Turning Eighty in Indiana in the Time of COVID-19

A Note for the Keller Team Blog

By Raymond and Judith Keller (Ray’s parents, age 80 and 77, living in Fort Wayne, Indiana)

We are writing this because our son asked us to. The questions: (1) What is it like to be 80 in Fort Wayne, Indiana during the Coronavirus? (2) Are we more concerned about ourselves or our son, who lives in New York City?

I’ll answer the second question first: Our son is the most concerning. He lives in an area that is full of the virus. He is alone (with his dog). We know he is very careful, but we still wait for his call. We want to know he is well and coping with the isolation. Would it have been better, if he had come home when this all began? We don’t know the answer to that question.

80 years old in Fort Wayne, Indiana during the Coronavirus— I feel safe because I’m doing everything to make myself safe. I don’t leave the house except to go to a medical appointment or to make a pick-up in my car. The liquor store will even bring my order out and place it in the trunk. Judy, my wife, gives everything I bring home a Clorox bath! I wear a mask, gloves, and wash my hands.

I feel blessed because I have some open space. The weather is improving, so I’ll be out doing my yard work (soon enough). I’ll even see other humans doing the same.

Why I Stay

By Ray Keller

I LOVE my home in New York, and I have been intensely grateful for it each day during this stay-at-home order. Nevertheless, any New Yorker can tell you that the choice of home in this fantabulous city is not usually made with social isolation and stay-at-home in mind. The old real estate adage, “LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!” does not lack foundation. Why would we spend so much money on housing to be in this city, if we were going to just stay home? Afterall, one might isolate more affordably and with greater enjoyment elsewhere.

My car sits outside my apartment on the street, and each day I walk by and consider a long drive back to Indiana to be with my parents. I would love some extra time with them. What’s more, I can’t really do my job, not in the normal way. In-person apartment showings are heavily limited, and many buildings disallow them all together. I can’t do much but wait… wait on-hold for unemployment and mortgage deferrals. Furthermore, in more normal times, we real estate agents face uncertain, and sometimes huge, missed opportunities for even a short weekend trip away. Finally, during COVID-19, real estate agents have a moment in which we could travel freely without much opportunity-cost.

In spite of all these incentives to travel home, I stay in place. Why? On Friday, April 24th, my father turned 80 years old. My mother is a couple years younger than that. All things considered, they are both in great health. Even so, my parents are most definitely members of a vulnerable population for COVID-19. I worry that if I were to travel home from the New York hotspot, I might unknowingly bring infection with me. While I might quarantine in my parents’ basement to reduce transmission risk, even the smallest chance of exposing my elderly parents scares me. So, I stay in New York. It’s not so bad; I’m okay.

Perspective is a fascinating thing. Stay safe and healthy and dig into the love, wherever you might find it.