Because I was curious (or because I'm a masochist...I'm not quite sure which) I went back into the archives to see what I wrote on this date back in 2020.
It was not a pretty thing to read.
That, of course, was right in the heart of the Covid shutdown. The week prior saw the world turn upside down, with no idea what would happen. Because radio was considered an essential service I still went to work every day into a studio complex that was devoid of people except for me (something that lasted for over a year, if you're curious). And because no one knew how bad things would get, on this date four years ago I wrote about something I hope I never have to write about again--
“I now find myself in possession of a document that I never thought I would have, nor one that I ever thought I would actually want. Should the state come under a quarantine or a stay-at-home order, I have permission to leave my apartment and go to work, and not get arrested for doing it.
That's just way too weird for me.
However, radio is considered an essential service in this country, and is still, despite all kinds of social media floating around, one of the primary ways in which people get information. So it's not like we can just stop our lives and hunker inside with everyone else. We're licensed to operate in the “public interest”, and this is one of those times that literally define “public interest”.
Hence, we're an 'essential service'”.
Thankfully, I never had to use the piece of paper. Thankfully things did, after several starts & stops, get better, even if the virus is now part of our everyday lives. But when you think about what we were going through four years ago this month & next it makes you shudder. Or, at least, it makes me shudder, not only because of what we went through back then but also because of the fact that we're still dealing with the fallout from it, in many different ways, four years later.
Our world really did change four years ago. And not for the better. But for now, at least, you don't need to be in possession of a piece of paper to walk three blocks to work.
And let's hope it stays that way.
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