Duke Ellington said that “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” And though he refused to play to segregated audiences, he also declined to participate in Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963.

Ellington’s relationship with the civil rights movement was complicated. He preferred to demonstrate his activism by doing benefit concerts. And so, it is, with many artists in times of crisis and unrest who either join with others in the movement of the day or time or who chart their own path.

This is a story about David Baggarly, a painter, and his wife Abby, a nurse. They have been both affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic in more ways than one. Their circles of family, friendships and community have been disrupted and altered mostly because of Abby’s occupation on the frontline of this pandemic. For them, it’s up close and very personal.

Her mom is in a nursing home and both of David’s parents are in their 80s. They are both very concerned about the possibility of inadvertently carrying the virus to them regardless of the precautions they take. “The stress becomes more and more evident every day,” said Baggarly.

“I’m constantly losing things, misplacing my keys and dealing with intermittent bouts of brain fog!”…