GRATITUDE: So very fortunate

I'm looking at my schedule book, which contains little more than crossed-out activities: a bluegrass concert, a submarine commissioning ceremony in Wilmington, the semiannual pancake breakfast at the Masonic Lodge, the Brandywine Hills steeplechase, a dental appointment.

Yet when I think of the people who are out of work, whose businesses are in jeopardy, who are on the front lines caring for the sick ... I realize that for me this whole staying-at-home thing is nothing but a minor inconvenience. 

We have electric power and the Internet. The grocery stores are open, and ice cream is back in stock. We can pick up takeout food from our favorite restaurants. We can keep in touch, work out together, and even "see" each other via Facebook and email and Zoom. I have plenty of editing work to do. 

And the daffodils, tulips, hellebores and bleeding heart are in bloom.

Really, how is this a hardship? (Well, OK, the retirement account is not looking so good, but please, let's not go there.)

ONLINE: We're gonna ZOOM

Where would we be without Zoom?
Yesterday I did my first Zoom workout and it was great fun. (If you can call doing burpees and pushups fun, that is.) Ever since the YMCAs shut down, I've been exercising in the living room by myself using online classes, but having other people to sweat with, even virtually, adds accountability. I liked having the sofa to collapse onto between rounds.
On Sunday morning Kennett Friends Meeting hosted a well-attended Zoom meeting for worship. I enjoyed it very much, and not just because it was fun to see people's homes, pets and kids. Out of the silence several people shared about how despite the activity restrictions, they were feeling actually more connected with their neighbors and the larger community.
If you don't have Zoom, it's easy and free to download. I've learned that it's a good idea to keep your mike muted during a meeting; otherwise there's a lot of distracting background noise.  
And, hey, Boomers: Am I the only one who remembers the theme song from the ZOOM kids' TV show in the 1970s?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7gzHLKT5g4

EAST MARLBOROUGH: New playing fields?

Here's an interesting project that the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District administration is proposing at the high school/middle school complex: they want to install "a multi-use synthetic turf field, a varsity softball field, a middle-school baseball field, associated utility structures, paths, and an 81-space parking lot along East Doe Run Road."

I'll be following this project as it goes through the East Marlborough Township review process. 

I've noticed that the Route 82 roadwork for the Toll Brothers' Unionville Walk development has been continuing despite the coronavirus pandemic. It looks as if they're installing a traffic island in the middle of Route 82 at the housing development entrance.

A NEW START: Out of print

For those of you who are just joining my blog online, welcome! Due to budget cuts --it's a terrible time for local newspapers -- my column is moving online for the foreseeable future. But you'll be able to read the same content here as you did in the paper.
As a matter of fact, "Unionville in the News" was online even before it started appearing the The Kennett Paper back in 2012. The Kennett Paper's editor, Fran Maye, came across my blog and thought it would strike a chord with readers. From the feedback I've gotten, he was right.
I started writing my blog in reaction to all the snark, meanness, and willful ignorance that was rampant even around 10 years ago. Otherwise mature adults were thoughtlessly hurling insults at those they disagreed with, calling them names that would have gotten the Young Relative -- then in elementary school -- an expedited appointment with the school psychologist. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and with my overdeveloped sense of agency I thought, "Y'know what? I'll bet I can do better."
So I started writing about what was going on in my world, the events, sights and conversations that make Unionville such a distinctive and well-defined community. School plays and athletic meets. The Community Fair. My perennial struggle with the self-checkout registers at the Giant. The first skunk cabbage of the year. Hadley Fund lectures and concerts at Anson B. Nixon Park. The adventures of my accident-prone equestrian pals.
And I've tried to do with kindness and tact. I've missed the mark a couple of times and I'm sure I'll continue to do so. But I hope you'll find this online format just as easy to read as the newspaper, and I hope you'll keep sending me your own "Tilda items" (uvilleblogger@gmail.com). 

SUPERMARKET: It's like a scavenger hunt

At the Giant today I ran into my friend Amy, who was shopping for her grandmother. 
Amy spends most of her shopping dollars in the organic aisle and the produce section, so she was having a tough time locating some of the items on her grandmother's list  -- dried milk and sauerkraut in particular. 
"Sauerkraut. That's like kimchee, right?" she asked, sounding less than hopeful.
"I think it comes in a plastic bag," I said (big help, Tilda).
A kind shopper overheard us and directed us to the canned food aisle, and there was no shortage of sauerkraut. In fact, Amy briefly considered buying a cafeteria-sized size can of the stuff so her grandmother could share with everyone at her retirement community.
Judging from what I've seen, a lot of folks are shopping for others during this time of social distancing. It's funny to see shoppers scrunching up their faces, staring at their lists, and mumbling as they scan the shelves, searching for items they've never purchased before.  

KENNETT: A new name for an old store

The venerable Macaluso Books, at Union and Cypress Streets in downtown Kennett, has changed its name to The Kennett Bookhouse. In their announcement John and Stefanie Lynn, the new owners, said, "We will be forever grateful to Tom and Brenda [Macaluso] for founding the store and trusting it to our ownership. Tom’s memory and legacy will always be a part of the store. While the store is closed, we’ve been restocking the shelves and are looking forward to re-opening the doors as soon as possible."

OXFORD: Goodbye to Shawn

Wm. Shawn Weigel -- that was his preferred byline -- died on March 22 at age 47. 
Shawn, a distinctive, gregarious, funny guy, was a journalist who had written for all the local newspapers at one time or another, most recently the "Hockessin Community News." He was engaged to Carrie Murphy, and they were going to get married on September 12 in Oxford Memorial Park. He will be missed by his family and his many friends. 

Wm. Shawn Weigel