He came to visit me in early March, intended to be a short visit. Life’s circumstances brought us back together. We weren’t ready to get married and had other plans.įast-forward almost 50 years. I dated my college boyfriend and first true love for three years before we broke up. We now have plans to be married … SOON because life is too short, too precious and too uncertain. When I told Lisa that I was no longer “straight,” she reportedly “fell out of her chair.” Apparently she had a thing for me way back when I had no idea.Īfter mustering up the courage to call her, thanks to a glass of Cab, she answered the phone, “No f- way!!” and the nerves melted. One week later the little red bubble lit up on my messenger app. I asked readers: “Did you fall in love or become closer with your partner during the pandemic?” Then last August I tried something different.

As I’m sure you can guess, the responses were often heartbreaking. In the last year, I’ve sent out surveys about missed rent payments and small business closures. During the pandemic, this has meant gaining insight into our readers’ lived experiences. In many cases, a different life was forged in an otherwise dark, isolated time.Ĭommunicating with readers is part of my job as an audience engagement editor at the L.A. Historians might not explain the myriad ways some learned to see the world anew. The TV shows and books that eased your anxiety during quarantine. But what will be left out of the textbooks? Those fears you and your family felt in mid-March when shutdowns began.

It’s critical that future generations understand the pandemic’s effect. Authors will explain how, in many ways, life was put on hold indefinitely - children in virtual school, travel canceled, weddings and other celebrations postponed. Students will learn about the devastating number of lives lost and the vast economic toll wrought by the virus. In history books of the future, the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic will be described in painstaking detail.

Love under quarantine