Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | A J Quinlen

Quarantine Diary: School on Zoom's out for summer, maybe forever

aquinlen@dailymemphian.com (A J Quinlen) — Wed, 6 May 2020 04:00:02 -0500

My family of five popped into our hairdresser’s backyard for a quarantine cut. We got good cuts over good conversation, muffled slightly by our masks.

Quarantine Diary: Pack animals

aquinlen@dailymemphian.com (A J Quinlen) — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 10:18:26 -0500

We’ve watched Memphis’ social distancing “grade” drop down to a D. I think it shows how bad we all are at staying away from each other. On a smaller scale – the me scale – I’ve been finding more and more ways to socially distance … with people.

Quarantine diary: My cousin is on the COVID-19 frontlines

aquinlen@dailymemphian.com (A J Quinlen) — Wed, 8 Apr 2020 17:40:38 -0500

When the hospital asked, my cousin was among those who said they’d be comfortable working with patients who tested positive for the virus. Now, some of her coworkers avoid her.

Quarantine diary: Zoom, locusts and Stephen King

aquinlen@dailymemphian.com (A J Quinlen) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 04:00:04 -0500

Great things have come of being home and self-quarantined. For example, I’ve started reading again – reading voraciously. It started when my mom cleaned out the attic a week ago and found a box of my dad’s old books, including Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” series.

Quarantine diary: Kicked off campus

aquinlen@dailymemphian.com (A J Quinlen) — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 04:00:13 -0500

Coronavirus has disrupted some of my friends’ lives far more than it’s unsettled mine. My senior friends won’t get to have graduation. And my international friends have a real dilemma: Should they stay in the States or go home?

Syrian family achieving the American dream in Memphis

aquinlen@dailymemphian.com (A J Quinlen) — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 10:49:41 -0500

The Almasalmas are a family of Syrian refugees building a life in the Memphis area. An example of the American dream, they'd pushed through incredible hardship and loss by the time they arrived in Memphis. Here, they’ve been befriended by a support group of various locals.