In May of 2020 do you recall where you were and what you were doing?
It seems like a long, long time ago and yet it’s only three years. A lot has happened in that time.
Me? I was here at 95.9 The Rat heading to the office every day to try to make sense out of the pandemic; then going home and home schooling the kids. Boy, I really don’t want to go back to that even though being part of their learning to read is something I’ll always cherish.
Trying to keep the family active in those early months was a goal of mine so I often put the bikes on the bike rack and we rolled down the Manasquan Bike Trail or the easier trails at Allaire State Park.
I’d been on that bike trail a hundred and one times in the past – I used it to train for the half-marathon I did to raise money for the LADACIN Network. But I’d never, ever seen anything like I saw that day.
Not far from where I’d parked I found the Wall Township Wishing Tree. The tree was a big evergreen; like a Christmas tree. Someone had left plastic cards and sharpies for the public to use to post wishes to hang on the tree. This tree was heavy with humanity.
I stopped and lingered over the wishes. As you can see, many are quite specific to what we were living through in May of 2020. But not all of them are about the pandemic. Quite a few of the wishes reflect personal battles. Others take a step back and seem to include all of us. The pictures offer a time machine to what seems like a different time.
I can’t help but wonder how some of these wishes worked out. I’m hoping that all your wishes came true.
