The Times has been asking readers to share stories of living through a pandemic. Here’s a sampling:

My mom, Joan, lives at the Atria Senior Residence at Crossroads in Waterford, which is currently under stringent lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s been living there for over two years and she really loves it. We’ve had two terrific birthday parties for her at Atria in the party room, her 88th and 89th. Sadly, her big 90th occurred during this time of isolation, prohibiting a big party anywhere.

My husband and I sent flowers and presents and arranged for a window visit where we sang happy birthday with a cake outside Mom’s window.

The staff there has been so supportive. A lot of friends and family remembered her birthday, so the day managed to feel special. Mom really enjoyed it. She’s lived through the Great Depression, World War II and the polio epidemic, so she knows how to make the best of a not so great situation.

But here’s the best part: my cousin from an hour away called Crown Pizza in Waterford to arrange the delivery of my mom’s favorite pizza (she loves their meatball pizza!).

When the folks at Crown heard the story from my cousin, they wouldn’t let her pay for the pizza. They wanted to be part of the 90th birthday! Then they went further and decorated the box!

This was such an uplifting and heartwarming gesture in this trying time. We are so grateful to the folks at Crown Pizza. We are lucky to have such a great community!

Gail Wood, Waterford

My husband passed away in late November so I was just getting used to living alone when the coronavirus hit and we were asked to quarantine. I didn’t think I could survive not having any social life! However, I have connected by phone to a friend in North Carolina who I was planning to visit in March and was disappointed that I had to cancel. She is alone too so we talk frequently on the phone and have enjoyed sharing our joys and frustrations.

I also have connected with the wife of my husband’s friend from seminary who lives in Wisconsin. She lost her husband a year and a half ago so we have a lot in common. We talk every week and have enjoyed getting better acquainted. She told her friends, “I have a new friend.” I sent her a file with newspaper clippings about her husband that my husband had saved. She replied, “It was a treasure trove!” She is staying at home to be safe but has her daughter and friends to bring her what she needs.

I have several friends I walk with (6 feet apart!) so that gives me exercise and socialization. My pastor has encouraged us to keep in touch with our church friends so I have made some calls and I have received many myself which I appreciate.

Marge Murdock, Groton

On a cold, dark night many years ago, I was in my driveway when I noticed a man walking along the sidewalk, pulling a suitcase on wheels. He appeared to be of Latin American descent, and he seemed to be upset.

I approached him and asked if I could be of help. He didn’t speak much English so there was a language barrier, but after a few minutes I gathered that he had arrived by train and was looking for a Marriott hotel. He had walked from the train station through town, along the dark stretch of Allyn Street, and ended up in our quiet little neighborhood. Was he perhaps looking for the Residence Inn over on Route 27? He was tired, confused, a little scared, and he just wasn’t sure.

I pointed at my car, popped the trunk, loaded his suitcase, and off we went. His demeanor had changed from nervous uncertainty to knowing that it was all going to be OK.

We pulled into the hotel parking lot and went inside. The woman at the front desk conversed with him in Spanish and — hallelujah! — we were in the right place.

After I brought him his suitcase, he gave me the warmest, most genuine hug and handshake that I’d ever received. The sincerity with which it was delivered actually choked me up. Then I noticed he was choked up.

The woman at the front desk got choked up, too. We were three strangers whose paths had collided into a gorgeous, human moment.

On April 24, my wife called me at my office to tell me that someone had left large packages of toilet paper and paper towels on our porch. When she opened the door, she saw a man trotting back to his car. Since we weren’t expecting a delivery, she called out to him, thinking he had left these treasures of the 2020 pandemic on the wrong porch.

With a gleeful smile he said no, they were a gift.

“Your husband helped me find my way one night many years ago, and I never forgot,” he said.

When she called me to tell me, I sat in my office and wept, touched to my very core.

I think that sacred, profound moments like these come from simple human interactions that involve the giving or receiving of kindness.

“Help thy brother’s boat across and lo! Thine own has reached the shore.” — Hindu proverb

Paul Rogers, Mystic

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