People find unique ways to unite during time of social distancing
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POLSON – Montanans have found their own unique way to continue socializing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while following social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home measures to reduce the spread of the virus.
Across the world, attempts to connect to neighbors and friends who haven’t been seen in weeks are similar in many aspects. People are choosing a coordinating time to separately get together. Sound seems to be a similar way for people to connect. In Italy, people stepped out onto their porches and sang songs together. The New York Times reported, “At the exact hour that health officials normally update the daily numbers of the country’s increasing infected and dead, Italians from the southern islands to the Alps sang the national anthem and played instruments. Ms. Santachiara, in Rome, was among them. ‘It’s not like we’re maestros,’ she said, but it’s a moment of joy in this moment of anxiety.’”
In Portland, Oregon, Tori Peterson, a recent St. Ignatius, Montana, high school graduate said every night people step outside their homes and clang pots and pans together and blow a few bubbles.
“I think it helps people feel like they’re connected, and they are supporting one another even though they have to be socially isolated,” she said.
In Montana, the call of the wild was an influence as people decided what sound to use. “We are going out and howling,” said Jamie Bell of Polson. At 8 p.m. each night, she goes outside with her family in Polson and howls for several minutes. Several weeks ago, she said her husband was outside working on home repairs when he heard something interesting. He said, “What is going on?”
The noise turned out to be the neighborhood howlers participating in the local event. She went on Facebook and found the howling page Howl on the Flathead Rez and joined. Every evening the family gets together and howls with several other people in the community.
“The kids listen to see if anyone else is doing it and then they join in,” she said. One night, it was raining so the family stayed in, but mostly, they howl together.
She said howling has become a new way to socialize while keeping the family safe. “It’s nice when we don’t get to see each other to have a sense of camaraderie and community,” she said.
The Bell family has been “doing OK” during the stay-at-home order. The kids are home from school and miss their friends. “The hardest part for them is not seeing their classmates. They felt like they didn’t have the sense of closure that they get when school ends for summer. It just happened really quickly, and they didn’t get to say goodbye, but they are out howling and that gives them a way to connect.”
Howlers can be found across the reservation and are posting videos and comments on Facebook. One person posted, “My howl tonight will be for the teachers who are working their butts off trying to get access to kids and provide learning opportunities. I will also howl for the parents who are encouraging their kids to keep engaging with school.”
Another post: “I almost missing howling, but I got it out there. Thank you to all the nurses and doctors at our two local hospitals. The clinics, nursing homes and extended care facilities, and all the staff. You are all very appreciated.”
According to the Facebook page, the rules to participate are simple. People are asked to head outside at 8 p.m. and howl, cheer, war cry or le-le for healthcare workers, those on the front lines as well as remind others in the community that they are not alone.
“For all of the essential workers out there, let’s let them know how much we appreciate the sacrifices they are making during this challenging time. This is a great way to show our support … so please step outside in the fresh air and howl. Please do this as loud as you can. We got this Flathead Reservation.”
The howling continues on both sides of the reservation in Missoula and Kalispell. Those groups can also be found on Facebook under Howl for Missoula and Howl for the Flathead. In Missoula, Hillary posted, “We are cleared from coronavirus. Finally has a voice enough to howl.”
The Centers for Disease Control note that the COVID-19 pandemic is a “rapidly evolving situation” that changes based on human behavior, but the CDC is working to try and look at what could happen based on research. The predicting models that incorporate strong contact reduction suggest that deaths will continue to occur but slow substantially, so social-distancing will need to be part of our future in the coming weeks, which means people will continue to find ways to connect.
