Social distancing and self-isolation haven’t been easy for anyone. And depending on where you are and what your circumstances are, this situation can be much harder and take a much greater toll on peoples’ lives.

I consider myself very lucky and am not taking any of the comforts I’ve been allowed to enjoy for granted.

Enjoying the hidden backyard sanctuaries around our house and going on my daily walks through our typically suburban neighborhood helped me keep my sanity and find solace.

Distantly waving and shouting “Hi” and “Good Morning” to other people walking their dogs around the neighborhood, has made me feel less isolated and gives me a sense of unity – a sense of “we’re all in this together.”

The silver lining to all this is that in being “forced” to slow down and discover the hidden treasures and normally unnoticed details around me.

Vicky, my stepmother, smells a rose in our neighbor Fesser’s backyard, April 20, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

Every day I walk one to one and a half hours through our neighborhood. East Dallas, Texas, April 23, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

Wooden buddha statue surrounded by mini buddha heads in our neighbor Fesser’s backyard, April 27, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

Early morning, my neighbor’s property, April 23, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

A rare moment to seeing so many people out during lockdown, March 31, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

Vicky, my stepmother, keeps her mask on after returning from the supermarket to help with the pollen in the air, April 10, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

The neighborhood has a mix of classic suburban and mid-century modern homes, April 23, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

As spring begins, bees are also starting to pollinate, April 20, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

Our yorkie-poodle mix Lola sits in the car as my father, Dieter, approaches to wave us goodbye, March 27, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

A cactus flower in our yard after a morning rain, April 19, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

In a recent storm, the trunk of this tree cracked, but it still continues to grow, April 25, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

A pair of abandoned shoes I encountered during one of my walks, April 8, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

A wild peacock peeks into the window beside our front door, April 3, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

A woman in the neighborhood listens to music while pulling weeds in front of her house, April 6, 2020. Photo by Susanne Schweitzer

This is a project of  Lori Grinker’s  NYU graduate photojournalism class.

The post Solace in Suburbia appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

by Megan Jamerson

Days after the twin towers fell on 9/11 Eddie Coker wrote a song. The essence of that song became both the message of a youth organization and the reason he stood in Lower Manhattan on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, with a sign that read “Forgive Others.”

“It was 9/11 that prompted the very first line [of the song] ‘each and everyone of us will fall’” said Corker.

Coker a resident of Manitou Springs, Colo., was once an opera singer in New York. After ac-cepting an invitation to perform with a friend in a children’s opera, he realized he had found his new calling. He became a singer songwriter for children composing not only music for his own albums but also for “Barney and Friends” and Borders Books.

When the tragedy of 9/11 happened, Coker had two small children of his own. His youngests daughter, was barely walking. In an attempt to process the pain and suffering of that day, he did what he knew best and wrote a song for his daughter. The song was a message of coming to-gether as a community and unconditional love one.

“We need to love each other, care for each other and be good to each other,” said Corker.

Coker’s need to explain the importance of compassionate treatment of others blossomed into a greater mission. A mission to provide youth with a formula for leading a happy and healthy life.

“Thirty years of working with children led me to realize we gotta help them deal with their heads,” Corker said.

After years of research he finally started an organization called Wezmore to fulfill this purpose. The Wezmore website is full of inspirational videos, songs and blog posts centered around their values. “It’s all about trying to spread goodwill towards human kind” said Coker.

Coker and his Wezmore Creative Director, Andrew Holzschuh of Dallas, Texas, came to One World Trade Center to work on one of their many video projects. They envision it as a letter to everyone.

They set up their camera in the middle of the chaos in Zuccotti Park. Steps from ground zero, they were surrounded by tourists clicking photos, families and first responders passing through to pay respects and church choirs singing the gospel. The crowds lingered and observed Coker’s performance.

Handwritten cardboard signs display musician, Eddie Coker’s, positive messages. Photo credit: Megan Jamerson

Coker used handwritten cardboard signs of varying sizes to display his positive messages. Be Kind. Be Generous. Be Good. Happiness is something you choose. Holzschuh,24, plans to use the footage he captures of Coker to create a stop action video for their website and hopes it will have a big impact.

“This is a significant day. The best day to send a message to the world of positive things” said Holzschuh. “What happened, 13 years ago, it happened from a lot of hate and it formed a lot of hate”.

Hate is what these men say they want to help children deal with.

“If we can at least forgive someone in our lives I think that makes a small difference” said Hol-zschuh.

The post On 9/11: Bringing the message to children appeared first on Pavement Pieces.