What we see and hear taking place in New York City seems surreal here. At the time of this writing, the novel coronavirus has yet to make an official appearance in RBC, although medical experts believe it’s already here. Human nature being what it is dictates that until the pain reaches our doorstep, we won’t acknowledge it as reality, and we’ll resist and rebel against guidelines and precautions designed to keep us safe. Meanwhile, with businesses shuttered and the stock market looking like a roller coaster, there’s a double-edged sword of financial fear and pressure weighing on us all. The future is suddenly a scary, distressing and very uncertain place.
We haven’t been asked to send our sons off to war on foreign soil, as generations before us have done. We haven’t been asked to ration our food or plant victory gardens (although the gardening thing is not a bad idea anyway, and rationing is better than hoarding). We haven’t been assigned to sew bandages for the troops (although mask sewing is now a thing… more on that next week). As a generation, we’ve been tasked with what may prove to be the hardest task of all: sitting at home for a month or more, waiting for this thing to subside.
Take it seriously, folks. We’re in for a long haul, and it’s going to be a rough ride.
We’ll be doing everything we can to keep you up to date, both in print and online. Government meetings have gone virtual, and we’re still paying attention to those meetings and what our elected officials are doing.
We’re working with the agencies tasked to plan and prepare to get information to you, and trying to use the paper as a way to both support our local businesses and give you something to do and look forward to every week.
We will be postponing publication of our award-winning Adventure Colorado magazine in light of current events. We’d have to retitle it to Adventure Couch to make it pertinent, and that doesn’t sound very appealing.
As we continue to hear sad news about local newspapers around us already forced to make heartbreaking cuts to staff, to number of days published, to content they have room to include, and more, we want to thank, again, all our advertisers and all of our new and renewing subscribers for your continued support.
By Niki Turner | [email protected]
