Post 9: Drowning in the Pandemic

In 2020, a shadow spread across the world, a dark cloud that seemed to swallow every ounce of light and certainty in our world. We all remember the panic and isolation that took hold as the Covid pandemic locked us indoors. Each of us had our own story from those years.

Here is Mike’s:

It had been five years since he’d watched his fiancée die in his arms, yet the wound still hadn’t begun to heal. His constant drinking kept it raw, refusing to let it scab over. That’s the strange thing about alcohol—it feels like it’s masking the pain, but it doesn’t. It keeps us from facing and truly processing our grief, trapping us in the very hurt we’re trying to escape.

Basketball games were a lifeline for Mike, something to fill his days with purpose and movement. But when everything shut down, that outlet disappeared. No games to work, no places to be, no accountability to get up and go anywhere. Suddenly, he was alone with his thoughts in a cramped apartment, the world beyond his window hauntingly quiet.

What began as a coping mechanism grew into an all-consuming ritual. Armed with enough vodka to last several days, he started drinking, each day beginning with a pour and ending with a stupor. Morning turned to night as he sipped, hoping to escape the mounting sense of doom. It was never just one drink. The pattern evolved quickly, with one bottle turning into two, each day passing in a haze of alcohol. Soon, he was consuming 1-2 bottles.

15, 20, 25 shots each day

Current Progress

The hand and arm is done. Now, I will move on to the first layer of the Bible. The reason for all of this coming together. The healing.

REMEMBER

This is only the first layer. Everything will be painted a second time. That’s when I will fix the traveling smudge and reduce the red in the finger tips a little bit.

Intimate feelings about the story

Ugh - the Covid years.

Like Mike, I relate to the isolation. My own alcohol consumption went thru the roof. I too started at breakfast and drank thru the day. I really didn’t care. Besides, what else was there to do?

I was never afraid of getting sick, I struggled with how paranoid everyone had become. My freedom was being stripped from us and everyone, but a few, seemed OK with that. My relationships seemed so broken, even with my family. My Mom and sister were bleaching their groceries before bringing them in the house. My refusal to wear a mask made things much harder. I marched my way into grocery stores wondering if I would be arrested. Once, a neighbor likened me to a mass murder because of my uncovered face.

I had just sold my very successful business and had started a new one in November of 2019. What little work I had scheduled absolutely vanished into thin air. I was self employed and not privy to the benefits of most. I couldn’t make the mortgage. I couldn’t pay my utilities. I was about to loose it all and had no zero control. My life was completely in the hands of the government and I did not like that one single bit!

Damn straight I was defiant.

About the Painting

I am upping my game here.

If we don’t push ourselves, there is no growth.

I will soon have to find another platform to house my videos. This video is nearly 2 minutes long and the others have only been 1 minute. My current hosting only allows me 30 minutes of video without an upgrade. I am researching my options but I am thinking YouTube. You will only be able to access the video IF you have the link, which you will have here as I can link the blog to the YouTube channel. I have also considered Patreon.

I really want to say THANK YOU to those of you that are here. You have no idea what it means to me that you are supporting this crazy idea and my journey. Without you, I would be talking to myself 🤣.

Feedback is always encouraged. I would love to hear from you.

Collect early - Gigantic rewards.

By being a paid subscriber here, you have the opportunity to collect this work before it’s complete at a price with a HUGE reward. I will progressively increase the price of this work as I tell the story and complete more of the painting. IF you collect early, the painting will still be completed and the story will still be told, but you get to call it “Yours”. You will be the ONLY person to call it “Yours”.

Each Sunday, the cost of collecting this work will increase.

I have scheduled this work to take me 7 weeks. I have divided the story into 7 weeks as well as the progressive pricing. Collect early, save BIG!