Hi everyone, Max Bowen from the North Star Reporter here. You may be wondering why you’re seeing the above photo instead of an empty store shelf or shuttered school or any of the other variation of Coronavirus visuals that have filled the media.
We’re not dodging the story, in fact, our full recap of the impacts to the town are available online. Rather, I decided that we’ve all been so inundated with this coverage that you could use a break, hence my choice of photo. This was taken Monday morning near my apartment. I see the sunrise a lot on my morning runs and always thought it would make a good picture.
I also wanted to say something, and it may sound trite, but here it is—we’re going to make it.
There’s no doubt that this is a serious issue. Coronavirus is a health challenge unlike anything we’ve faced in the recent past. Many people are suffering. Some have died, and that’s a tragedy of the worst kind. But a lot of messages have gotten out that this is the end for us, or that we’re seeing some kind of apocalypse-eque scenario.
We’re not. This will pass in time and we will come out on the other side. There will be mourning, and lessons to be learned, and should this ever happen again, it’s my sincere hope we’ll all handle it a lot better. No hoarding, no panicking, no sensationalist nonsense that’s more based on guesswork than real facts.
I won’t lie—I’m scared too. A member of my family was tested for the virus over the weekend, and at the time of this printing, I don’t know the results. My grandfather is among those at the highest risk, and I have elder relatives, some battling serious illnesses before this even happened. I worry about the economic impact, not just to the town, but to the entire country. I hear business owners talk about how they’re going to weather the coming weeks, and it’s among my prayers that the hit isn’t too bad.
But I also believe that this will come to a close, and when the time comes to tackle any cleanup, I hope we can all pitch in and help one another. If someone over-spent on supplies and they need some help, please do what you can. If someone is going through this alone, call them or stop by to see how they’re doing. And if someone has to bear the heaviest of burdens—the loss of a loved one—be there when they need a shoulder to cry on, someone to hear their words, or just a hand to hold.
The only way to get there is together.
