It’s one month before my 85th birthday and I have never seen the whole world in such a complete mess. This is being brought about by this tiny little thing that, to me, resembles a sand burr or burdock burr but much, much smaller. The destruction and chaos brought about by the coronavirus are unparalleled. Nations great and small have been brought to their knees. The world economy is barely holding together. It is like a tsunami has swept across the land taking everything familiar with it. The old rules and guidelines don’t serve us well anymore.

Some of us want to hide, lock the doors, close the blinds, get into bed and pull the covers over our heads. Others get angry and demand they be allowed to live their lives as before regardless of the risk.

Schools are closed. Businesses are shuttered. Public transit is gone. Those who go out cover their faces like bandits in old westerns. Government officials try valiantly, but mostly vainly, to explain what is going on and to devise strategies to contain the virus, protect the vulnerable and to keep the economy from crashing completely.

Grocery stores find their shelves empty. Toilet paper, for crying out loud, has vanished, along with other paper products. Fresh and frozen vegetables are precious finds. And now, meat, it seems, may become scarce because the coronavirus is running rampant in meat processing plants

People die alone separated from loved ones. Health workers, grocery store staff, postal workers, truck drivers, first responders, and others labor on in order to keep us healthy, protected and provisioned in spite of the risk to themselves. Hundreds of thousands of people are out of work. Small businesses are locked shut. Homeless people find their tiny safety net gone.

So what do the rest of us do? Well, I am full of suggestions. First, stay home and stay safe. Don’t spread whatever you might have to others. Help some kids with their school work via phone or video; give a parent a break. Sew face coverings for friends and neighbors or first responders. If you are able, volunteer. Call someone to talk; a friend, sibling, a neighbor. Go shopping for someone who can’t go out.

But wait, there’s more. You know that $1,200. “Relief Check” that the Federal Government is sending out. For many people, it is a lifesaver. It’ll pay the rent or buy groceries.

However, some of us are doing OK, in spite of all of the chaos. We live on a fixed income that covers our basic needs. Some of us “older folks” may not be rich, but by managing carefully, we get by on our social security and pensions. Or if your income is above the $199,000 limit after which one does not get a check, maybe you have some spare bucks. Certainly no one is going out to dinner, or the theater, or a movie, or a ball game. And if you do get the check or have undesignated money, what are you going to do with it? Go on a cruise? Not likely. Invest it in the stock market? Really? Or put it in a savings account? At way less than one percent?

Well! I have an idea for you! Give it away! Where, you ask? Food banks are being flooded with requests for help and donations are down because, among other things, grocery stores, usually the biggest source of donations, can’t keep their own shelves stocked. Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program needs your support for the Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen, as do other community Food Banks. Oasis Free Clinics is working tirelessly to make sure their patients receive much-needed prescriptions and is investing in technology to adjust to this “new reality”. Tedford Shelter is keeping safe spacing by housing some homeless folks in motels. It’s costing big bucks. The Gathering Place will have to rearrange their space and mode of serving their guests so that they can be there to support so many in our community who are at risk of losing their housing as a result of this crisis.

There are other places to put your money, too. Churches have had empty collection baskets for weeks now. Or perhaps you know someone who needs help with the rent or buying groceries. Look around, you’ll see other needs

So how about it? For some of us the “relief check” is found money. Let’s use it to help our neighbors who are facing tough times. If ten of us give away the whole check it comes to $12,000. If a hundred do so, it’s $120,000. If the numbers get to a thousand, we are talking about real money. Let’s do it! Let’s be a community, a community that supports each other. As we hear time and again, “These are extraordinary times.” Let us do extraordinary things.

George Hardy resides in Brunswick and is a retired Presbyterian Minister and a member of The Gathering Place Board. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.

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