Stacy Horn

I’m on an email list for a group called the New York City Pigeon Rescue (I’d wanted to write about them way back when). To this day I get cc’ed on email about pigeons needing rescue. Tonight there was one that needed help over by Grace Church, where I’ve been singing for almost 40 years (I’m a member of the Choral Society of Grace Church).

I took it as a sign, plus it’s not like I’m super busy or anything, AND, it would be nice to do something to help a creature who needed it. So I put on my face mask and headed over. He struggled a little bit when I transferred him to my carrier, but unfortunately he had died by the time I got home. So now I’m feeling sad. Poor little thing. I’m glad I tried though.

This is him. The very kind woman who had found him put him in a box with food and water.

I have only myself to blame. When I walk along the river now, I walk on the city side of the highway, not the river side, because of the runners. I know they are not following social distancing guidelines. But on my walk yesterday I stayed on the river side because I wanted to be in the sun, damnit, and I wanted to take pictures.

But the runners were just awful. Or rather, I’d say about 98% of them are. 98% make no effort to keep their distance from you, they run right by, inches away, WITHOUT MASKS, and, I swear to God, three of them coughed just as they were passing me, WITHOUT MASKS, and they didn’t even bother to cover their mouths. WTF?

Cuomo, you closed the parks. Stop the runners.

I took this on a walk along the river. I probably already mentioned that people on the river are not following social distancing pleas, runners especially. So I walk on the city side, not the river side.

I’ve decided to only take a walk on days I need to go to the grocery store and I’m limiting the number of trips I take to the grocery store as well.

This is a shot of Perry Street when I get to the highway. I always turn left and head downtown, but the next time I will go uptown and get some pictures of the Navy hospital ship Comfort.

Seen on one of my walks. I am still taking walks, although not every day as I was doing. I’m rethinking whether or not I should continue walking for exericse at all. They make me feel so good. Except, they might kill me. And others.

I woke up feeling okay, and then I read the headlines like, “Coronavirus Was Slow to Spread to Rural America. Not Anymore.” The worst was this one: “41 Transit Workers Dead: Crisis Takes Staggering Toll on Subways.” I guess in the scheme of things 41 is not such a big number, but it feels like a huge number to me. “More “than 6,000 more have fallen sick or self-quarantined.” Normally I take the subways every day, and for the most part the people who work for the MTA are so nice. I can’t count the times I’ve gone flying for the subway doors as they close and then they miraculously open again. That’s because some conductor took pity on me! Thank you.

I’m dying to go back to work (I love working at the ASPCA’s hospital, helping to save animals) but when I think of it the only part that scares me is the subway. It just seems like it would be one of the hardest places to be in and also keep yourself from being infected. I would only have to face this twice a day. Workers would be there for an entire shift. I’d walk if it wasn’t so insanely far away from where I live (it’s a five mile walk there).

I’m so sorry for your losses MTA. Watch this video to be utterly charmed by subway workers (and the people who made this). We have lost 41 of them. It’s horrible.