Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections

Walk with Smiles

Title

Walk with Smiles

Date

10/25/2021

Creator

Anonymous

Contributor

CSU Student

Text

When the lockdowns of COVID-19 began, I was a server and bartender for a restaurant in downtown Columbus, Georgia. I remember being scared and concerned about my income, and for the income of my friends and coworkers. I was lucky because my husband is active-duty military and is considered essential, so he was going to keep receiving his pay no matter what.
I remember the day Georgia went into a full lockdown. My husband and I were going on a walk at the golf course near our home, and I received a notification on my phone with news. We had been planning on doing our grocery shopping like usual after our walk, and we were worried that people were going to rush to the grocery stores and clear the shelves of necessary items. We calmly walked home, changed, and went to the grocery store not knowing what to expect. When we arrived it was fairly calm, it seemed we had missed the crowd. We picked up the very few items we needed (it’s just my husband, myself, and our two cats) and got to the check out line. I remember looking around and realizing just how crazy the situation at the grocery store had become in the short time we had been there. We wished the grocery clerks our best and told them we hoped that people treated them with kindness during this understandably difficult time and went home.
During the lockdown, my husband and I spent a lot of time together taking (masked) walks, playing video games, and just enjoying each other’s company. The picture I’ve attached is of my husband before we took our first walk of lockdown. He’s in his gas mask and weighted vest from work. During our walk, I remember the folks playing golf loving his gas mask, and we put some smiles on people’s faces and got a few laughs, too. It was nice to hear laughter during that confusing time.

Files

documentingcovid19.jpg

Citation

Anonymous, “Walk with Smiles,” Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections , accessed March 28, 2024, http://digitalarchives.columbusstate.edu/items/show/4090.