Tommy Orange Decameron Story

So far I have really enjoyed Tommy Orange's writing. Both There There and The Team explore very relevant and real issues that a lot of readers deal with. In the short story, Orange explores many of the familiar issues that COVID has brought to our daily lives. One of the recurring themes throughout the text is the idea of an upper-case Team, which is juxtaposed with the lower case version. The author starts the story by describing this running team that the main character is on. This person has a negative experience on this team, even struggling to understand why they joined it in the first place. Eventually this team is replaced by the Team, which includes different members that get introduced as the story progresses. Music, the character's body, family, and frontline workers are all included in this category. As I read, I reflected about who was on my own Team during quarantine. I was reminded about everything and everyone who had supported me, whether that was something small like bringing lunch or something bigger like planning a vacation. On a less personal scale, there have been a wealth of people who have put their own health on the line in order to help others. I am tremendously thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, and the other essential workers that have kept working in spite of the pandemic. All of these people are a part of the collective Team, which I thought of as society. It really doesn't help if some or even most of people are following the guidelines and trying to combat the spread of COVID. Unfortunately, it feels like the disregard of some people has spoiled all of effort and suffering that the rest of us have endured. To truly fight the virus, it feels like everyone has to band together and look at interests besides our own.