During COVID-19, you never know what you'll see in the park

It was Friday afternoon, maybe Saturday, it's hard to be sure. Every day has started to blend together into a soup of coffee, zoom meetings, and Netflix. My boyfriend and I try to take daily walks to add some spice to the soup.

On this particular walk, we spotted a woman hiding in the trees across the street from our home. She was standing completely still, staring off into the distance. We couldn’t help but ask what she was up to. I don’t know what I expected her to say, but it definitely wasn’t, “Shhh, it’s my boyfriend’s birthday and I’m waiting for him to find me.” It was then I noticed the bright orange Nerf gun in her arms. “I left him a Nerf gun, some ammo, and a note to find me in the park,” she explained.

Marissa Glatter had devised the plan as a fun way to get outside and celebrate boyfriend Greg Clough’s birthday. After weeks of staying at home watching TV, they were both itching to get outside and enjoy some fresh air in their neighborhood.

The video journalist in me was screaming, my brain flooding with ideas. We as a society are clinging to any good news we can find, and if their birthday Nerf war could make me smile this big, maybe it could make other people smile, too. I approached them mid-battle (almost getting caught in the crossfire), and asked if I could turn their Nerf war into a mini-action film. They were up for it and it turned out to be an afternoon well spent.

The pair have been social distancing together for over a month. Their battle took place away from the main area of the park, so they didn’t have their masks on them. In a follow-up chat, Marissa assured me they always grab their masks and gloves when venturing to the store or more populated areas.

Greg was grateful for the fun birthday surprise: “It’s hard staying busy, we used to have very active lives, and now it’s hard to find something to do outside of the house….and we ran out of [Netflix’s] 'Tiger King' episodes.”