Portrait Projects
Between June 2021 and June 2022, while the world was still reeling from the Pandemic that engulfed us all, my husband and I traveled the Great American Loop in our small motorboat. This 6000 mile journey travels along the rivers, canals, lakes and intracoastal waterways of the eastern United States. Along the way I met many people whose lives were linked to the water and I was curious how they fared during the COVID lockdowns. I asked them: “what did you learn about yourself during the Pandemic?”
J and M, Many Moons, St Joseph, MI
J: I’ve been a Type 2 diabetic all of my life and if I’m not careful, it could be over. And with all this going on, I had to make sure that I was looking after myself.
M: Do you think that last year, the general turmoil of it, helped prompt you to move forward with the Loop?
J: Yes of course and a couple of family members died so I thought I have to do it! And I hated to leave but this is an adventure I had to do. I’m not going to live forever. One day at a time. I’m going to turn 60, which is rare for a diabetic like me.
M: When how I think how it personally affected me, last year specifically, and like a lot of people it was a really intense year for me. I didn’t get sick and I didn’t know anyone who died, not in that direct way, but in the way that everything was more intense and more difficult and tinged with the political overlays. Because I was always some kind of manager or leader in the military and federal government for decades and I retired 7 years ago, so it was quite a lot for me. What I realized, thinking about your question, was how much I need to make a positive influence in my world and I mean that in both a small sense and a big sense. And I was doing that in my career and then I wasn’t. And I didn’t realize how much I need that. Right behind that was the realization of how disempowered I feel to do that now. A humility that came having to do with my inability to change much. That’s the underlying frustration is that the world is screwed up and I can’t do anything about it. And I hate that! That’s what I learned about myself. Because I’m used to solving things one way or another, or at least trying to. And I can’t solve this, this cultural tension and that’s really depressing