How is the virus affecting you as a creative?
I am 63 years old. About 15 years ago, I started to live my life 180 degrees differently than I ever had. Always the social butterfly and active participant, I became aware over time that I found a great deal of satisfaction in just staying home. My wife and I have a house in a fairly rural area of Rhode Island, USA. Not many spots of Rhode Island are "Green Acres" but we do have sheep across the street and have had chickens next door. We have a ranch that has plenty of room for us inside; I can even have a writing office, and an acre of yard out back and a good amount in front too, away from the road. Life here is quiet, often silent, stress-free and very happy.
I already eschew most crowded or social gatherings, even of family, much to their chagrin. I don't get the rush others get anymore out of so called "parties" or events. I lived through the sixties and seventies where partying was an exciting and ever burgeoning cannon blast of hormones, alcohol and drugs. 'Sitting on the sofa with a sister or two' does not cut it for me, in fact, on the other end of the scale I prefer absolutely intimacy, being alone with one to three individuals with whom I can be myself, relax, sip and philosophize. Small talk is not my strong suit.
Ergo, when this Covid pandemic hit in our year 2020, I was primed and ready for what I have done, staying home! I have now spent four months, as of this writing, in my humble estate, lol. Some small evenings out to eat and have few cocktails have turned to ordering out sparsely, and I have only done a few of those runs, mask firmly in place and vendors void of people. Movies at the theater once a week are covered by Streaming TV. So there has been almost no radical change for me with this quarantined isolation.
When I used to go out, I would always seek alternative routes to the trafficked ones. I have all my tricks and roads planned that avoid people. You see people, in the current climate of our country, have turned into monsters when they are determined to get somewhere. They will run you down with their vehicles, not obey the rules of the road, and honk their horns if you pause for a second to think or look. When I was young, I saw this behavior only in the crowded streets of Manhattan when I would visit. People have all become some sort of time addicts, who must move from irrelevant task to task at the speed of light.
It was fortunate for me as a writer that the internet came along when it did, because I may look into and read about the subjects that interest me without being part of the everyday schoolyard immaturity that permeates our current media.
In short, I was perfectly positioned when the pandemic hit to continue my writing schedule and pursuing my career I have read of many friends and peers, a lot of the good people still out there, who have been dried up or unable to continue their writing through this frightening time. I am fortunate. I know that for whatever reason I have been able to not only widen my writing career during this time, but also flourish and thrive. I consider it a blessing, but I have always been an extremely patient and 'realistic expectations' sort of fellow. I am poised to continue and wait out the VIRUS for the long haul.
~Richard Alan Scott~
Words Left Behind is part of the Pandemic Archive Project. The archive seeks to save the work of creatives who are currently affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic and how they are coping with it. These images and words are being compiled for future generations in hopes that they can learn from our mistakes and understand how the creative process interacts with crises situations.
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