by Joe Courter
Here we are in our holding pattern. So much of the last Iguana is still quite relevant, so if you didn’t see it you can find it at the website www.gainesvilleiguana.org.
Please support our advertisers; some are still open to serve you, others like Flashbacks and Third House have had to wait out the shut-down. (You can still order books through Third House, though.)
Our live music hosts like Hardback Cafe, Atlantic, Boca Fiesta’s Backyard and Looseys are silent, and the musicians who enrich our lives limited to lonely streamed “shows.” Try and find these shows and make donations or buy their music.
If you want to see your favorite local businesses still in business when we open back up, show them some love and make donations, order out and be sure to tip.
We hope you are coping well, our lives are so varied these days. Some people are still at work, but from home. Some have to deal with kids being out of school and around the house. Some are out of work and trying to figure out what to do next.
People with families or partners are in closer proximity than they’d wish. Some are on their own without much human touch at all. All of us are dealing with the necessary frustrations of masking for the social good when out in stores, meaning traded smiles are a thing of the past, the vibe being much more tense as we distance ourselves.
This is a time where we need to reach out to others, check in on friends and even those we have not spoken to in a long time. It does them and ourselves good to remind ourselves that our human connections are still there.
It is also a time where we need to get outside and get exercise of whatever sort you enjoy. I have noticed this extra need in myself, as life these days has a tension, a stress built into it, and that needs to be released somehow.
I am a pretty well-grounded and well-adjusted person, not a person who has to contend with personal issues like depression, financial insecurities, or interpersonal issues from family, work or living situation, yet I am increasingly finding this a difficult time.
As time passes this will not get easier, and I am sure will push some people to their coping limits. If it is getting to you, reach out, please.