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Six Things That Quarantine Has Inspired on Long Island

Written by Lon Cohen  |  05. May 2020

We are resilient on Long Island. Even in the face of a pandemic we have found ways to keep each other's spirits up. Here are six things that did not exist just a few short months ago but are all helping to get us through.

 

Photo: 8 O'Clock Shot Facebook page.

 

8 O’Clock Shot Facebook Page

 

Have you heard of this one? It’s a Facebook page started by a Long Islander who thought it would be a good idea to create a space for people to get together for a virtual happy hour. This Patchogue guy did not know that he was creating a monster - in a good way. With almost 100,000 members the group grew beyond Long Island and is now a wildly popular and interactive page. The page is even developing merchandise. Bottoms up!

 

Photo: Tandy Wear Facebook page.

 

Designer Facemasks

 

Sure the occasional snowboarder or skier might have indulged in fancy face masks to beat the cold, but now everyone is realizing health benefits of mask wearing during this outbreak. Since we have to wear them why not make them stylish? This business is doing just that.

 

A sign for a birthday caravan in Mount Sinai. Photo: Lon Cohen

 

Birthday Caravans

 

Sadly, gathering together to sing happy birthday is going to be on hold for a while. As usual, Long Islanders adapt and they will be damned if they can’t celebrate you birthday because we are all sheltering-in-place. You’ve seen them. Lines of cars queued up with signs and decorations waiting to driveby and beep their horns. This phenomenon is one that lifts our spirits.

 

Photo: Shutterstock

 

Zoom Meetings

 

Okay so Zoom wasn’t invented to deal with this quarantine but it sure feels like it. From schools to nonprofits to family gatherings to business, everyone seems to be on Zoom nowadays. You can visit your orthodontist. See grandma. Or even go on a date. Zoom is helping us to connect while keeping a safe social distance.

 

Photo: Shutterstock

 

Social Distancing

 

While we are on the subject, bonus for “social distancing,” which we had never heard used in a sentence before a few months ago much less in the form of a verb.

 

Photo: Kathleen DiBenedetto.

 

Frontline Workers

 

Whenever there is a crisis, there is someone who is willing to help, even at the risk of their own safety. It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s scary. But, these people get up every day and make Long Island safer for us all. Frontline workers were always there. We just never knew how brave, self-sacrificing, and tough they could be! People have come up with all kinds of ways to thank them and give them hope. Thank you to all the medical workers who are helping Long Islanders sick with Covid-19. And thank you to everyone who supports them in their work.

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