It was 4 years in the past in the present day that Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all Californians to remain at house to forestall the unfold of the brand new coronavirus. For many individuals, the drastic transfer was the second the pandemic grew to become actually, terribly actual.
Since Covid has killed greater than 1.18 million folks throughout the nation, and the virus continues to flow into. On the peak of the latest improve in January, 2,400 folks died of the illness each week. For a lot of Individuals, the pandemic has completely modified lives, as my colleague Julie Bosman wrote just lately.
Not all of these modifications have been for the more serious. Readers have just lately written to me about pandemic silver linings – ways in which regardless of all of the tragedy, Covid has introduced one thing unexpectedly constructive into their lives. These tales of reconnecting with faraway associates, taking on new hobbies or slowing down for the higher had been touching. Because of everybody who despatched it.
Be happy to electronic mail your individual pandemic silver story to CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please embody your full identify and the town the place you reside.
Listed below are some, barely edited:
“My grown son, who lives in Los Angeles, packed up his distant work instruments and joined our household in Escondido. His sister, who had already deliberate a brief transfer whereas transforming her house , she packed her husband, two kids and two canine and moved into our home. That is the place all of us rode the primary months of the pandemic. Three months. We by no means had that within the instances earlier than. — Gretchen Pelletier, Escondido
“I’m an autistic grownup residing in a society that’s not designed for me. It was good that the world slowed right down to a tempo that was comfy. I additionally beloved instructing distance studying with my grownup ESL [English as a second language] college students Though I’m required to show in individual once more, the strategies I exploit to information college students have made me a greater blended hybrid instructor now.” — Robert B. Gomez, Salinas
“My spouse, Gloria, and I began strolling in our neighborhood for the well being advantages. We’d meet neighbors of their entrance yards whereas they had been sitting or simply getting out of the home for some recent air. Till then, an annual neighborhood potluck held within the fall is likely to be the one time we acquired collectively. However earlier than lengthy, we acquired to know one another effectively sufficient to share about birthday celebrations and job promotions, amongst different abnormal issues and extraordinary. By the point the Covid restrictions had been lifted, our sense of group had grown exponentially. You usually hear that it takes a village to lift a toddler. Apparently it took a pandemic to lift a group “. — Louie Vega, Bakersfield
“Zoom is a godsend. Now that driving at evening is a problem, I can nonetheless attend conferences and meditation teams from Zoom. If it hadn't been for the pandemic, I might by no means have found this simple technique to keep related and concerned “. — Patti Breitman, Fairfax
“My accomplice of greater than 40 years and I lead an unbiased life whereas outdoors our house. When the blockade occurred, we weren’t used to spending a lot time collectively. She was residing with an aggressive lung most cancers. The extreme time collectively between March and July 2020, when she died, it was an enormous present that we’d by no means have been given if it had not been pressured upon us. I’m grateful for it to this present day.” — Debra Resnik, San Francisco
inform us
We've been compiling our California soundtrack for years and have captured a lot of the hits. What track do you suppose ought to be added?
Inform us at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please embody your identify, the town you reside in and some sentences about why you suppose your track deserves to be included.
And earlier than we go, some excellent news
4 sea lion cubs had been launched into the ocean off Los Angeles this month after months of rehabilitation, The Sacramento Bee reviews.
The ocean lions had been launched on Charlie Seaside in Marina del Rey on March 5, drawing a crowd of greater than 100 spectators who cheered because the animals made their manner from shore to their house within the ocean.
Three of the ocean lions had been born final summer season throughout a interval when poisonous algal blooms had been spreading quickly off the coast of Southern California, killing a whole bunch of sea lions, in addition to different sea creatures.
The cubs had been discovered on seashores in Malibu, Playa del Rey and Catalina Island, malnourished and separated from their moms. They had been rescued by the Marine Mammal Care Heart, a non-profit marine animal hospital, whose workers nursed the animals again to well being. A video of the discharge posted on Fb reveals the 4 sea lions slithering throughout the seashore into the water.
