Make- Do and Mend- For the Modern Era

I came across several postings in recent weeks about making face masks and the need for them as supplies run short. As a seamstress this is definitely something I can do, and an acquaintance helpfully tagged me for an online group that put me in contact with collection points in our community. The funny thing is that while so many people are saying that they'd like to do more but are running out of fabric and elastic, I have tons! I have a costume shop full of supplies that aren't really being used right now, and literally boxes upon boxes of scrap pieces of fabric leftover from costumes and student projects. So I threw together the bunch of masks seen here and they went over to the rescue squad today for distribution to places including the local retirement home. Some turned out better than other, for sure, but all are functional. I was also able to give supplies to those who were running low.

This seems to be one of the revelations of this pandemic, that we can all contribute in some way, and that communities are still finding ways to come together and support the needs of their members. My BF hates the town I live in; it's small and off the beaten path, and there's not much going on and most everyone knows everyone else and everyone else's business. But I find his vitriol towards it unwarranted and frankly at times pretentious. At least it has a sense of community. Of pride, of place, of purpose, and I have seen so many instances of people coming together when there was a need. There was a store on Main St. that I have often gone past, but never gone in and it was designated as a drop-off for the face masks. So today I shyly slunk in with my bag and wandered up to the front counter and explained what I was dropping off. The woman, who was one of the owners, was initially on the phone with a customer who wanted a particular piece of furniture but couldn't find it, and she offered to wander around the store taking photos of things that might be right and to send it to them. Small town business dealings in a nutshell. She then thanked me profusely for my contribution, talked about how she and her husband were on the rescue squad, and which specific organizations the masks would go to. She knows me now, and I'm still not used to that here, but it will surely come around again in some way. Like how the vet is a donor to our Theatre program, or my financial advisor calls into the radio station once a day to do a segment that is broadcast by the guy who runs our box office. We're all connected, and while that's obvious in a small town, I think this pandemic is making it more globally apparent. I think this realization is a good thing.