I’d like to retract my last column
If I could go back in time exactly one week, I might slap my own hands away from the keyboard. When I re-read my column entitled “Not letting the coronavirus get me down,” I don’t know if I wanted to laugh, cry or chastise myself for being so naive.
A week ago, I was downright flippant in telling my readers that “I’m a coronavirus vector just waiting to happen.” I also declared that I would still be attending events planned for later this year, and crossing into Minnesota to do so.
As they often say on the Internet, my column last week has “aged like milk.”
It’s difficult for me to convey how much my mindset has changed in the past seven days — and how much my thoughts continue to bounce between panic, irritation, denial and something resembling
acceptance. Like most of you, I’m not a fan of this “new normal,” with schools, libraries, bars and restaurants all closed indefinitely, and virtually all events cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future. I even found myself getting upset that a city council meeting scheduled for tonight had been cancelled because of the new ban on gatherings of 10 or more people.
I worry about what we’re going to do to fill this newspaper for the next few weeks or months. If everything is cancelled, where will the photos, news and ads come from? We are not alone in this dreadful uncertainty, as small business owners and their employees are all wondering the same thing about the lack of customers.
During this time of societal shutdown, we need the support of our readers more than ever. Please continue to send us your news submissions, whether it’s pictures of what you and your families are doing to stay sane, virtual activities occurring online and even good, old-fashioned letters to the editor about politics or the state of the world.
In exchange, we will continue to do our best to provide you with coverage of local happenings, such as they are during a time of crisis. City and county governments will continue to operate, and schools are employing online technology to keep kids caught up with their education. We hope to generate stories out of these unusual and unprecedented circumstances, and make sure our readers stayed informed even during dark times.
So, if you have stories to tell, please let us know. Whether you’re a bar or restaurant owner, a school teacher or a health care worker, we want to hear from you. Continuing to share stories will help us get through this as a community.
And, of course, there’s always room for a little humor, like those signs pictured above that we happened to see near Athens. Thanks for the promo!
OUT FOR A WALK
KEVIN O’BRIEN
EDITOR
