By Allen Crabtree

BN Columnist

“Want to go to a party tonight?’ asked my roommate Alan Zentmeyer. “There is going to be a curfew party at that club we like so much.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to be out after curfew,” I said.  “I’ve read in the English-language Saigon Times that the White Mice [South Vietnamese Military Police] have shot people caught out after curfew”

“Not to worry,” said my roommate. “We’ll be safe inside and off the streets by the time the curfew starts.”

So, my roomate and I left our apartment near the Central Market and ventured out into the warm, humid Saigon night in 1964. It was just before the 10 p.m. curfew was set to begin and the streets were nearly deserted. We hailed a pedicab that took us to the club and found the door closed and no lights on. We knocked, and the door opened to let us in, and was immediately closed and locked behind us. “You no go out tonight, you stay here till morning,” said our host.  Curfew ran from 10 p.m. till 5 a.m.

It was a memorable evening – good food and lots of it, an open bar with lots of “Beer 33” to drink, a live band singing American popular songs badly, and many new friends. But it still seemed like an eternity until 5 a.m. arrived and the doors were opened so we could leave and stagger home.  

That was my first, and only, experience with a curfew and a curfew party. However, the coronavirus pandemic has brought the reality of curfews and faux-curfews back into everyone’s consciousness.

Unlike the one-night Saigon curfew party, we are now asked to stay as home for what might be the duration of the pandemic. Instead of the threat of White Mice shooting us if we venture out in violation of the orders, we are faced with a more deadly threat of getting infected (or infecting someone else) by this virus that could kill us.

Then, we had food cooked for us, an open bar, and live music during the curfew party. Now, we cook our own meals and have the Internet and television to entertain us. Although the live band thankfully stopped to take a break every now and then during the curfew party, today the television and social media coverage never stops and seems to get gloomier each day.

The isolation of staying at home, bereft of the human contact we are used to, are telling on the best of us.  “Cabin fever” can be a real thing, and it is difficult to stay focused and enthusiastic about life. We miss being able to hug our kids and grandkids, to socialize with others at shops and at church, to go out to dinner with friends. There is the ever present fear that we may get infected, or someone we love may be infected.

Coping with Staying at Home

I asked our Denmark Mountain Hikers how they are coping with the stay-at-home order, particularly since we have all been used to getting out for our weekly hike. In addition, our hikers often take additional hikes during the week with friends for exercise and the company of like-minded souls in the out of doors.  

My personal solution to stay sane has been to take advantage of the spring weather and prune the 1,500 blueberry bushes on our farm. It gets me out in the fresh air and I am by myself. Although interrupted by the late spring snows and heavy rains, I’ve been able to make good progress and am about a month ahead of where I was last year in pruning.  

In addition, there has been time for some rambles in the woods down back looking for vernal pools and signs of spring. I’ve kept in touch by phone with several friends who are in assisted living and our family and have made donations to United Way and Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, and also shipped books to some folks who can’t get out. All trips to the post office and grocery store are with mask and sanitizing wipes.

Here are a few of the things that our Denmark Mountain Hikers have been doing to stay sane during these challenging times:

Hikers #1 report:  My husband and I pretty much stay at home except for trips to the grocery store where I wear a mask, disposable gloves, and bring sanitizing wipes. I only bring my credit card in to the grocery store and sanitize it and the car door handles etc. I clean all food that is brought back into the house.

To keep active, I often walk up to four miles around our little pond. Now that the weather has broken, we work in the yard and I take paddles on the pond.

Hikers #2 say:  My wife and I attempt to have some sort of routine from reading our books, to going for outside walks. I’ve managed to run and bike on a daily basis. I’ve attempted to complete some woodworking projects. My only real challenge is weekly food shopping.

Hiker #3 reports: I have been staying busy doing some yard work. I have been able to take advantage of the beautiful weather and my dog and I have done some local hikes of nearby mountains, including one with another Denmark Mountain Hiker. We’ve not run into anyone on the trails.

Hiker #4 says: The campground at Sebago Lake State Park has some nice little hiking trails and my dog and I have been going there. I’ve found they are less crowded weekday mornings. There are even outhouses by the boat launch with toilet paper (I didn’t steal any!). Nice way to get out in some pretty woods. I have already seen some turtles, heard some frogs and saw a baby beaver on the Beaver Lodge Trail!

Hikers #5 report: We went on a couple of local hikes, but then we decided we shouldn’t drive anywhere. We only go to the post office or the grocery store wearing a mask and gloves. We’ve now been hiking around the woods near the house. We’ve done tons of raking of acorns!  

I’ve been doing Zumba on Zoom and my husband has been doing the treadmill. We have to do this daily in order to counteract the calories we’ve been ingesting from staying at home.

Since this is Poetry Month, I’ve been posting a poem every day at the library’s Facebook page. I’m helping a friend edit her book on a local history as a vacation destination for summer visitors and I’m working on my memoir.  My husband is working on his family tree.

We’ve donated to the United Way and checked in on friends by e-mail or phone to see how they are doing.  

Hiker #6 lives in Michigan and is a Christmas tree farmer and reports: We are managing to stay healthy in the midst of this madness. Nice thing, these days, about working in the woods: no crowds.

Hikers #7 are two snowbirds who have come north for the summer and report: We just got home from Florida and are self quarantining. On the drive north, there were only trucks on the roads and the two hotels we stayed at were empty. Once home, we went out with masks and gloves and bought enough food for three weeks for our quarantine. We’ve been unpacking and making masks for my family and staying home.

Pastor John Patrick, leader of the Denmark Mountain Hikers, had these words about isolation: We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of a beautiful world. The pandemic has foisted lots of concern and legitimate fear onto each of us. It has also foisted a kind of solitude that can be useful. Never has it been more important to let ourselves be loved and to love. For “God is love, and everyone who loves is a child of God” is not simply a slogan, it is our belief about the very nature of the universe. You don’t need a particle accelerator or a lifetime of differential equations to understand that, but you do need quiet time to make it your own. This Holy Week we are getting that quiet time, and what better way to spend it than in reflection about what it means to be loved.”

Each of us must develop our own way of coping with these challenging times, and I hope that these examples are helpful. You have, I am sure, developed your own mechanisms. These are just some thoughts and examples of the ways that our Denmark Mountain Hikers are keeping sane and in shape. Keep in mind that the pandemic will be over some day and we will be once again be able to get out, socialize and go hiking as the Denmark Mountain Hikers.

Allen Crabtree resides in Sebago.