I finished this piece, S.I.P., a week or so ago. I had been hoping that the shelter in place would be finished when the piece was finished, but alas not. I wanted to convey the loneliness of the situation and the isolation, yet how we aren’t really alone. I am, by nature, more of an introvert, but this is still difficult for me. I find the lack of knowing and understanding what the coronavirus is truly capable of extremely unnerving. Given all my years of feeling “alone” because of my hearing loss before I got the cochlear implants, I can say this: It is and will be extremely difficult until you ‘make friends’ with your situation and adapt. It’s not the same as giving up, it is coming face to face with the problem and dealing with it with all you have. That’s where we failed as a nation, because wishful thinking won’t make this virus, or the economic baggage from it, go away.