Hello, this blog will be concerned with a man named Calleo. He is a nurse going to New York City in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic currently in the year 2020.

Sometimes Calleo will speak in the first-person and sometimes he will refer to himself in the third-person because each perspective lends a different way of relating to events and experiences.

April 11th, 2020: Underway at last, the past two weeks were a little stressful as I needed to pack my belongings, conclude my current rental situation, and go through an arduous credentialing process with my travel nursing agency American Mobile Nursing.

The dramatic need for healthcare workers, especially nurses, is not lost on me. My thoughts immediately drifted to the diary of Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth. Her observations and experiences during World War I are poignant and insightful and incredibly well written. She is the inspiration for starting this travel blog!

After a brief and somewhat un-restful sleep last night, it was off to the airport, which was decidedly not operating as normal. Not many people are traveling, about 80% of people are wearing masks in the airport, all the shops are closed save for Starbucks, newsstands, and some other cafes. I’d say about 1/4 of the flights in Seattle-Tacoma have been canceled. On the bright side, everything is clean and more orderly, well, since Covid requires that we do so.

As it turns out, planes are pretty empty too!

That is, empty except for nurses! I met at least 12 nurses on the flight all headed for NYC on travel assignments. It was heartening and exciting to meet everyone, also to feel a sense of camaraderie and know that I was not alone on my journey! People actually care! Another passenger heard we were nurses and decided to give us a demonstration of his contortion abilities, which he said he’s actively training himself to do!

So, it’s a strange time to be traveling. I’m expecting to find much more warmth and richness in NYC, even though the city may not be bustling, the human condition must still be burning brightly!

Oh, and when we landed in New York we may have broken some social distancing rules . . .

 

***Please stay tuned for more updates from Calleo on his travels!

Coming to the website soon . . .

*Categories with different insights and photos