Coronavirus Journal: Is this the end?

After a year off Facebook, I broke down and went back.
Social distancing is tough for me.

So far, I'm lucky: I write a regular column for The Week, and -- for now anyway -- they're still using my services. I saw a story today that said one in five Americans had already lost their jobs or seen hours reduced because of the coronavirus crisis.

I'm lucky to still have work. But I also have to think about my work a bit differently. I've never wanted to be a hack -- I've worked hard to avoid it -- but we are at a historical moment. To have such a platform is a privilege. To "mail it in" would be sin. Especially if one considers: What if the end of my life is coming soon? The end of my career? What will my final contributions be? How will I want to be remembered?

Last night, I wrote a column. 800 words roughly. Sent it to my editors. Then I realized it was inadquate to the moment, focused on small-bore politicking instead of the big concerns that face us all.

So I withdrew the column, and wrote a whole new column. It was about something important.

I'm glad I did.

School's out forever?

Just a few minutes ago, the governor of Kansas announced that school across the state is now cancelled for the school year. My 11-year-old son, who has hit cabinet fever levels quickly, is distressed.



I'm not sure how we'll handle what is to come, as far as he's concerned. Even if everything should somehow go back to "normal" in the near future, there's an entire generation of students who will find their educations altered and, in all likelihood, shortchanged to an extent. The only consolation, perhaps, is that they'll all be in it together.

Tonight, we are going to order pizza out from one of our favorite local restaurants. We're going to limit ourselves to once a week -- we don't want to go broke trying to keep our friends and neighbors from going broke -- and who knows how long any local restaurant will be able to stay open in these conditions? For now, though, we're going to try to thoughtfully do what we can.

For more from the Coronavirus Journal, click here.