Beech Tree News Network

I let Garey cut my hair.  It was driving me crazy.  He did a pretty good job, but he’s no Carol Deweese.  From the national news reports, it looks like a lot of us have Quarantine Hair.  I saw one woman teaching other women how to touch up their gray roots with a permanent marker—it actually worked! 

                On CBS Sunday Morning, I watched two comedians, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, self-quarantined because of their age, tell the camera that they were living proof that we could survive these unstable times with love, humor and each other.  Mel sang the WWII song, “We Did It Before & We Can Do It Again.”  I was curious about the song’s origin, so I researched it.  The song was penned on the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, by the songwriters, Cliff Friend and Charles Tobias. The following are a few of the lyrics: We did it before and we can do it again

                                                                And we will do it again

                                                                We’ve got a heck of a job to do

                                                                But you can bet we’ll see it through

                                                                We did it before and we can do it again

                                                                And we will do it again

                                                                We’re one for all and all for one

                                                                They’ll get a licking before we’re done.

Mel Brooks made a comment near the end of the interview, he said, “We got through Hitler.  We can get through this.” 

                Another story featured on CBS Sunday Morning featured the Victory Gardens from WWII.  They are making a comeback, it seems.  The Victory Garden was another result of necessity creating invention.  The governments of Europe and the US told its citizens they needed to plant vegetable gardens to feed themselves and the troops.  Citizens took heed, and soon, every back yard, park and vacant lot was sprouting carrots, beans and corn.  At their peak, there were more than 20 million Victory Gardens planted across the US—one garden for every 7 people.  People in apartment buildings planted gardens on roofs, others planted veggies in window boxes.  Schools planted gardens on school grounds and used the produce in school lunches.   By 1944, Victory Gardens were responsible for producing 40% of all vegetables grown in the US.  More than one million tons of vegetables were grown in Victory Gardens during the war (classroomvictorygarden.org).

                People raising food will be one good thing that comes out of all this chaos.  People making the effort to check on each other and encourage one another will be another.  On Thursday, the teachers at my granddaughter’s school, Plano Elementary in Bowling Green, drove throughout the students’ neighborhoods honking and shouting. They wanted to show the students that they were still there to help and support them. The parents and students held signs of support.  Sabria made a special Louisville Cardinals poster for her principal.  He is an avid UK fan.  Sabria is a rascal child.  After the drive-through, Sabria said, “I hate working from home.”  She is struggling with social distancing. 

                On Saturday, Natalie, Sabria and I rode our bikes in Woodbury, down by the river.  We came home and made brownies with a recipe that was included in one of Sabria’s online assignments.  We also dyed Easter eggs.  It didn’t do a lot to cheer her up.  She really misses her friends and teachers.

                I know “this too shall pass,” because I have the advantage of being an old person.

                If you are an old person, encourage the young people around you.  They need you now more than ever.  If you are a young person, make the effort to remember these times, because one day, you will be an old person encouraging the young people in your life.  Just remember, “We did it before and we can do it again.”