An open note to the reader who asked why I never write love poems: thank you for your question, but please understand I wouldn’t keep trying to tell people to take care of each other if I did…| LibrarianShipwreck
As a new month begins remember: you have made it through another month, but have not yet made it through this pandemic. * To the reader who asked how much longer I plan to write these: I cannot ima…| LibrarianShipwreck
I’ve heard it said (by a prominent doctor) that this pandemic “did not have to be as bad as it was,” and they are right it did not have to be as bad as it was, though I would add …| LibrarianShipwreck
There is not a single correct way to commemorate this pandemic on its fifth anniversary, but if you are searching for an appropriate way to commemorate this pandemic on its fifth anniversary you ca…| LibrarianShipwreck
My friend, the historian, says she is worried. My friend, the epidemiologist, says they are worried. My friend, the climatologist, says he is worried. My friend, the activist, says she is worried. …| LibrarianShipwreck
I asked my doctor if there is a decent alternative to wearing a respirator to protect yourself and she said yes there is a decent alternative to wearing a respirator to protect yourself: a society …| LibrarianShipwreck
If only I knew how to convince people that they should care about sick cattle and dead birds but I don’t even know how to convince people that they should care about other people. * I’v…| LibrarianShipwreck
Had you asked at the pandemic’s start how long I planned on documenting it for I would have said I didn’t expect the pandemic to last too long. If you ask now how much longer I plan on …| LibrarianShipwreck
It used to be that catching the summer wave was how a surfer described what they caught at the beach, as opposed to now when catching the summer wave is how we describe it when we catch Covid in Ju…| LibrarianShipwreck
The climatologists say if you look the signs of change are everywhere. The epidemiologists say if you look the signs of the pandemic are everywhere. The political scientists say if you look the sig…| LibrarianShipwreck
My friend, look around and you will see that these are dark times. And, my friend, look around and you will see that these are disastrous times. But, my friend, look at yourself and remember that t…| LibrarianShipwreck
Apologies, my friend, I know that these are dark and difficult times but you must remember it is in the moment when you cannot imagine how things can get any worse that you must prepare yourself fo…| LibrarianShipwreck
My friend, the doctor, says right now everyone is getting sick. My friend, the teacher, says right now everyone is using AI. My friend, the activist, says right now everyone is giving up. My friend…| LibrarianShipwreck
A scientist told me the real story is the unfolding of climate change. And a doctor told me the real story is the ongoing pandemic. And an activist told me the real story is the rise of fascism. An…| LibrarianShipwreck
I know a modeler who says we should pay attention to the NB variant. And I know an epidemiologist who says we should pay attention to the XFG variant. And I know a doctor who says we should pay att…| LibrarianShipwreck
You’ve probably heard of that person who knew how to recognize the signs of an approaching tsunami and was thus able to warn their family in time, so please know that in this moment those who…| LibrarianShipwreck
In these dark times we are all of us plagued: plagued by self-doubt and plagued by grief, plagued by guilt and plagued by fear, yes, in these dark times we are all of us plagued by so many difficul…| LibrarianShipwreck
I know an economist who says at this point none of us really know what will happen next. And I know an epidemiologist who says at this point all of us need to know the pandemic is still happening. …| LibrarianShipwreck
Should they respond to your precautionary ways by asking you: “but what if you’re wrong?” tell them that you can live with being wrong, because if you are right you might not live…| LibrarianShipwreck
In response: to every piece of grim news my friend writes me to say “I have a bad feeling about this,” and though I worry about him and worry about the news, I am much more worried abou…| LibrarianShipwreck
Apologies, the last thing I want is to romanticize the past, catastrophes and barbarism, cruelty and plagues, none of these things are new, yes, I understand, that we have always lived amidst crise…| LibrarianShipwreck
I sit here with lectures to write, and papers to grade, and emails to send, the world around me is ripping apart, and though I know I should be trying desperately trying to mend those rips, I find …| LibrarianShipwreck
As the economy worsens you may come to regret the money you spent on unnecessary goods, and the energy you spent on marketable skills, but even as the economy worsens please know the time you devot…| LibrarianShipwreck
I do not know if we will make it through these dark times, but I am certain that if we make it it will not be because we just carried on, it will be because we carried each other. * I sent my frien…| LibrarianShipwreck
The scholars who have studied the dark times keep warning that fascism begins not with jackboots on the march, but with empathy in retreat, and I fear, my friends, that this pandemic has convinced …| LibrarianShipwreck
After years of pretending that the current pandemic isn’t still happening we are well prepared we are very well prepared to pretend that the next pandemic isn’t about to happen. * When …| LibrarianShipwreck
Admit it you always kind of wondered what you would have done had you been alive during the dark times of the previous century, and now that you are here during the dark times of the current centur…| LibrarianShipwreck
I am sorry but it is too late to heed the warnings of those who decades ago said we were on track to wind up right where we are now, but if you would honor Cassandra’s kinfolk you can start b…| LibrarianShipwreck
I asked my aunt, the doctor, if she believes 2025 will be different from 2024, and she replied: yes, it will probably be different. And when I asked her for more details she explained that in 2024 …| LibrarianShipwreck
It is a difficult task to try to convince people that they should care about sick birds and cows and cats, about dying birds and cows and cats, when recent years have shown that most people donR…| LibrarianShipwreck
There is an old saying that the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago but the next best time is today. And in this moment in which case numbers are growing know that the best time to start…| LibrarianShipwreck
My cousin who is heading to college asked for advice, but when I said “wear a mask” she said she’s scared if she does no one will want to be her friend, so I told her if they won&…| LibrarianShipwreck
You probably know someone who has lived through a disaster. Or someone who has lived through a car accident. Perhaps even someone who has lived through a cancer diagnosis. But, my friend, you have …| LibrarianShipwreck
Behind me in the checkout aisle a man in a flag shirt kept asking why I was wearing a mask but I was not listening to him not really anyways because the pharmacy stereo was playing Donna Summer and…| LibrarianShipwreck
In the early days of the current pandemic everyone was sharing a map which reassuringly showed the countries best prepared and the countries least prepared for a pandemic but that was long ago now …| LibrarianShipwreck
