CONTACT CAROLINE
facebook
rss
tumblr
twitter
goodreads
youtube

  • Home
  • Write Away Blog
  • Books
    • Books
    • Trompe l’Oeil
    • Heart Land
    • Gothic Spring
    • Ballet Noir
    • Book Excerpts
  • Video Interviews
  • Press
    • News
    • Print Interviews
    • Plays
    • Ballet Noir in the Press
    • Trompe l’Oeil In The Press
    • Gothic Spring In The Press
    • Heart Land Reviews
  • Contact
  • About
  • Resources
    • Writer Resources
    • Favorite Blogs
    • Favorite Artists



Where There’s A Will There’s A Way

Apr 10, 2020
by Caroline Miller
coronavirus, dating habits during the pandemic, Sex and the City, sheltering in place, Tinder, West Wing
6 Comments

Courtesy of pexels.com

Keeping up relationships is a challenge during the current coronavirus pandemic. At my retirement center, the residents on the 13th floor open their apartment doors during the dinner hour to join each other in a round of “God Bless America.” Another man uses Zoom, an online video conference program, to attend  Buddhist services. One woman, recently widowed, employs her iPhone FaceTime feature to share an evening meal with her daughter and son-in-law. My daily ritual is to make a landline phone call to my mom at noon. At  104 years of age, she needs help to pick up the receiver. Fortunately, the overworked staff is kind enough to oblige. The plain truth is, given her dementia, I fear if we don’t connect, she will forget me.

What many of us may be learning during the shutdown is that keeping a remote relationship vibrant is tough. Wi-fi is no substitute for a hug.

Thinking about the problem, I wondered how “sheltering in place” is affecting courtships.  Tinder, a dating service with 5.9 million subscribers, admits setting up a rendezvous has changed. Couples no longer meet in a bar or restaurant. The venue is an electronic chat. The pickup lines don’t seem to have improved, however. “Are you the coronavirus? Because you take my breath away.”

Meeting a stranger under most circumstances is difficult. Sharing meaningful text messages is harder. Tinder has little advice to offer, so I’ve gleaned a couple of activities to share with the young and restless. One duo is bingeing on episodes of the West Wing and making their observations over the phone. After a few political arguments, the pair may decide the relationship has no future. Or, If they get turned on long enough to anticipate each other’s arguments, it’s probably time to set a wedding date.

Phone sex is an option, of course. It’s popular with or without a pandemic. Unfortunately, It’s not my area of expertise.  At least I won’t admit it.  Anyway, I suspect young people know the important sites better than I do.

Okay, I admit it.  A pandemic is rough on a courtship. But let’s be honest.  Togetherness isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be–especially if it’s with the wrong person. Remember Miranda’s complaint from the television show Sex And The City?  “Last night, Steve and I held hands for an hour and a half watching the fire. He was looking into my eyes. I was looking for the remote.”

Social Share
6 Comments
  1. Janet Jordan April 10, 2020 at 7:56 am Reply
    I have a healthy introvert husband. Many of our lifelong friends have given him a bad time about how this time is no different than normal. But he admits that while he is not a talker he very much misses the opportunities to observe our conversations with our friends. But we can reach out in small ways and let our friends we know we are here - and there.
    • Caroline Miller April 10, 2020 at 10:19 am Reply
      You remind me to take this opportunity to thank my friends and readers of this blog who have been so good about staying in touch. Like your husband, I too am a bit of an introvert for I stand in front of my computer and type all day.The epidemic has made no changes in my routine. But I do cherish those, "Are you okay?" messages. A double thanks to senders.
  2. Brad Mersereau April 11, 2020 at 12:20 am Reply
    So grateful that Janet graced my life for almost 4 decades. I sometimes feel as if she's between the keys when improvising. Best wishes to your mom at 104! You have established a powerful rhythmic connection through your noon ritual phone calls. Ingenuity and perseverance are powerful allies. Where there's a will there's a way!
    • Caroline Miller April 11, 2020 at 8:43 am Reply
      No doubt music is a powerful way to connect with loved one, a stimulus to shared memories. You connection with Janet "between the keys" is a way to send her love letters.
  3. Christine Webb April 11, 2020 at 2:48 am Reply
    Phone sex? I'm still trying to wrap my arms around the notion that you watch "Sex In The City."!! Always grateful to hear you and your mother are well. No worries. Deep inside, where it really counts, she will remember you forever...
    • Caroline Miller April 11, 2020 at 8:44 am Reply
      Well, to be honest, I Netflixed one disc. You caught me out.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

Subscribe to Caroline’s Blog


 

Archives

Categories

YouTube-logo-inline2 To access and subscribe to my videos on YouTube, Click Here and click the Subscribe button.

Banner art “The Receptive” by Charlie White of Charlie White Studio

Web Admin: ThinPATH Systems, Inc
support@tp-sys.com

Subscribe to Caroline's Blog


 

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Sitemap | Privacy Notice

AUDIO & VIDEO VAULT

View archives of Caroline’s audio and videos interviews.


Copyright © Books by Caroline Miller