Hang in there, people!

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

Those words were written in 1776 by political activist Thomas Paine, author of the Common Sense pamphlet series, to bolster the morale of the Continental Army during a difficult period in the Revolutionary War. But they apply as well to the Spring of 2020, when a pandemic is sweeping the world.

And the words apply equally to both men and women, especially those who are not usually locked down together 24 hours a day. Many of them are driving each other bonkers. Even our pets can be affected by the new world order, though they really have no understanding of it.

There are ways to cope with the isolation and to carry on a semblance of normal life during the coronavirus crisis. Some are better than others. I have attended two online board meetings in the last week and both had a distinctive goat-rope aspect to them. But they are a way to get some semblance going of carrying on with essential activities in a difficult time.

I very much miss my workouts at the Senior Center fitness facility. There is no real substitute for the machines in the fitness room, but one can develop ways to keep your muscles working and somewhat toned.

My wife found a set of five-pound weights in a closet. Since they are so light I had difficulty figuring out how to make them do something useful. But there are ways to move them around and positions to take that seem to have a positive effect on muscles that would otherwise be inactive.

One thing that seems to help is working out with the weights while watching television, especially the all-news programs that are spending almost all their time on the coronavirus pandemic. The news gets my dander up and allows me to put a little spontaneous vigor into a usually boring routine.

And a friend suggested using work-out belts, those stretchy gizmos with handles on the end that allow you to exercise pressure and give yourself a nice workout. He bought his years ago and never used them, but he has started using them now and swears by them. I ordered a set for about twenty bucks and they should be here in a week or two. The way things are going the big Hunker Down is likely to be still going on, and on, and on.

One big worry is what the Alaska economy is going to look like after this is over. With so many businesses closing or throttling back to near-zero business, thousands of jobs will be lost. And it seems likely that a lot of them won’t be returning.

Of course the problem is worldwide, so it won’t be like Alaska is hurting while better opportunities exist elsewhere. Our stores, restaurants, oil companies, professional service businesses, media and entertainment operations, fisheries and tourism companies — those that survive — will all be working to rebuild.

There will be many casualties, both physical and corporate, but those that manage to rebuild will be creating a new world for all of us.

In the meantime we are seeing a lot of people doing great things. Just one example, a couple of people in my neighborhood are donning marvelous monster costumes and making visits outside homes where people need to have their morales boosted.

And then we must give a huge thanks to the medical professionals and service workers who are striving mightily to help those stricken by the Covid-19 disease caused by the coronavirus. Also a big one to first-responders. All those folks are doing an incredible job under extremely difficult conditions. They are heroes and should be treated as such.

Hang in there. It will be over eventually. The lucky and the determined will rebuild their lives and businesses, and possibly yours.