SUNNYSIDE UP MOMENT - MAY 3, 2020

DAY FORTY-EIGHT OF THE CORONAVIRUS QUARANTINE FOR US AT STACK 'EM HIGH PANCAKES AND SO FORTH

The CDC released a 17-page document outlining re-opening guidelines for several sectors of the economy.  North Carolina issued proposed phases for re-opening.  Dare County Board of Public Health is scheduled to meet next week to interpret and I would assume to customize the requirements for our immediate area.  The next step will be for business owners to tackle this mountain of information and to implement practical policies and procedures.  And at the most fundamental level, the only way any of this works, is if individuals are vigilant about their hygiene and their health.  Dangling our feet back into the world will require clean hands and smart heads.  But most importantly it will require a framework of trust in each other and respect for each other. 

To be honest, as we started working through these pages of regulations and scribbling points to ponder for our business strategy moving forward, my instinct was just to remain closed forever.  Shut the doors.  Give it up.  It’s simply going to be too hard.  And it’s certainly not going to be any fun. 

I was driving back from the restaurant yesterday with these thoughts weighing me down.  I was completely overwhelmed and disheartened.  Normally, when I drive home from work I love nothing more than to lose myself in an episode of “This American Life” or “Splendid Table.”  I am a dyed in the wool public radio junkie and on Saturdays I usually get to hear a little of “Snap Judgement.”  Yesterday was no different, except yesterday’s episode made all the difference.  Glynn Washington, the host, came across the airwaves with his cool, commanding voice introducing “Letters from Lockdown,” stories from other parts of the world where “the concept of lockdown isn’t new at all — being forced to stay inside a room, a building, or a closed territory is a familiar experience. What can we learn from people who have been under lockdown before, whether in a war zone, in prison” or worse? 

Suddenly, my little meltdown made me feel rather little.  Winston Churchill said, “This is no time for ease and comfort.  It is time to dare and endure.”  It was the right sentiment then, and it’s the right sentiment now.  He also said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”  We are going to make mistakes through this process.  We are going to veer off course.  But eventually we will get it right and we will stay the course.  Another win for NPR.  Another win for hope.