CommentsTRAVEL IN THE TIME OF COVID-A month ago, I was enjoying one of my “bucket list” trips – visiting Antarctica – when Mayor Garcetti shut down Los Angeles.
And the government of Argentina shut off direct flights to the United States and all domestic travel, also in the hope of curtailing the spread of the dreaded coronavirus.
Our ship had people from 27 different countries -- from Canada to South Africa, from Kuwait to New Zealand – and we faced different challenges to returning home.
One country had shut its borders completely, another would welcome home natural citizens but not foreign-born spouses, a number would impose 14 days of isolation if people could make it home.
On March 17, the day our tour was supposed to finish, and everyone disperse, we were sitting in the harbor of the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, under quarantine. Most of us had international flights out of Buenos Aires, 1,500 miles to the north of where we lay at anchor.
Because we had been at sea for the better part of two weeks and had been healthy and symptom-free at the beginning of the trip (nothing worse than sea-sickness crossing the Drake Passage), we had the run of the ship, support of the staff and crew, healthy meals and the company of our fellow passengers.
During that time, we came together as a solid unit, passengers, staff, and crew in our shared response to the lockdown. We commiserated with the cabin attendant who would not make it home for his own wedding, empathized with each other’s tales about concerned families and friends, and discussed best practices for our eventual return to homes around the world.
What we didn’t do was complain. Or point fingers.
While there were hours spent meeting the challenge of rebooking flights cancelled due to governmental directives, there were many more in which we drew on the staff’s expertise and those of our fellow passengers to learn about climbing Mount Everest, fostering a baby rhino, traveling down the Nile and diving under the ice of Baffin Island.
It was a scary time, but we made it fun. And we never doubted for a minute that there was a host of people who had our backs.
So what does it take to recreate that comradery, the support we had and gave each other then – and bring it home not just for today’s crisis but for the rest of our lives?
In the past few years, my passion has been community engagement as a Budget Advocate, acting on the issues that concern me about the city’s budget and the services Los Angeles provides, or is supposed to provide, to its people.
What I’ve learned is that the very act of working on behalf of others is a gift to me.
In this time of trouble, when our lives are feeling more and more beyond our control, it’s important to get involved and do something constructive, help out, be of service.
And when everything seems the most overwhelming, that’s when what you can do for others can define the best in you.
Positive action begets positive action.
We can choose to complain about the hand we’ve been dealt or take the cards we have and make our world a little better.
We can start small at first – I don’t think anyone starts to climb mountains with Mount Everest.
For you it may be picking up groceries for a neighbor or calling a few people to make sure that they are OK, bring some human connection to them in a time of isolation.
Or just smiling across the street to give a bit of cheer to someone you’ve never talked to before. Maybe calling someone and listening while they express their feelings.
But if we demonstrate our willingness to put ourselves out there, we will gift others with the permission to do the same.
It’s hard work to do anything new, especially outside our comfort norms, but the most interesting aspect of volunteering is that it’s not the help we offer others but the joy we bring ourselves that is the greatest reward.
If you don’t think events are proceeding well today or any day, there’s no way we can change things by complaining; it will take all of us to make a difference, one small step at a time.
So that’s your challenge -- think of it as ‘Survivor: Beyond COVID’ -- the show that never ends. Be that better tomorrow -- now and forever.
(Liz Amsden is a member of the Budget Advocates, an elected, all volunteer, independent advisory body charged with making constructive recommendations to the Mayor and the City Council regarding the Budget, and to City Departments on ways to improve their operations, and with obtaining input, updating and educating all Angelenos on the City’s fiscal management.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams