Esther Adler's poetry and prose

Life and Liberty Under Limitation

by: Esther Adler

At the present the life of each one of us has changed; it is limited in many aspects and is subject to continuous changes. The cause of the present limitations is due to an illness, a virus that has spread to every continent, every country

I, however, recall limitations in my life of another kind, not due to illness, but to politics. Living in Nazi Germany as a youngster, I experienced ever increasing changes. Laws, that restricted my liberty in many aspects: where I could attend school, which park I could visit, on which bench I could sit. I could not attend movies nor swim in the Oder, I had to endure the attacks, physical and vocal, by German children. I also took note of the ever-shrinking economic resources of my parents. I experienced Kristallnacht, “The Night of the Broken Glass”, that marked the start of the Final Solution of Jews. I participated with my parents in the search for an opportunity to leave Germany. I was lucky. I succeeded to leave that country by myself at the age of fifteen. My past has taught me to value life and liberty, to adjust to new circumstances that confront me.

Eight years ago, in 2012, I moved from Florida to my present home, Orchard Cove, a lovely Retirement Community in Canton, MA. It certainly was a change, one I welcomed. Instead of living in a large home by myself after my husband’s death, I found the opportunity to meet and mingle with people, eat dinner with them, attend lectures, concerts, and even teach, and continue to write poems, as I have done since childhood. Life in Orchard Cove was a welcome change. Until………

it was in mid-February of this year when the news in print and on the air mentioned a virus that causes havoc among the population in China. It was referred to as Covid19, an unknown illness that spread very quickly. We read about it, but we were here, in the U.S., living in a false sense of safety. All this began to change on March 22; we received a notice from our Executive director, Aline Russoto, that as of this evening, we will not be eating in any of our dining rooms, but our dinner would be delivered to us, together with the next day’s lunch. After a few days we were told not to leave our apartments, our mail would be delivered; our corner store would increase the inventory of the merchandize, which we could order. Activities switched from live, to either televised or Zoom; the Fitness Center began to feature various exercises on our own T.V. channel. We received weekly written communications as to the well -being of our fellow residents; masks were delivered to our door in case we needed to see a doctor outside Orchard Cove; but even that could only happen after approval of management.

By the end of March my thoughts were toward the upcoming Passover holiday: would I be able to be with my children? What would the observance of a festive Seder be without them? As time grew closer, I realized the advantage of living during the age of Zoom. With the help of my children, we succeeded in being united for this event in four locations.

In general, however, we realized that within a short time, our life changed totally, and while each resident reacted perhaps differently, I like to describe my adjustment to the new lifestyle.

My days starts early in the morning; by 7 a.m. I am ready to go out for my walk around our lovely property, about ½ mile. I know it is not a great distance; however, when you consider that I am 96 years old, that is a good walk. So, when we were told that we could no longer go downstairs, it was a shock; what was I going to do? The solution, while not perfect, had to do. We were still permitted to walk in the hallway; this freedom was taken soon as well. Instead of complaining, I began to walk in my small apartment between the pieces of furniture, I timed myself, so that I walked the twenty minutes as I had done outdoors.

Dinner and lunch are delivered to our apartment every afternoon, according to our choice of available selections. When I opened the door one morning, lo and behold, there was an attractive plastic mailbox attached to the wall; mail delivery was taken care for us by management. Doctor’s visits were curtailed not only by Orchard Cove, but by the doctors; from now on, we had “phone visits”.

How was, is our reaction to all these changes? Was I upset? Of course, I miss the ability to meet with friends, neighbors. Eating dinner alone, is not always the preferred choice. Of course, I would have rather had the freedom to leave the premises; of course, I would have rather meet with my family face to face instead of speaking to them by phone while on the third floor, and they are standing below. But all of us could not help but hearing the news, reading the deadly statistics in the newspapers, following the reports on the radio. It became clear that restrictions must be followed, even if it means that our liberty is curtailed. It is a matter of responsibility, not only for our own well- being. But the danger of infecting others, placed restrictions into a different perspective, a responsibility one must assume.

We are very fortunate to be living in Orchard Cove, for we are provided not only with daily virtual exercise programs for the body, but with programs for the mind as well. Professors from Harvard, Brandeis, North Eastern, and others, are transmitted by zoom. Our own Television station features concerts, dances and more lectures. Every Friday evening, we follow our Rabbi as he conducts Sabbath Services.

Is this abundance of programing, the dedication of our staff, enough to erase the limitations of our changed life? Of course not; but one must be totally oblivious to the danger of this coronavirus, not to realize the fact that there is no vaccine available yet, not to realize that we must bear the obligation expected of us.

In my youth my liberty was restricted by political upheaval, by a cruel dictator whose aim was to annihilate us; yet I had the strength and good fortune to find a way to survive. The danger we are facing now, the deadly coronavirus obligates us to find the strength to accept the limitations to our liberty for the good of all.

As for myself, I have been inspired by this unexpected turn of our lives, to write poems, as I always do, with the hope that they might cheer us up, even if only a little.