Coping with the outbreak: Send us your Wilson photos

One of the delights of last week arrived in an email from Lauree Harp, a reader from Arlington Heights.

She wrote a nice note about coping with the isolation we're all feeling these days.

And she included this image of the “Wilson” she has created to befriend her.

There's a lot of tough news right now, some of it scary, some of it sad and tragic. We can't ignore that reality.

But one of the sweet aspects of this challenge is how it seems to be bonding us.

We've received a lot of encouraging email from readers like Ms. Harp along with many constructive suggestions. A lot of those ideas have shown up in the paper already, and a many more of them are being pursued.

And on top of all that, my, how Ms. Harp's Wilson photo brightened my mood.

I just have to share it.

Maybe it will prompt you to create a Wilson of your own. If you do, send us a photo; if we get enough of them, we'll find a spot in the paper to share them too.

Send it to me: jlampinen@dailyherald.com and I'll see that it gets forwarded around our virtual newsroom.

Wilson, as most of us know, was famously a creation of Tom Hanks' character Chuck Noland in the 2000 movie “Cast Away.” Stranded on an island with a handful of packages that floated in from a downed cargo jet, Noland put a face on a Wilson volleyball so he'd have a friend to keep him company.

In our isolation these days, there's probably more than a little connection we might feel to Hanks' character.

One of my favorite soliloquies from that movie (via screenwriter William Boyles Jr.) comes near the end when Noland reflects on his seclusion and applies it to the loss of his one true love.

“Now I know what I have to do,” Noland says. “I have to keep breathing. And tomorrow the sun will rise. And who knows what the tide will bring in.”

Yes, these are difficult days. We have to keep breathing.

Send us your suggestions. Send us your Wilson photos.

Most importantly, stay well.