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?”
S, Marina Owner, Clifton marina TN
I didn’t let fear take over and I think a lot of it was fear driven so I personally didn’t let fear bother me at all. We were wide open here and people came over at the weekends and we partied and we had bands and we had good food. The river is essential here so people came to the river to get away and to be honest with you, no one wore masks and everyone was shoulder to shoulder and just enjoying life. We were mostly outside and there were only a few people who got COVID, so very few that got COVID here and people could say, it was our mentality or whatever they want but all I know is that there were very few cases here. People who wanted to wear masks did and those that didn’t, didn’t and you know, we didn’t turn anyone away. We were very very busy. The transients were not quite as prolific in the spring as they are now in the fall. People came by car and by boat. In the summertime this is a sea of pontoons. It’s not unusual to have 50 to 100 pontoons in here and as you can see our slips are full. Basically I didn’t learn anything new because I didn’t let fear affect me- I keep a positive attitude. I get up every morning and I go to a point near here where I meditate before I work. To me that’s very important to have a few minutes every morning of peace and quiet and just watching the river and setting up my day, mentally because physically I work my butt off!