PORTFOLIO

TINSEL TOWN TO GHOST TOWN

PANIC

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

PAUSE

NECESSITY

GRATITUDE

ART SILENCED

HALTED

REALITY CHECK

AM I SAFE?

REBELLION

MOVING FORWARD

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PORTFOLIO

Covid-19

By Suzanne Gagnier

The mystery of our future.

The uncertainty. A time of reflection for all.

Remember the old cliché, "I walked to school five miles in the snow. You kids have it great!”

And we did.

That was back when I was a child, however, I am sure throughout history every parent has spoken of a lesson learned from their past.

Trying to give insight as to the difficulties they had endured and how much easier it is today.

The Baby Boomers have experienced many decades of change.

I remember when there were no color TV's. No fax machines. Rotary dial phones. Pay phones for a dime. Collect calls. Carrying books in your

hands, or just riding your bike home before it got dark.

After all, there were no cell phone, GPS, just kids playing in their yards or at a friend’s house.

Imagination did all the work. Only a few Network Stations to watch on TV. The Ed Sullivan Show, Disney Channel on Sunday nights … and many shows that are still playing on selective channels. For us, it was simple shows with simple messages. Simple times.

Times have changed drastically over the last forty years. The computer came into consumers reach in 1977. And then things really took off! It went from fax machines and pagers to mobile phones. And now it’s Robots, Lasers, Drones, Bullet Trains, Trips to Mars, and everything else heading into the future.

Anxiety could be created from being lost. Anxiety can be created from just about anything. From our GMO food chain to Gluten Free, Organic, Vegan and so on. Whom do we trust? Media, politicians, ministers, parents?

Or, perhaps just God

How interesting that we have gone from one income households back then to two-income households. Some people have two jobs and are still trying to be there for their children and their families. Walking through this world in exhaustion.

Now, here comes COVID-19. Shutting down everything that made people feel safe and secure. Our normal everyday lives shifted in a moment. Health, jobs, money, food, and every outside business other than the essentials to live. So, we thought.

I find the current Covid-19 experience to be a TIME OF REFLECTION. Quality with my family while being quarantined. A time to hold the hands of our dearest friends and neighbors…

Our world has changed, and many feel uncertain of the outcome. However, now is the time for our imagination to work in positive ways. History is a building block for the future. In our past, camaraderie was essential for us to live. And it is today. And now, our newfound communication through the pandemic and social distancing brings us together through a virtual connection.

It is interesting to see how much more personal these connections have become. Entertainers on television from their homes with family. Zoom meetings and Facetime visits from anywhere. In essence, we have become more authentic

For now, Social Distancing is the norm. All for the purpose of protecting others and ourselves. Let's go deeper. Let us take a look at our own personal behavior. How we communicate. Are we doing our part in this world to make it about living and love? After all, our mortality has been put on the fence now by COVID. How can we improve our lives today? For our future, and the future of the ones we love? Why have people not been this afraid of the flu, which kills tens of thousands per year?

I am curious, I want to understand. I want to know! Will we ever really know what is going on?

Well. Put down your phone. Turn off your television. Look into the eyes of your children, family, and friends. Take a walk outside and breathe the clean air our Mother Nature has given back. Let's observe how Mother Earth is cleansing herself from misuse by the human race. How the birds and wildlife are spending time in their habitat, just playing and living. A simple life.

Recognize how this time in our lives has changed the entire world. See how the innocence of a child playing in the water can bring us back to our own youth. Look up at a tree as it stands tall, enjoy the birds, the flowers and plants. Laugh, have fun. Play games. Have AWARENESS—where you are and who you are. We are alive and can make this world better by taking responsibility with how we move forward with all we have witnessed. Look for the Magic and be your best you.

These photographs were taken during the Covid-19 Pandemic—showing the interesting duality of our nature and this time in history. The fear and the joy.

—Suzanne Gagnier is an essayist and photographer who contributes to The Neworld Review.

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Kara's Mask

Tent City

Closed

Nobodys Driving

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PORTFOLIO

By Kara Fox

The world zigzags from the familiar to the unfamiliar. A virus arrives, a pandemic, indiscriminately infecting and killing. To date there is no cure or preventative. It is this new unknown, its unpredictability, scaring me most. While I shelter in place I move from horror to curiosity. Taking photographs in concert with the emotions we share softens my concerns. I want to remember things as they were while I adapt to this new world. That being said, I am showing you, wonderful readers of NEWORLDREVIEW, my new momentary norm.

— Kara Fox regularly contributes photographs and commentary for The Neworld Review.

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