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| The Case of the Fit Bookworm of Brooklyn | The Case of the Fit Bookworm of Brooklyn |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| While out for some air near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I looked down at the sidewalk and discovered a lost set of keys. Lockdown in a pandemic was not a time to lose your keys. I wondered how this would disrupt the already disrupted life of the owner. Did they have a roommate or family to let them in? Are locksmiths considered essential workers? | While out for some air near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I looked down at the sidewalk and discovered a lost set of keys. Lockdown in a pandemic was not a time to lose your keys. I wondered how this would disrupt the already disrupted life of the owner. Did they have a roommate or family to let them in? Are locksmiths considered essential workers? |
| In comparison to the unfathomable suffering in our midst, this set of keys was small potatoes. But I decided that if there was ever a time to be a returner of things, now was the time. | In comparison to the unfathomable suffering in our midst, this set of keys was small potatoes. But I decided that if there was ever a time to be a returner of things, now was the time. |
| Admittedly, I was grasping for any shred of humanity in our ravaged city. Watching the news made our family’s home isolation — with the privileges of still having our health and a paying job — seem like a picnic. I was doing my best to work from home while the kids did online classes and celebrated virtual birthdays. We had the trappings of “doing fine,” yet our emotions were as fragile as our chronically unstable internet connection. I tried not to lose it with my fifth grader during repeated failed login attempts for her online class. There were just too many passwords to keep track of. | Admittedly, I was grasping for any shred of humanity in our ravaged city. Watching the news made our family’s home isolation — with the privileges of still having our health and a paying job — seem like a picnic. I was doing my best to work from home while the kids did online classes and celebrated virtual birthdays. We had the trappings of “doing fine,” yet our emotions were as fragile as our chronically unstable internet connection. I tried not to lose it with my fifth grader during repeated failed login attempts for her online class. There were just too many passwords to keep track of. |
| Making a point to “enjoy family time” did not always work out. I was constantly shooing my daughters out of the room during work calls. We tried making DIY face masks when that became a thing. The kids soon lost interest and our output of one mask per day was not going to make a dent in the need. Our thermometer was now a permanent fixture on the bathroom counter. My husband and I jumped at any hint of a cough and anxiously checked the kids’ temps every day. No one was feverish, but a feeling of helplessness had set in. | Making a point to “enjoy family time” did not always work out. I was constantly shooing my daughters out of the room during work calls. We tried making DIY face masks when that became a thing. The kids soon lost interest and our output of one mask per day was not going to make a dent in the need. Our thermometer was now a permanent fixture on the bathroom counter. My husband and I jumped at any hint of a cough and anxiously checked the kids’ temps every day. No one was feverish, but a feeling of helplessness had set in. |
| I took the keys home and immediately did the one thing that does help quell feelings of dread — a good old Clorox rage clean. The lemony disinfectant aroma had become my calming essential oil of choice. I sanitized the keys and set out to go full Carrie Mathison on finding the owner. | I took the keys home and immediately did the one thing that does help quell feelings of dread — a good old Clorox rage clean. The lemony disinfectant aroma had become my calming essential oil of choice. I sanitized the keys and set out to go full Carrie Mathison on finding the owner. |
| The key ring contained three membership cards from the Amagansett Free Library, the Blue Hill Public Library in Maine, and the Dodge YMCA in Brooklyn. None of the cards had the owner’s name, only a bar code. | The key ring contained three membership cards from the Amagansett Free Library, the Blue Hill Public Library in Maine, and the Dodge YMCA in Brooklyn. None of the cards had the owner’s name, only a bar code. |
| Based on the key ring clues, there was a good chance we were dealing with a pandemic productive type here. Not the type hiding in the pantry for alone time with peanut butter cups. (That type I could relate to.) This may well be the sort of person who comes out of lockdown fluent in Italian, skilled at sourdough baking and flaunting eight-pack abs. The Fit Bookworm, as I nicknamed the owner of the keys, appeared in my mind to embody the opposite of my lockdown self, but I was determined to find them. | Based on the key ring clues, there was a good chance we were dealing with a pandemic productive type here. Not the type hiding in the pantry for alone time with peanut butter cups. (That type I could relate to.) This may well be the sort of person who comes out of lockdown fluent in Italian, skilled at sourdough baking and flaunting eight-pack abs. The Fit Bookworm, as I nicknamed the owner of the keys, appeared in my mind to embody the opposite of my lockdown self, but I was determined to find them. |
| I channeled the gusto of a seasoned home-school parent (which I am not) and declared that we had a mystery to solve. Today’s assignment was to find the Fit Bookworm of Brooklyn. | I channeled the gusto of a seasoned home-school parent (which I am not) and declared that we had a mystery to solve. Today’s assignment was to find the Fit Bookworm of Brooklyn. |
| “Huh?” My daughters asked. | “Huh?” My daughters asked. |
| “Why?” | “Why?” |
| “It’s the right thing to do. And right now is a really bad time to be locked out of your house.” | “It’s the right thing to do. And right now is a really bad time to be locked out of your house.” |
| We called all three locations on the keychain. Each had a similar outgoing message explaining an indefinite closure because of the coronavirus. The cynical New Yorkers in us thought there was a slim chance of ever getting a call back, but nonetheless we left voice mail messages for each one. | We called all three locations on the keychain. Each had a similar outgoing message explaining an indefinite closure because of the coronavirus. The cynical New Yorkers in us thought there was a slim chance of ever getting a call back, but nonetheless we left voice mail messages for each one. |
| A day went by with no word from any of the Fit Bookworm’s associates. The thought that this person could be going through something terrible bothered me every time I passed the keys sitting on the mantel. But soon, part of me began to think: “Let it go. The world is a dumpster fire right now. People lose keys all the time. Worry about getting the kids to online school on-time.” Fair point. They had been tardy more than once and I couldn’t blame the subway. | A day went by with no word from any of the Fit Bookworm’s associates. The thought that this person could be going through something terrible bothered me every time I passed the keys sitting on the mantel. But soon, part of me began to think: “Let it go. The world is a dumpster fire right now. People lose keys all the time. Worry about getting the kids to online school on-time.” Fair point. They had been tardy more than once and I couldn’t blame the subway. |
| Another day went by, with my Carrie Mathison vibes fading fast, when my daughter asked: “Mom, did we find the person with the keys yet?” It was as if she was saying, it is possible, we just hadn’t found them yet. | Another day went by, with my Carrie Mathison vibes fading fast, when my daughter asked: “Mom, did we find the person with the keys yet?” It was as if she was saying, it is possible, we just hadn’t found them yet. |
| Her optimism prompted me to take the search to the social media posts of the institutions on the key ring tags, which revealed endearing signs of resilience. One library offered quarantine bingo, the other posted local history trivia, while the Y shared videos of family-friendly exercises featuring a peppy instructor named Victoria who did frog jumps in a small yard. Their buildings were locked down, but their commitment to community support was not. I sent each a short direct message and included the respective card bar codes. | Her optimism prompted me to take the search to the social media posts of the institutions on the key ring tags, which revealed endearing signs of resilience. One library offered quarantine bingo, the other posted local history trivia, while the Y shared videos of family-friendly exercises featuring a peppy instructor named Victoria who did frog jumps in a small yard. Their buildings were locked down, but their commitment to community support was not. I sent each a short direct message and included the respective card bar codes. |
| Updated August 6, 2020 | |
| Literally two minutes later, I was on the phone with the Blue Hill Public Library. A cheerful employee offered to share my contact information with the Fit Bookworm. Within minutes of that call, both the Amagansett Free Library and the Dodge YMCA had also messaged back offering to help. | Literally two minutes later, I was on the phone with the Blue Hill Public Library. A cheerful employee offered to share my contact information with the Fit Bookworm. Within minutes of that call, both the Amagansett Free Library and the Dodge YMCA had also messaged back offering to help. |
| Three shuttered community-based institutions replied in a span of about 20 minutes. This was arguably faster than the amount of time it takes my own homebound friends to respond to a DM. | Three shuttered community-based institutions replied in a span of about 20 minutes. This was arguably faster than the amount of time it takes my own homebound friends to respond to a DM. |
| Soon after, I got a call from Fit Bookworm himself. He was a man named David who lived not far from me. He explained that he had not been locked out, was using a spare set of keys, and from what I could tell was doing OK. David was glad the keys were found and made a plan to pick them up. | Soon after, I got a call from Fit Bookworm himself. He was a man named David who lived not far from me. He explained that he had not been locked out, was using a spare set of keys, and from what I could tell was doing OK. David was glad the keys were found and made a plan to pick them up. |
| “The case of the Fit Bookworm of Brooklyn has been solved!” My daughters and I high-fived. | “The case of the Fit Bookworm of Brooklyn has been solved!” My daughters and I high-fived. |
| “Wow, I thought that would have been harder, Mom,” one of them said. She was right. Part of me wanted us to stay on this coping quest a little longer. | “Wow, I thought that would have been harder, Mom,” one of them said. She was right. Part of me wanted us to stay on this coping quest a little longer. |
| In keeping with social distancing, I placed a bag over my front gate and left the keys inside for David to pick up. He arrived and kindly swapped out the keys with a bottle of wine, making for a lovely surprise. We never saw each other, but afterward, David sent this text: | In keeping with social distancing, I placed a bag over my front gate and left the keys inside for David to pick up. He arrived and kindly swapped out the keys with a bottle of wine, making for a lovely surprise. We never saw each other, but afterward, David sent this text: |
| “Thank you! What a funny exchange! Take Care. ~DB.” | “Thank you! What a funny exchange! Take Care. ~DB.” |
| Perhaps I’ll reach out to DB one day to learn his true back story. Maybe he’s given up exercise, sworn off books and is bingeing “The Tiger King.” Could he be somewhere losing his patience over fifth-grade math? How has the virus affected him? His family? Did the staff so quick to spring into action share the need to grasp a tiny shred of hope by finding him? | Perhaps I’ll reach out to DB one day to learn his true back story. Maybe he’s given up exercise, sworn off books and is bingeing “The Tiger King.” Could he be somewhere losing his patience over fifth-grade math? How has the virus affected him? His family? Did the staff so quick to spring into action share the need to grasp a tiny shred of hope by finding him? |
| As our city suffers, there is much to cherish in the small ways that we support one another. My family has been reminded that from our heroic essential workers, to our neighbors banging on pots and pans, to the staff returning calls from home, people have each other’s backs — even when the doors are locked. | As our city suffers, there is much to cherish in the small ways that we support one another. My family has been reminded that from our heroic essential workers, to our neighbors banging on pots and pans, to the staff returning calls from home, people have each other’s backs — even when the doors are locked. |
| As we await our return to the new normal, here’s to seeking hope in finding the things we have lost — together. | As we await our return to the new normal, here’s to seeking hope in finding the things we have lost — together. |
| Micaéla Birmingham is an Emmy Award-winning writer-director and executive producer at Scary Mommy. | Micaéla Birmingham is an Emmy Award-winning writer-director and executive producer at Scary Mommy. |