MULTIPLE PERILS: COVID-19 AND INEVITABLE/HARMFUL EVICTIONS

A series of essays....

BEING EVICTED FROM YOUR HOME WILL
LEAVE LIFELONG SCARS ON YOUR MIND, HEART & SOUL!

Courtesy John Moore/Getty Images

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

During a conversation with one of Kalamazoo’s City Commissioners last Thursday, while discussing a grave problem that has plagued our vital, little neighborhood for months now and isn’t going away, soon...I was taken aback by a simple statement he made: “Our offices are going to become quite busy in the coming months as we address the real concerns of those who might (will) be evicted from their homes.”

Instantly, my breath was stifled under my black, triple-filtered mask...more so than usual. I realized that in my attempt to help correct one problem, I’d completely ignored another; a calamity brought about by the inevitable onslaught of a seemingly uncontrollable virus that has given birth to a domino effect that haunts each of us, one way or another.

This ‘Trump Show’ began in earnest back on January 20, 2017, when good men such as Congressman John Lewis understood and refused to personally advance it by calling Trump an “illegitimate president” and declined to attend his inauguration and, subsequently, his State of the Union Address.

PORTRAIT OF JOHN LEWIS AND BARACK OBAMA BY DAN LACEY

Trump, a vindictive and illiterate man, has lied his way into our lives. Unexpectedly finding himself in the White House, his priorities soon became clear: benefit himself financially by any means possible; lie, cheat, and cahoot with anyone, including foreign dictators, in order to serve his own cause; turn against and demean anybody who fails to agree with or challenges him privately or publicly; use his status to breakdown a democratic system that past presidents have rightfully preserved as the backbone of this great nation, and, finally, to quench his desire to totally discredit and wipe-out any good deed, law, or benefit to the people that was initiated or brought to fruition by our previous president, Barack Obama. 

Completely oblivious to any form of code of conduct and lacking a moral compass, this man blighted us with, not only, an apparent lack of education when it comes to basic, high school level, U.S. Government knowledge, but subsequently displayed his unwillingness to learn it as a sitting president. 

Due to this cavalier attitude, we the people have suffered enormous wrongs, which include: minimizing clean air and water quality; drilling for oil and gold and hunting wildlife within our National Parks; the discovery that Putin had placed bounties on the heads of American troops; the incarceration of children along our southern border; the denial of a worldwide deadly virus and failure to appropriately issue assistance via PPE, testing, and sound virus strategies as the virus spread from state to state, as well as the unconscionable price we have paid for his failures in the midst of this pandemic including the closure of small businesses, loss of jobs, the enabling of personal mental health instability, and the unnecessary loss of so many American lives.

And, this is strictly a ‘short list.’

Congress approved a bill to provide $600-per-week towards unemployment insurance for those losing their jobs due to the pandemic which has, ultimately, kept the economy stronger than anyone had the right to hope for. The unemployed have been able to pay their rent and/or house payment, purchase food for their family, and pay their bills.

And now, as this important ‘virus relief’ has officially expired and has not been renewed, the talks slog on with millions of people still out of work. Employment, especially minimum wage jobs, are unavailable due to the consequences of the pandemic and financial futures remain unprotected and frightening. 

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DURING A PANDEMIC?

Courtesy of FIT

Progress is slow as the urgency grows on virus relief talks. If the weak Republican proposal is signed and benefits are downgraded to $200-per-week, the compensation will not be enough to keep these families in good stead towards running even a minimal life style or provide protection from banks and landlords who hold jurisdiction over retaining a roof over their heads. 

We’ve been here before and not so very long ago. The extreme struggles many of us were made to endure in 2008 are now lurking around the corner, again. The psychological ramifications from having no control over your life is tantamount to having a battering ram threaten to smash in your skull every minute of the day. You can never stop thinking about it and it is certain to take its physical toll on you in due time.

So, when our friend from the City of Kalamazoo reminded us of the inevitable outcome initiated by the government dragging its feet and allowing for hardworking people to lose their homes, my heart skipped a beat. He explained how he, as a City Commissioner, will be one member of our local government who must appropriately handle the calls and text messages filled with emotional complaints and desperate pleas made by desperate citizens living in our area of the State of Michigan in the next few months. Tears fill my eyes as I can already hear these frantic voices cry out and employ any means possible in order to cling to their dreams; cling to the American Dream they have strived for, secured (for the most part) and now stand to lose.

I have labeled one consequence of this sad, repetitive situation as ‘inevitable evictions’ for a reason. The current administration has been notorious for breaking down the little guy, the middle class, the working poor, for nearly four years by way of taking away any means possible towards making life more viable, healthy, and profitable for them. For now, the pandemic has afforded this administration the means to justify their actions. 

The protection of fundamental human rights should be the primary objective for supporting democracy and its principles. As our government and all of its elected participants continue talks on virus relief this week, we can only hope that a timely and suitable outcome is achieved before people find themselves living out of their automobiles or stretching the fabric of health and wellbeing by having to move into a relative’s home. I do not see evictions as a feasible, emergency plan for riding out this financial storm during a deadly pandemic.

EVICTING FAMILIES FROM THEIR HOMES IN THE MIDDLE OF A
PANDEMIC IS CRUEL AND DANGEROUS.

Courtesy Getty Images

How does one conform to the plausible advice of our public health officials and governors who call for ‘staying home practices’ during this health crisis if people have no place to call home anymore?

We the people need to get a grip on how much we have lost and how much more we stand to lose. In a time when coronavirus heroes, nurses and all healthcare workers, are getting tossed from their homes by landlords who fear they may bring the coronavirus home with them, there is much to fear on both sides of our current situation. I pray we find some common ground when handling our lives and dealing with others from here on out by means of common sense and intelligence thinking, if nothing else.

Reality is that ‘The Heroes Act,’ proposed almost three months ago and immediately passed by the Congress, has waited all this time to gain a reaction from the Upper Chamber led by Mitch McConnell who continues to drag his feet and delay forward momentum. If this non-action continues, it will surely be considered a formula for further disaster.

IF YOU CAN’T PAY YOUR HOUSE PAYMENT OR RENT DURING THE
CORONAVIRUS CATASTROPHE, LET’S HOPE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
WILL HAVE YOUR BACK...

Courtesy Flickr

Stay safe. Stay healthy. If you are not already, please register to vote. VOTE IN NOVEMBER! OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

          

WHY WE CAN’T WAIT: FIST SALUTES AND A MILLION TEARS

A series of essays....

THE RAISED FIST IS A SYMBOL OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT AND
USED AS A SALUTE TO EXPRESS UNITY, STRENGTH, DEFIANCE, OR RESISTANCE.

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

“Three hundred years of humiliation, abuse, and deprivation cannot be expected to find voice in a whisper.”  —Martin Luther King, Jr.

An excerpt from his 1963 book entitled, ‘Why We Can’t Wait.‘

Everyday is a crisis within the current presidency. And, like small children awaiting the ultimate joy of Christmas morning, we are tucked into bed each night with the wonder of what we’ll have to face next when the morning’s light awakens us to another day, another challenge. In the meantime, we understand that our prospective joy will be measured this November by the outcome of one of the most important elections this country has held (one we will have to fight for) in a very long time.

It’s been one hell of a past ten days for all of us. A broad mixture of emotions are running through me down into my very soul: fear, disgust, mild depression, the loss of innocence, and anger all swirl within my core and continue to haunt my thoughts, my entire being. My skin is being plagued by itchy hives that were first thought to be bug bites. I know better now. I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat it: I am frightened out of my wits!

We had been trying so hard and with all the best intentions to do something right for several months now with wearing our masks, social distancing, isolation...only to be sabotaged by four men in uniform. A choke hold lasting almost nine minutes but reopening a world of hate and denial that’s been going on for hundreds of years. My gut reaction upon seeing the video of George Floyd’s murder for the first time was, “This man has just been lynched in public right on the streets of Minneapolis!” Four men in blue uniforms effectively placed a noose around George Floyd’s neck in broad daylight and took his breath away forever.

“I can’t breathe.”

— George Floyd as his life was passing away 

What does this mean for the rest of us? Are nationwide protests part of the answer? Yes! We can’t wait or place denial in our path any longer. Peaceful demonstrations allow us to be heard in large numbers and in solidarity. This is very important right now, as is throwing down the gauntlet and openly challenging an administration who has consistently bolstered white supremacy, destroyed the written rules meant to protect us, and strongly believes in dictatorship over democracy.

The challenges we are facing are enormous. Most of us don’t have the power of the U.S. military force under our thumbs (thank goodness) to apply towards those with whom we disagree or want to hold in line via brute force. Our alternative is to continue to make our voices heard loud and clear, never giving up, and always keeping our faith in the system. Our ultimate goal of pushing back against the evil that is residing within the hearts of so many is predicated on the belief in good people. Good people, including ourselves, who must prevail over the hatred that is chewing us up inside and relegating the grave health issues of a pandemic we face together on the back burner instead of in the forefront as they should be. Yet another diversionary tactic, among many, used by this administration.

While a black man is being suffocated in the streets in broad daylight, fires burn within cities set by opportunists bent on stirring-up the cauldron of hatred, and innocent people are tear-gassed in order to clear a path of safety for one of the most hate-filled people walking today, it would be appropriate to ask ourselves, “Where is hope these days?” Hope is with all of us, my friends, sitting right there between faith and charity.  Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love), are the Theological Virtues as defined by Saint Paul who has placed Love as the greatest of them all. There shines hope, ever present between our faith in and love for mankind. Hope can be found in our pragmatic youth and future leaders. We must believe in the power of these virtues and keep them active inside of us because they are our ticket to freedom and a better life.

Lightning makes no sound until it strikes.” 

― Martin Luther King Jr., Why We Can't Wait

Just as I believe that the coronavirus represents the transparent display of reaching out to the world in order to recognize and, hopefully, repair many of the faults perpetrated by mankind throughout our history, I believe that weak, hateful people like Donald Trump will always exist. They exist to remind us of what could and will happen if we deny having faith, hope, and love in our lives. He has already been entered into the annals of history alongside the most evil people and events ever witnessed by humankind throughout the course of time itself and has earned this status a hundred times over, at least.

Taking the words from many placards displayed across the television screen within the past several days, “Rest in power, George Floyd,” your name, your purpose, and your message will not be forgotten. Rest in power because the sacrifice of your life and the power of your death is what will carry us through, by the most amicable means possible, and aid us in acquiring the true peace we are lookin for.

It is time for all good women and men to come to the aid of their country. We can’t wait and risk running out of options. We are encouraged to participate in the process. Keep working as hard as possible on it. VOTE. Vote in November no matter what obstacles are thrown in our way. Keep working to make good things happen. Respect one another even if your beliefs in the process don’t always line-up. Nothing worthwhile is obtained easily because there will always be someone or something impeding our progress. If that’s the case, work even harder.

“No Justice, No Peace.”

— Chant of protesters around the world

May all of us take good care of ourselves and strive to remain healthy. The countdown to November 3rd is our reminder that faith, hope, and charity will gracefully guide our way into a stronger, better future. We can’t afford to wait until all hope is lost and there is no turning back. All the world is watching us.

Rest in power, George Floyd. Rest assured that your death was not in vain.

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

IDENTIFYING THE YELLOW TROUT LILLY

A series of essays....

THE YELLOW TROUT LILLY

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Around the time your disillusioned heart was sending messages to the brain declaring total failure, and you recognized a breakdown of all that is good, wholesome, and kind in this world, you were certain that life was beyond hope with nowhere to turn...you happen across the Yellow Trout Lilly. 

She was not only beautiful, but you had absolutely no clue as to how she happened to be there. How long had she been commingling with the lofty periwinkle that thickly blanketed the ground beneath two, large burning bushes? Like two loyal, green soldiers, these bushes have flanked the red brick chimney at the shady, west facing facade of the house for years! You had spent time trying to understand why anyone would plant burning bushes along the deep shadows of your little cottage when it’s understood that the green burning bush requires plenty of sunlight in order to ‘blush’ during the crisp and colorful days of autumn.

So, with the help of your husband, it was decided to rectify the situation and rearrange landscaping that you both had not a single clue as to when or by whom it was planted in the first place. Besides, wouldn’t the physical labor alone be invigorating and ease your mind, momentarily, of the spinning world we live in? Anything can become possible within an incredibly impossible situation. You just have to believe.

Pulling, pushing, digging, and struggling to loosen the main ‘earth root’ of the bush, he, eventually, extracts it from its well-established home only to relocate it to a brighter area along the fence line. Change. Will it survive the move? Only time will tell. And, even if it does, there is absolutely no guarantee that it will decide to ‘blush’ later in the year. But, what have any of you got to lose by trying?

BURNING BUSHES HOPING TO SOAK UP THE PRECIOUS SUNLIGHT

That’s when you first saw her.

As you begin to fill the gaping hole left by the root structure of the burning bush, you see underlying, elongated leaves interspersed with the glossy, green periwinkle kind. Suddenly, you discover the ground is covered in what resembles the markings of military camouflage poking out of the landscape like a school of brown trout weaving their way through an imaginary pond of sparkling green waves that has suddenly appeared along the foundation of the house due to the absence of the bushes. Among the mixed greenery, she stands tall and proud at about six inches above the freshly turned soil.

Invasive. Invasive. Invasive. “Tending to spread widely in a habitat or ecosystem. Tending to intrude or encroach. Of or relating to a disease or condition that has a tendency to spread, especially into healthy tissue,” as explained in the American Heritage Dictionary often used for quick definitions and explanations. Is having an invasive plant such a bad thing? Unless, they are meant to be excluded from a healthy garden of perennial plants that would surely be choked by their existence. 

For you, the Yellow Trout Lilly is meant to be wild and free where she can spread her spotted brown leaves along the ground with wild abandon and produce her shapely yellow flower in early spring; destined to mark the multitude of trails that generously cut pathways throughout the state of Michigan for all to walk along and enjoy. But, it was not expected that she be a part of this landscape. She had not been seen here before now, dwarfed as she was by the green-leafed branches of the burning bushes.

We humans were not meant to live safely among this highly contagious virus that has bounded its way into our unprepared world, invading our lives with its kiss of death as it spreads wildly throughout the land. Like the periwinkle vines or even the burning bushes themselves, the mind can’t help but wander into the invasive world of the Coronavirus that keeps us isolated within our own small, pocket of the universe. Statistics have proven that our isolation is curbing the spread of the virus and working well. Relaxing social distancing behaviors now would be a huge mistake. 

Between your own isolation and the frothed messages created by a disillusioned heart, the mind is foggy, you might say, weakened by the truth. Looking death in the face will haunt your sleep and every waking hour for the rest of your life; even after it’s liquid threat becomes less apparent, your only hope is that enough people do the right thing in a timely manner. 

ONE, TWO, THREE!
SHOWING THREE STAGES OF GROWTH.

YELLOW TROUT LILLY,
HAPPY TO BE SET FREE!

Funny how a deadly virus can invade and change lives so swiftly and yet a petite yellow flower, also categorized as invasive, albeit gradually intrusive, thrive among us without right or permission. How different you both are as you enter our lives for the first time; one to insight panic and fear while the other showers its beauty along the earth like a tiny, living jewel.

Her memorable name becomes your current mantra for all that is good, strong, hopeful, and possible during these long days of isolation and general confusion. Identifying the Yellow Trout Lilly has helped to make life bearable. How fortunate you are to have discovered the power she has to help you coexist with your fears. Nature is a beautiful thing.

Be strong and vigilant. We will get through this...together.

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

ATTITUDES REGARDING SOLITUDE AND CHANGE

A series of essays....

SIGN PAINTED BY ENIGMATIC STREET ARTIST, BANKSY.
BACKED BY VIEW OF LONDON’S FINANCIAL DISTRICT, SOME BELIEVE
HE WAS COMMENTING ON TODAY’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIFFERENCES.

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

As with many of us these days, it is difficult to secure a personal handle on life, let alone continue to grasp how important our solitude is as the flowers begin to bloom, buds pop-out on previously naked branches, and the weather valiantly tries to cooperate and align with the current season.

Waking up this morning I was greeted by a shared video of Le Mont-Saint-Michel with a person filming their solitary walk along the outer path of this tidal island that is generally known for it’s robust tourist trade and the musical laughter of the locals sharing their tiny spaces with others. Having visited this unforgettable place in France, it was eerily quiet now, with the exception of the cries of seagulls and pigeons as they performed aerial maneuvers between ancient stone chimneys accompanied by the ringing bells of the Abbey. The video tells its own story about our current situation with its quiet eeriness and lack of human jubilance and energy. I thanked the videographer for showing us how solitude truly feels in every nook and cranny around the world.

I know a French woman, born in Paris, who has lived in Indiana for many years and has found happiness in her pictures of local entities that remind her of her homeland. Taking seasonal pictures of a particular set of stone garden steps that lead up to a latticed wooden gate and into a secret garden, allows her to breathe in her past, combine it with her present life, and share the beauty of it all with us. I love how she’s combined French charm with Hoosier living...not always an easy thing to do, as spoken by a true Hoosier, born and bred.

THE VIBRANT TIDAL ISLAND OF
MONT SAINT-MICHEL LOCATED OFF THE
NORTHERN COAST OF FRANCE

                   Courtesy of glcheng/Getty Images

By now, many of us have heard how mountain ranges, not seen for decades due to the deep mask of human pollution, are now clearly visible because mankind has, out of necessity of COVID-19, taken a backseat to Mother Nature. The animal kingdom is claiming back the territory that was once a lush and vibrant ecosystem of long grasses, tall trees, and insects but is clad in hard concrete today, instead.

As penguins meander the quiet streets in South Africa, an elephant plays a game of chicken with a solitary motorcyclist in India, a black bear nonchalantly navigates the driveway of someone’s urban home in California, and feisty kangaroos play ‘hopscotch’ along the deserted streets of Adelaide, Australia, we begin to see and feel how the lack of human dominance is slowly erasing the natural fear of the animals  and replacing it with genuine curiosity. There are no cages or bars to be seen here. This particular zoo is being run via natural order with the physical universe considered as an orderly system subject to natural laws.

Is mankind capable of blending in with the earth’s natural laws rather than the other way around? Will our interpretation of this ‘pandemic attitude’ show us how things were meant to be and evoke change as we humans weave our way back into a world that is healing itself more and more each day? As long as the economy alone takes precedence over natural laws and the unique value of all life in general, the answer to these questions would have to be an astounding...NO!

“Sorry! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock.” Consider the reasons for retaining an economically driven, high-end lifestyle from a one-percenter’s point of view with his assets in terms of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and packets of baking yeast. It would be humiliating for them to have to wear a mask, so to speak, and place themselves in the same position as those ‘other people’ who exist so far beneath them. If they accumulate and hoard enough of the items listed above, their personal value and power over the  others will always be based upon their economic stature. What if this attitude of higher importance was currently out of stock and the value of love and kindness became the currency we most valued? How different (better?) our lives might be! 

Believe me, this pandemic doesn’t care who you are! To have so many take on the attitude of people who pretend to empathize with others only to express the complete inability to even fake empathy, correctly characterizes many people we should be trusting in right now.

Our social value can and should be much more than the size of our bank account. Success in our lifetime can and should be based upon much higher ideals and standards. By leveling out the playing field, at least to the point where everyone is healthy, employed, and happy, allows for the stability of the masses and creates a strong foundation for any nation that appreciates all of the people it represents. 

It’s a beautiful thing that we are beginning to value all life on a much higher scale than ever before. With an attitude of self-confidence, we correctly choose solitude and personal isolation over the possibility of spreading a killing virus and compromising life itself as thousands of people from all over the world pass away with doctors and nurses holding their hands in lieu of their own loved ones. Sadly, this is an unfortunate residual of this highly contagious, worldwide pandemic we have been exposed to.

Now that we’ve been given the gift of staring out of the window, mind wandering from this to that, happy to see a neighbor from around the block walking her dog down the middle of the street, and anxious to have the mail truck stop at our mailbox, we feel how different the world is from only a few weeks ago. We have been given the precious gift of observation and the ability to rethink the past, place ourselves in suspended animation, and finally begin paying attention to the real world around us. 

We are resilient. We will rebound from all of this. That will be when the hard part truly begins. Even though the coronavirus is saying that all is not yet lost, our mission will be to learn from its teachings; decide how best to proceed into our new world where we must share the planet and assess our relationship with a natural system much more advanced and unpretentious than man could ever be. We can change our lives, reshape the world based upon mutual respect, and make this world great again!

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay healthy and never stop looking forward to a better world to live in.

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved