Returning to “normal” in New Mexico has been like awakening from a long-held dream: the masks come off, revealing faces I had never before glimpsed; tactility and motion reemerge, acquainting me with senses I had forgotten. Prior to this dream, there was a dream in which I seemed to be an entirely different person; between… Continue reading Dragged through the tunnel blind: Coronavirus and a rejoinder with faith
Category: essays
A puff of chalk
The other day, I was at the climbing gym when a man rushed by me, slammed down a large bag of chalk on the floor, and hurried on and disappeared from sight. I was standing on the backside of the bouldering structure when this happened, and I realized that the man had done it in… Continue reading A puff of chalk
The college years
One of my earliest memories of college involves showing my freshman year roommate what I had smuggled into the building on move-in day. Among my possessions, my parents and I had trucked in a pair of blue, plasticine beanbags, and it was after my parents left that I picked up one of the beanbags and… Continue reading The college years
Hypocrisy
A hushed glance as a dollar bill is passed beneath a glass barrier, still taken as payment. A bump on the elbow for some, a fist bump for others, for others yet a brazen hug. Sometimes doing things like going to the gym, while other times deeming such activities dangerous. Crowds being maskless at some… Continue reading Hypocrisy
The five stages of grief and the pandemic
I have been thinking about Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief as they pertain to the pandemic. When I think of the first stage,** anger, the behaviors that come to mind include researching conspiracy theories, protesting lockdown, and refusing to wear a mask. I have engaged in some of these behaviors myself, mostly toward the start… Continue reading The five stages of grief and the pandemic
Jackson Holzberg Buckley 