"You can observe a lot just by watching," said the great American philosopher and former New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra.
Even by practicing social distancing, by limiting our travels and retail interactions, by noticing the good work of friends and family members and by looking closely at our confined settings, we can see a lot. For many people, they may be seeing things for the first time, never having taken the time to slow down, never having looked closely at what is all around them.
Americans, by nature, are not lay-abouts. They want to work, to produce, to make a difference, to accomplish something. Even after less than two weeks of being kept away from their jobs by the coronavirus outbreak, they're chomping at the bit to get back. A day's work for a day's pay is something we're used to, not spending our days at home.
But what is going on with many people is affirming. Here are a few things we've observed - just by watching - about some of those who must stay at home:
* Who would imagine a private high school being a testing center for COVID-19 swabs from local hospitals? But that's what Baylor School - with no students on campus - is doing, having started yesterday. Eventually, the school lab may be testing 300 swabs a day.
The agreement between the school and Hamilton County will lower the burden on public and private labs and potentially will allow sick people to get the treatment they need sooner than they might have otherwise.
We don't ever get tired of hearing about the public and private partnerships that have become known as "The Chattanooga Way." For long before anyone ever heard of the coronavirus, such partnerships have been making the lives of Scenic City residents - and those far beyond our county and city limits - better.
* Not far from our temporary home office is a bus stop. In the pre-coronavirus days, well before first light, children attending public schools waited with their parents for the school bus to come into the neighborhood to take them to school. But now the buses are coming three times a week to bring lunches.
"Proof of enrollment or reduced lunch status," according to the neighborhood Facebook page, is not required. The lunches, the page notes, "include fruits and vegetables" and are available to any children 18 and under.
For school officials who made this happen, for the cafeteria workers who still rise early to make the lunches and for the drivers who drive their regular routes and hand out lunches with a smile, we salute you.
* Many Chattanoogans are missing their routines of dining at their favorite restaurants and perhaps enjoying their favorite libation. Fortunately, many restaurants either make all or most of their menus available for carryout or delivery services.
A friend recently posted a photo of the food they'd ordered from a Mexican restaurant. Now food posted on Facebook is nothing new, but the plated dishes swimming in what appeared to be cheese sauce, an avocado-rich salad and chips with salsa looked mighty appetizing. But what the friends were over the moon about were the margaritas. "For years we've been saying how wonderful it'd be if we could get margaritas to go," one said. "Well ... here we are!"
Margaritas can be made at home, but picking them up not only saves time and the purchase of ingredients but also helps out a local small business. If you've had a hankering for drinks and dinner, why not help out a local restaurant that could use a little help at this time and enjoy them in the comfort of your home?
* A talented seamstress we know is busily making masks that might be used by health care workers or others during the coronavirus outbreak. Even the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said homemade masks could be a "crisis response" option for health care workers and could be used in place of gear like surgical masks as a "last resort."
Joann Fabrics has said it will allow people to come into its stores and, using its sewing machines, fabric and guidance (with social distancing), make masks at no cost as long as they are donated.
Whether the masks are made at home or in a store, individuals and corporations are stepping up to the plate to do what they can to make the coronavirus outbreak as short as possible.
* A church children's director we met in a store the other day has been wracking her brain on the best way to reach her charges since they can't meet together in their building.
If they were older children or teenagers, she could reach them through their cellphones. But she wants those from toddlers to elementary school-aged to know not only that their church loves them but more about the Lenten and Easter seasons they had been learning about.
Here's betting she and others like her find that way. Love always seems to find a way.