Area adjusting to changes in homelife, work

With the COVID‑19 pandemic upending normal routines of homelife and work, classrooms and more, Downeast residents are coming up with new ways to socialize, work, learn and see the special in the everyday.

Windows become portals of friendship
Sometimes windows are a person's best friend. Lubec resident Roger Quirk recounts that a dear friend at Marshall Healthcare Facility in Machias was feeling a bit down with no visitors allowed. Quirk grabbed his cell phone, got in his car and drove down for a window visit. He and his friend, Jim Bezanson, stood on opposites sides of the nursing home window while they talked on the phone. "It worked like a charm," Quirk says. "We had a wonderful face‑to‑face conversation, traded a joke or two, and we both felt better." He adds, "Keep this in mind if there's someone at a nursing facility who needs a bit of company."
While phone calls and window visits will work for some, nursing home and assisted-living facility residents with dementia and Alzheimer's could find the effort confusing and upsetting. Mike Bridges from Lubec, who plays under the name Wilburr Would II, has periodically played guitar at Marshall Healthcare. Recently he sat outside the facility, with some distance between him and the building, and played to the delight of many inside and a few nearby residents.
Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Director Sharon Kiley Mack decided to self‑quarantine when she returned from a trip visiting a friend in Brunswick. "I went down to visit my best friend before there were any cases in Maine. We went to the movies, to restaurants. Then Maine had its first case." She ended her visit and came right back to her home in Machias. Her extended family lives next door, adored grandchildren included, so her concern was doubled by their proximity.
It turns out that they've all figured out how to send kisses and hugs through a big window at Mack's house. And it's not just the grandchildren. The oil delivery man and the mail carrier all wave and shout greetings. With her nickname of Queenie, "They're calling it 'Queenie's drive‑up window,'" Mack says with a laugh. "I love it. People come up to the window and talk and it's like normal," or a new normal.
On St. Patrick's Day her granddaughters followed the annual Irish custom of leaving cake for the queen of the fairies on a nearby hawthorn tree. It was Mack's first year of not joining them as she watched from the window. In the pouring rain, her granddaughters came over, stood under the porch overhang and blew her kisses through the glass before heading off to bed.
Mack is almost done with her self‑quarantine and is glad to report that she and her Brunswick friend show no sign of symptoms.

Rescue pup offers a lesson
Peanut was a street dog from Puerto Rico who was at the Ark Animal Shelter in Cherryfield for adoption. Because his anxiety was high, he was passed over by potential adopters. However, when Lubec resident Sherry Ashby and her son Quinn arrived at the shelter about a month ago, "Quinn was pretty insistent that we pay him some mind," says Ashby. "We brought him home, and the shelter staff warned us it might take a good long while for him to come out of his shell and that he would hide a lot under couches and what not. Well that never happened. He slept in Quinn's arms on the way home and has yet to leave his side."
Peanut has figured out that Quinn's mother is part of the pack, too. His street dog tendencies still come out when hand‑fed treats, acting like he might get swatted. But Peanut is learning quickly. "He is loved here and now ever so gently takes the treat from my hand. He knows 'sit,' is house trained, walks brilliantly on a leash, rarely barks and loves car rides. The shelter staff's biggest fear was that he would run off when not on a leash, but he is Quinn's shadow and very safely runs free in the yard as Quinn does his chores or plays ball."
Lately Ashby has been discovering a piece of kibble placed on the floor by her bed, on her pillow or where she leaves her coffee cup. Her son Quinn says Peanut has been bringing him food treats like this for a while now.
Ashby finds the lesson from Peanut profound. "This li'l creature that has never known food security till now shares so lovingly with his pack." She adds, "Take care of your pack. Blessed we are in this journey and the joy it brings and the eyes and heart to see it."

Turning to virtual shows
The Eastport Arts Center (EAC) is creating a virtual show of its annual Youth Art Month Exhibition, which involves area schools and their student artwork. "It was a wonderful idea of Lauren's [Koss] to put it online and get it out there," says Eastport resident and show founder Cynthia Morse.
Koss, the EAC publicity director, is excited to try the new format. It won't just be the virtual gallery of the student artwork. She's also working on creating blog posts about the show with individual stories about artworks and the students behind them. "I'm dreaming of doing some video interviews," she adds, but will see if that's possible during this time of social distancing. "The idea is that the show won't be static," she explains. While the online show will remain the same, the addition of new posts will add to the virtual visitor's experience.
Morse shares an anecdote about a third grader from a past show that illustrates why she does the show. "The art teacher had selected all the work from her school by pulling students' names from a hat. This little boy came to the exhibit with at least 15 relatives, his parents, grandparents, siblings and more. He was so excited and proud of himself that he could hardly contain himself. He was jumping up and down in front of his work while each family member was photographed with him. I am sure that he will never forgot being included in the exhibit and going to the reception."
Morse is hoping to reschedule the canceled March reception in May.

Business life in new times
Businesses are grappling with how to navigate temporary closures or serving customers in new ways. Suggestions for ways to help include purchasing gift certificates from businesses to use later and to check websites to see if curb‑side pick‑up, delivery and take‑out options have been developed.
Over in Quoddy Village, the Bazaar gift shop, owned by David Oja, is coming up with ways to reach out to customers. He reports that the Bazaar will be taking orders for wine and cheese and other goodies the store has to offer through e-mail or text for his customers' convenience. Oja arranges pick‑up times at the Bazaar. He adds that customers should stay in their car in his store's parking area, and he will bring the order out. More information is available on his social media page.
Julie Barker of Helen's Restaurant in Machias had as of March 19 emptied the restaurant's refrigerator of all perishables for staff and their families. She says that closing the restaurant has brought back emotions from when the restaurant burned in 2014. "That is an unpleasant surprise. We are going from one extreme to the other, whether this is temporary or long‑term, serious or blown out of proportion. Regardless of the extremes, we feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to our families, our Helen's family and our community to do the right thing. Doing the right thing, however, is very costly, and we cannot imagine what the long‑term effects will be of COVID‑19."
Some restaurants are thinking about how to provide take‑out while keeping staff and customers safe with social distancing. In Calais, Crumbs Café & Bakery had already been offering a weekly take‑home meal but is ramping it up with more availability, curbside pick‑up and free delivery to seniors. Information is available on its social media page and website.

Living at home for educators and caring for seniors
Fort O'Brien Elementary School teacher and Machiasport resident Dawn Laoureux‑Crocker has not encountered too much hardship so far. "Fortunately, being a 'semi‑prepper' and homesteader, the only issue I encountered was needing to go to the store for more dog food. Otherwise I have a 30 to 60 day system that has thus far worked seamlessly."
However, as a teacher Laoureux‑Crocker has found the impact more difficult. Her curriculum is hands‑on learning, which makes the transition to learning at home more difficult for her students and their parents. "I'm trying to alleviate that with more outside activities and encouraging family time while everyone is stuck at home together. My biggest concern has been the very obvious distress and anxiety I see in the staff, parents and the children. Their lives have changed practically overnight, and they find themselves navigating a world they've never encountered before." Her best advice to those feeling panic has been so far "to follow all Centers for Disease Control and government recommendations and just stay put, love your children, turn off the TV and reach out to your family, neighbors or myself if they are in need of anything, even just a FaceTime chat."
Beyond her own home and classroom life, she has broader concerns. "We are still in the beginning stages of this situation, and I believe the longer our situation continues the more unrest we may see in our community. My biggest concerns are for our seniors and how do we set up a system to check on them. Is that being addressed?"
Victoria Boone, a senior at University of Maine at Machias (UMM), who is staying at home in Pembroke to finish out her school year before graduating in May, was concerned about elders as well. She saw a post on social media by some of her peers offering to help with buying groceries for elders who are home‑bound, worried about going to the store for fear of infection or who can no longer drive. Her current work is with individuals of all ages with disabilities, and she understands how vulnerable community members can become without the right support. "Giving back to my community is important to me," she adds. She has a car and can get groceries for those seniors living in Pembroke, Perry and Eastport. Many are sharing in the same concern and desire to help, with social networking being the preferred means of getting the word out for now.
Alan Kryszak, a part‑time teacher with the UMM creative arts faculty, noticed that a few of his students had to stay in the dorms "and seem to be getting over the initial shock of suddenly living in a 'ghost dorm.'" He teaches online courses in film and music, so his students have had little disruption in their coursework with him. He keeps in constant online contact. However, he says, "I have to get inventive with my piano students. I'm working with a budding songwriter originally from the Congo. She is sending me voice memos from her iPhone, with her amazing singing voice tuned to gospel. I am sending her notated music notes, so she can have the tools to write down her own songs in the future."

Thinking for the long‑haul
Betsy Fitzgerald, Washington County manager, has the county's well‑being closely on her mind. "I think it is the social distancing piece that concerns me the most," Fitzgerald says. "We are a small county, and our social interactions are a large part of our lives; having to restrict that is uncomfortable, frustrating and maddening to the point that some people might ignore the possibility they would be exposing themselves to the virus and then carry it along to everyone with whom they come in contact. People are not yet cranky, but that will come sooner than we might expect."
Fitzgerald adds, "I am not at all convinced that this quarantine will be over in two weeks. I think we are looking at a month, and I choose not to be too pessimistic in thinking beyond that right now. I cannot imagine trying to teach school right now." She adds, "Trying to run a business has its own set of challenges. I do know of a couple of people who were planning to start new businesses and are holding off until the economic picture is a little clearer."