Your first memory of Covid might have been a distant whisper — headlines about a new virus overseas, an outbreak on a cruise ship, or a few masked travelers at JFK. Or perhaps you didn’t think much of it until then-governor Andrew Cuomo announced Covid’s first case in New York on March 1, 2020.
Then it became a siren. Empty subway cars. Hand sanitizer selling for $50 a bottle. Refrigerated trucks that became morgues taking over parts of neighborhood streets.
Communities were scared, but they also felt empowered to help. In fact, this call to action is the origin story of Epicenter NYC. Some bodegas began doubling as food pantries, neighbors who had never spoken before formed mutual aid groups, and volunteers mobilized to deliver groceries to elderly people who were among the most vulnerable.
Now, five years later, we turn to some of those older New Yorkers as voices of wisdom. They also reflect on what they learned about faith, health, connection, creativity, and dreaming big at any age.
What lessons, hopes, or closer relationships did the pandemic leave you with? Share it with us at hello@epicenter-nyc.com.
Faith, family reconciliations, and cherishing each moment
Yvonne Koranteng, 61, Elmhurst
Life advice: “Cherish every minute of life because it could be gone within seconds. Life is indeed precious.”
“A lot of people who were ill, they finally came to God,” she said. “They realized that they needed someone bigger than themselves to help them, not only the doctors … prior to that, they weren’t believing in God, and [now] they prayed, and God actually answered them.”
Koranteng also shared that “Covid caused me to want to call my family more.” That was especially the case with her older brother, who she had hardly spoken to before the pandemic.
The power of solitude
Anthony Terrana, 69, Richmond Hill
Life advice: “Stop looking for outsiders. Look within … you don’t have to feel alone unless you choose to feel lonely. I value my solitude.”
Terrana developed a closer relationship with himself during the pandemic. “I had been isolating myself … , and I don’t think of it as feeling alone. I think of it as solitude, which, it’s not loneliness, unless you feel it. I don’t have anyone bothering me to put the toilet seat down, pick up, take the garbage out. I do it when I do it. I eat when I’m hungry, I sleep when I’m tired, and it’s like I’m living my life now.”
He began writing more poetry during the pandemic and continues today. “I’ve written about love and loss poems and poems about nature. The last poem I wrote, as a matter of fact, I put it on the web. It went something like:
I’ve been walking through the woods,
thinking, how you feel so good,
listen to the bird sounds filling the air.
I’m so glad I went out there.”
The creative art of connection
Claudette Pegus, declined to share her age, Elmhurst
Life advice: “It’s really nice to stay connected and to be kind and consider how one will feel if they are left alone.”
In 2020, isolation was frequently referred to as a “second pandemic.” To combat feelings of loneliness, Elmcor Senior Center mailed Pegus and other older adults arts and crafts activities. They would complete them together via Zoom.
When Pegus learned of an older Elmcor senior who lived a few blocks away and didn’t have a computer, she invited her 90-something-year-old neighbor to join her for those Zoom sessions. They made a habit of it, creating everything from tea-cup hats to mixed-media fashion art. During holidays, they sipped Bailey’s Irish Cream.
Pegus was delighted to help because otherwise, her neighbor wouldn’t have been able to part in anything. “She would just be home,” Pegus said. “At my invitation, she came, and she was able to do a lot … I was happy, and she was grateful.”
They became close friends, and Pegus felt compelled to “look after her, like a big sister. We grew to love each other.”
Trust doctors, embrace natural beauty and create with purpose
Anisia Ayon, 78, Forest Hills
Life advice: “Don’t listen to the politicians. Listen to your doctors.”
Ayon learned to embrace her natural beauty during the pandemic. Since she wasn’t going out, she let her greys grow out, and then she fell in love with them. “I said, ‘You know what, I’m not going to dye my hair anymore,’ ” she tells us.
It was the first time in 20 years Ayon hadn’t dyed her hair. It was also better for her health, she says, as dyes are full of chemicals.
Ayon also embraced healthier eating habits. She lived with her niece during lockdown, so they both became more mindful in their diet. Like many Latinos, she says, they ate a lot of rice, so they began to control their portions and added more vegetables.
And she started crocheting more. It was a skill she had learned in school, but working full-time had made it tough to devote much time to it. She saw the need in neighbors for warm crocheted things: “I just make blankets for people,” she said. “I recommend it to anybody, because you’re concentrating on the stitches and you don’t think of anything.”
Dream big and speak success into existence
Robert James, 73, Jamaica
Life advice: “You’ve got to have a dream — not a small dream, a big dream. … When you set out to do something in life, you can achieve it if and when you change your attitude, raise your self-esteem, and associate with positive people.”
During the pandemic, James, who’s an entrepreneur, focused on pushing his business savvy to the next level. He built stronger connections with fellow entrepreneurs and surrounded himself with positive, encouraging people. This improved his mindset. “All of us think [the only way to get by is] just working for money. [But] you can make the money work for you; you can make a business,” he said.
As a Honduran entrepreneur, financial independence is important to him. This is something we’ve heard from others who launched businesses during the pandemic: While education is valuable, he believes it’s crucial to have a backup plan.
“Studying often prepares you to work for someone else, which can become an economic prison,” he said in Spanish. “Meanwhile, the self-employed person has a more open mind. The entrepreneur is part of the 5% of the world who are successful in life. 95% of the world is living off their salary.”
Looking back on the challenges of the pandemic, he credited his mindset for keeping him grounded.
Embracing precautions
Barbara Taylor, 61, Elmhurst
Life advice: “Remember the importance of life. … and that germs are real.”
Taylor has an immune disorder. During the pandemic, she became very cognizant of how invisible threats could be life-threatening to those who are especially vulnerable.
Taylor says the pandemic made her appreciate preventative measures even when there’s no public health emergency. For instance, now she sees masking during food preparation at restaurants as something that should be standard practice.
Don’t forget, we’d love to hear from you. What lessons, hopes, or closer relationships did the pandemic leave you with? Share it with us at hello@epicenter-nyc.com.
Read more of our Covid stories here.
Thank you so much for sharing these astute and priceless insights! They are gems, and I look forward to applying them. I appreciate this article a lot.
The article was very enlightening on how people felt during the pandemic. I appreciate the interest you had and still have in the elderly community. You are a blessings. Continue the reports. Your work is not in vain.