My 2020 Survival
By Corky Gardner
I’ve been living the same day over and over. I wake up, talk to a parrot, walk home, do
course in miracles and at 8 am I water my garden. In the evening, I go for a walk at the
same time. There used to be a creepy guy on my walk and I would avoid him. The next
day I walked a faster. The next day I crossed the street to get away from him and said
“Get away from me!” The next day I realized he wasn’t that bad of a guy and now when
I see him at the beach he says things like “You’re late.” and I can’t be mad.
Everyday I see a woman with a white dog, every day there is a man with silver hair
that’s gonna be on my left and there’s gonna be a woman on the lawn listening to
conservative radio and once in a while there is a topless woman on her balcony with a
phone to her ear. Once I looked up to find a man and a woman dressed in sailor suits
doing a choreographed dance. Once I saw a middle aged woman on roller blades
holding on to a golf cart full of kids. Lots of times there are mobs of children on bikes.
My dad died in the course of the pandemic. The rules seemed to follow me; no
visitors the day after I checked him in, then we weren’t allowed to exercise with anyone
but a relative, then we were on lockdown, not aloud to see friends the day after he
died. Then they changed the rules so planes couldn’t come and funerals were
suspended. When I picked up the ashes they just handed them to me in a tote bag, no
hug, no face that I could see. Someone handed me a bunch of flowers like I just won
Miss America. I frantically batted them down as I tried to drive a convertible in the
wind. Things were not going my way. I went to have lunch at the Panda Garden but they
had banned indoor dining so I just sort a had a picnic in the grass and I realized I
couldn’t leave my dads ashes in the car so I set them down besides me eating orange
chicken in a white dress with a huge bouquet of flowers. The drive-thru cars
looked astonished. But I didn’t give a #$%@f. That's one thing my dad taught me.
Early on in the pandemic, when my dad’s sudden death sent me into a manic tailspin, I
was so full of ideas I couldn’t write it all down. So many things I wanted to express but
the main lesson I heard from my dad was that he wanted me to live a good life and
enjoy myself. It was hard. But I am getting better. Talking to the parrot, going on my
walks, creating comedy and music and sometimes essays like these. Connecting with
friends and realizing that certain things are inevitable. It’s how you process them that
makes the difference.
Corky Gardner is an SOU alumni, comedian and writer living in Lahaina, Maui. She has
performed standup for 12 years and has opened for Tom Arnold , William Shatner and
Cheech and Chong. For more about Corky, go to: https://www.facebook.com/corky.joan
So, what do you think of Corky's story? Comment below. To share your 2020 Survival Story, send it on over to cafegirlproductions@gmail.com. Include a bio and photo of your choosing for your story.
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