. But in the evening after the news or the occasional movie on television, when I resume my diary from 2016 and neglected till now, I can think. By writing down the day’s events one can reflect and meditate during and afterward on the more essential elements of existence, life’s chapters and one’s place in the universe. This is the universe of now, our time.

Meanwhile, it is also part of the meditation to think of others, those out there keeping us safe and viable — the medical personnel; local government workers; sanitation and utility workers; policemen; and grocery, bank and pharmacy staffers, among so many others. And doing what we can for them..

Looking forward to the next few weeks as we unite in spirit and prayer under the shadow of the coronavirus.