By now all y'all have seen it: news stories about the 7 pm cheer in New York City. If you haven't heard of it, allow me to state the obvious. It has become a nightly tradition, people leaning out of their apartment windows, cheering, clapping, banging pots and pans, all making noise to express gratitude and appreciation to health care workers, and everyone in the emergency services. If I read it right, the first few times it happened, it was at 7 because it was the shift change at the hospital closest to where this began. I don't know how many other places have started doing this, but I imagine it's a big deal in a lot of locations.
Cheering just isn't "Colorado" enough for us around here. A week ago, one of my kids' cousins (or a spouse thereof) invited us to join a "go outside at 8 pm and howl at the moon" group. I resisted at first. I didn't think poorly of my family for joining this group, I just didn't want to do it. I neither joined the Facebook page nor went out to make noise. I could hear the Mr do it sometimes, but just as often, I had my TV too loud and the windows closed and missed it. A few days ago, it went from only one or two in the neighborhood to several. Yesterday someone started shooting off their leftover fireworks during the howl.
Tonight was our D&D night. We were all talking to each other over the Google Hangout screen, when someone (I think my son-in-law) noticed it was almost 8. We paused our game and we all ran outside our respective homes to howl. This was the first time I did it. At straight up 8 pm, the neighbor a block or two to the east shot off a big aerial firework, and it started. Murray and Elsa were very confused why we were in the backyard right as it started getting dark, making the noises usually reserved for when Murray sings the song of his people. He almost joined in too, but he was too busy dancing with his front feet, jingling the harness on his wheelchair.
It didn't feel cathartic yet. I was still pretty self conscious. I imagine as this forced confinement drags on, it will become more of a release, more of a community bonding experience.
The number of people in my county who have died more than doubled today. It went from 3 to 7. Our confirmed cases are well over 200 now. I am trying not to think about whether the Weld county statistics include part of my town. County Line Road is maybe two miles from here. Weld numbers are twice as bad as Boulder's. If I howl again tomorrow, I will let myself feel these questions, and the sound I make will reflect the anguish I have been burying for weeks.
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