John Barstow
29-year resident of Middlebury, currently contracted by President Laurie Patton’s office as a college-town liaison on climate emergency
Location: Middlebury, Vermont
Submitted May 1, 2020
I remain healthy, as does my family, so low impact. Staying home and staying safe is the main impact. I now work remotely from home, I go out much less often, and in myriad ways with which we're all familiar, life has changed — for worse and for better.
I feel very privileged (bordering on guilty) to be able to live in a comfortable home large enough to easily accommodate my wife Kate and me, now both working from home. We have each other, we have a degree of security — so far, we have Vermont, once again a place apart, for which we are grateful.
What has been your greatest worry or day-to-day concern as coronavirus has spread?
My older son Charles living in northern Italy. He remains healthy, but his pre-existing condition makes him immunocompromised and therefore especially vulnerable should he contract Covid-19.
What has made you happy over the past few weeks?
Spring in Vermont: long hikes, distancing with friends and family, on the TAM and on trails near and around Silver Lake. The blossoming wildflowers are more wondrous than ever — the natural world, as always, putting this human life into perspective.
John Barstow in Middlebury, Vermont
Canada geese at sunset on a recent evening behind our home. (KATE GRIDLEY)
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