On Monday March 5th, I was at work when my boss stepped across the hall from her office to mine, stood in my doorway, and told me the first case of Coronavirus in Tennessee had been reported in her county, a county adjacent to where we worked in downtown Nashville. That was the beginning. By the end of the week the iconic ATT&T building in downtown Nashville (also known as the Batman Building) was closed for cleaning due to a second case.
From there a domino effect went into action and reports popped up here and there, and everywhere. On March 12, just a week from the start, Tennessee Governor Lee issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency until mid-May. The next day, Friday March 13th, was my husband’s birthday. We decided to take a chance and go out to dinner while we still could. The picture below is us enjoying a night out at a Mexican restaurant.
After dinner, my husband suggested we hit Great Clips for haircuts, saying this might be our last hooray before places closed. We got haircuts and then went undercover.
On March 16, Nashville mayor forced bars to close in Nashville and all other cities in Davidson County and imposed limitations on restaurants. Schools were closed by March 20.
home. To the day of this post, I still work from home with no sign of this changing. Below is a picture of downtown Nashville on a regular Saturday night before the entertainment places were closed followed by what the city looked like after the closure.
Killer Nashville’s Writer’s Conference continued to choo-choo along as if it could pull off its big conference planned for August 20th through August 23rd. It had much of the schedule prepared, speakers, assigned, but by the end of the first week of July, it too threw in the towel. I’ve included the link to a post I wrote about this sad event: Killer Nashville, The Pandemic, and Me..
Killer
Nashville, The Pandemic, and Me
The
Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference, held annually in late
August,
recently cancelled but link to details here: https://killernashville.com
It’s sad for me to watch such a lively city wait to come back.
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For those who comment, you will have a chance to win my debut novel Just Another Termination along with an Amazon gift card of $25.00. Just leave a form of contact to be entered so I can find you if you're the WINNER!! Thanks for stopping by to hear about those of us in Nashville!
Note
about Linda Thorne’s post: Such a
current topic. I wish you all health and
safety during these times of trouble. I’ve
been lucky with my job as it’s considered essential. There’s trash during
pandemics or not. I know many aren’t as
lucky. I know more and more of us have family
and friends who’ve been affected with this pandemic through illness, loss of
income and all the other things that go along with this. As a person who went through periods of food
insecurity, I know how bad that is and I am praying for you for all these
reasons. Annette
Your post about Nashville was indeed sad and upsetting. What a difference in the two photos showing the change. Such a vibrant and exciting place to enjoy so many places. How unfortunate to miss out on all of the important events that you had planned to attend. Nashville is suffering badly from the pandemic. The businesses and the entire music industry which depends on people. Thank you for your informative and thorough post. Wishing you happiness and continued interest in writing and great health. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
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DeleteThanks for being one of the first to join in. The two photos are drastic. Unfortunately people are going back out again even though the numbers are higher because so many are just so fed up sitting at home. Not a good idea.
Before and after was certainly evident in the Nashville downtown photo. I feel sorry for everyone. The people who want to get out and have fun, the businesses that are having a great deal of difficulty surviving this pandemic and the entertainment industry. Who knows how long this will go on for and what will happen in the meantime to the businesses? I wish you luck, and more than that for your future. Health is important but sanity is too. Stay well and safe. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI worry about the economy too. This seems endless.
DeleteLove debut stories and finding new authors. It's a new normal for now but hopefully we'll be back soon. catslady5(at)aol.com
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I got stuck on Book II and my debut novel has been out there, alone, for waaayyy too long. Hopefully when I can retire, I'll get the 2nd one out.
DeleteStay well, Linda. I'm glad you can work from home. Those who work at the closed businesses can't, and we need to support them by getting take-out and buying from their Websites.
ReplyDeleteThanks for featuring Murder, U.S.A. Two of my chapters are in that book...readers can get a feel for authors from all over the country by reading the excerpts. It's permafree on Amazon.
Yes, I wanted to bring back Murder U.S.A. It's still a good summary of excerpts for anyone who hasn't read it or flipped through it at least. I am so lucky I can work from home. I tip bigger on carry out and think of those suffering businesses when I choose to buy something online. It's like this will never end. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThe Covid effect has hit us all. While many people loaded up on books to read, still, it has not helped sales for some of us. We in Arizona have been hit hard by this pandemic. Only last week, my elderly roommate went for a hair cut. I had been cutting his but he wanted to go. He is okay so far. I am hoping all us writers are using the stay-at-home time wisely and writing new books or working on projects, ready to come out when it's safe to do so. Now... if only Scottsdale had books stores. I might be able to sell a few of my own. I wish you well. Have not been to Tennessee but before her demise, I know my sister visited Graceland four times over the years. She traveled around Tennessee and love the people there.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Arizona (Phoenix) for the first 34 years of my life. I've moved around some and my husband and I just love the South and plan to stay. I do know a number of people that started reading books when they hadn't in the past. Some good things will come out of this, but lots of bad.
ReplyDeleteOne of my best friends lives just east of Nashville, since her husband retired a few years ago. I've gone down there every year since then for part of my spring break. I'm a sub, working every day in two high school districts. But when school is on-line, there's no need for subs. So first, no money coming in for me since mid-March. Secondly, the cases were going up in May, everywhere, so I stayed home.
ReplyDeleteI've been saying for a while that those who think the virus is a "hoax" are just lucky enough not to personally know anyone who has gotten it. My DIL's mother passed away from it in April, and we couldn't even give her a hug! No one was allowed at the wake or funeral. And a cousin is a nurse--she got it in May, stayed home for 2 weeks, thought she was all better and ready to go back to work, then had to check herself into the ER where they found blood clots in both lungs. She's back at work now, but has no guarantee that she's now immune.
What I fear is that as more people die, and more get sick, soon there won't be anyone in this country who doesn't know of someone who got it, or who died from it. I wonder if we will finally have a consensus, with all of us agreeing to do the simple things that help keep the virus in check. I'd like to think so, but I have my doubts.
My neighbors are getting it. Sometimes we feel it's just a matter of time because the damn thing is so very contagious.
DeleteThe coronavirus really screws things up--both the obvious and the not so obvious.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say, is I agree. Totally!
DeleteMy husband and I are both high-risk, so we’re very careful. We go to the gym when no one’s there and obsessively clean the machines. We went to the same restaurant for our anniversary and both birthdays because there was a huge patio with tables well-spaced. I worried about the groups at the other tables, but we felt safe. I don’t personally feel that impacted, but I’m well aware that others aren’t so lucky. Good to see you again, Linda. I miss Novelspaces.
ReplyDeleteI miss Novel Spaces too. Glad to see so many of my friends still safe.
DeleteThe virus is out there and will probably be around for a long time. Being a germaphobe, I never liked shaking hands in church, but would always wave instead, even before the virus. If I saw someone in line somewhere coughing or a checker coughing, I'd go to another line. People need to think over which risks they wish to take and which not. We can't give up our entire lives to something which may be around for a long time, yet we shouldn't go out of our way to invite trouble. When I walk the dog, I don't wear a mask, but I cross the street or turn the corner if someone approaches. Most of my neighbors do the same. The trick is to be as normal as possible without taking too many chances. Not easy.
ReplyDeleteI get it. I think some major traditions like handshaking will disappear. In a way it's barbaric. In the past few years when I handled job fairs for my employer, I was given hand sanitizer to use because of handshaking a huge number of people. It's an outdated tradition in my mind, overdue to be distinquished.
DeleteWhoops. I think the word "distinguished" was totally wrong. I meant extinguished.
ReplyDelete