News 12 New Jersey reporter Brian Donohue usually gets to meet a lot of interesting people during his “Positively New Jersey” segments.
Part of his job entails going out to meet the many interesting and unique residents of the Garden State.
But with stay-at-home orders and social distancing in effect – and the public’s general aversion to meeting strangers during the pandemic – Donohue has not been able to meet as many New Jerseyans as he would like.
“My whole mojo is shot and I miss people, real, live people,” Donohue says. “If I have to do another Zoom interview – ugh!”
So, Donohue set out to go meet some new people who were out during the pandemic, and ask, “How ya doing?”
Many of the people Donohue spoke with were eager to share their views. They probably missed social interactions as much as he did. Many said that they were trying to stay positive and we're getting by one day at a time.
But not all of the stories were so uplifting. Jimmy Braddish lost his job as a cook in a restaurant and has now found himself living on the streets. He wrote a poem that he calls “Life Support.”
“Scared, shaken, living like a troll. Sleeping in the dirt like a freaking mole. Destruction, corruption, living on the tracks in Princeton Junction. This ain’t the way we’re supposed to function” Braddish recited.
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Daniel Vasberg was celebrating his birthday. Birthdays during lockdown may not be very fun, but Vasberg seemed to be OK with it.
Manny is a union carpenter who has been out of work for two months. He says that he is running out of money and just wants the state to open up the jobs again.
John Monofo works for an HVAC company and is still able to work.
“You gotta go to work. You gotta stay positive. We’re going to get through this,” he says. “In my mind, the weak don’t survive. You have to stay strong and keep pushing forward.”
Schoolteacher Linda was out getting some exercise. She says that she is finding ways to get through it all.
“I just know that this is going to be over. I have faith that God is going to work it out for us,” she says.