As we enter an unprecedented world event – rapid spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 -- I’m compelled to maintain a journal to chronicle daily life from my eyes.  Raw and from the heart.  It won’t be filled with data and analyses – we get plenty of it in the news -- but rather, my observations and conversations with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers.

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  It’s heartbreaking and unfathomable to witness the growing loss of lives, jobs, income and now school and business closures.  Most of us are confused, worried and desperate.

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  People of all colors and races have been affected, including the rich and the poor, the sick and the healthy, the old and the young and the weak and the strong.  But as local, state and federal governments work to fend off the virus, we can’t lose hope no matter how dire things get.  Yes, we must be realistic and diligent about self-isolating, social distancing, and doing our part to protect one another.  But we must also endeavor to lift each other up.

The title I’ve given this diary is a take on the title of the epic love story by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  The story takes place in late 19th century Columbia during the cholera epidemic.

  No one knows what the outcome will be.  But will coronavirus be the common cause that brings humankind together?

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  I haven’t written a diary since I was a young girl. And it didn’t last very long. Now is my only window to remember what went down during the coronavirus pandemic.