Three months ago, with the spring issue of Around Concord set to go to the printer, I made a last-minute change to my editor’s note. I spiked what I had written weeks earlier and instead hammered out an editor’s note that attempted to capture the uncertainty of the moment.

“As I write this, it is barely mid-March, and we are in the first few days of what we’ll all remember as the coronavirus crisis,” I wrote. “Hopefully, once Around Concord reaches your home, we’ll be on steadier ground.”

The ground may feel more steady these days, but the uncertainty has lingered. While we may be more confident that we’re prepared to handle the medical challenge of COVID-19, we’re as worried as ever about the health of our institutions that together make our community. 

Like any eternal optimist, I’m hoping this whole experience will be remembered as a time we reconnected with our neighbors, our schools, our community gathering places. I hope we come to appreciate the value of our local businesses, our local farmers and our local arts organizations. Let’s not forget we have the power to put our money where it does the most good. And that’s with the local merchants, the local restaurants and all their employees who are rightfully worried about what’s ahead. Please support those who support the communities in which they live.

 

Steve Leone

Editor