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ERIC FROMMER / FLICKR
rm± street scribe
The Patiopocalypse
LEADERSHIP IS NEEDED AGAINST OUR INVISIBLE ENEMY
By Ed Tant news@flagpole.com
pub notes
A Little Help From our Friends
AN OUTPOURING OF CONTRIBUTIONS BUOYS FLAGPOLE
By Pete McCommons pete@flagpole.com
“April is the cruelest month,” wrote T.S.
Eliot in 1922. The poet’s words from almost
a century ago apply today to America and
to the world as the coronavirus pandemic
marches across this nation and around this
planet like some implacable, invisible army.
As this column is being written on the
morning of Apr. 8, there have been more
than 83,000 deaths from the virus around
the world, and nearly 13,000 deaths from
the disease here in the United States. This
morning’s news announced the coronavirus
death of Grammy Award-winning musician
John Prine, the internationally known
singer-songwriter who delighted Athens
audiences when he performed in our city in
years past. The coronavirus has been a true
grim reaper, killing the famous, like Prine,
along with thousands of unknown, unsung
but not unloved people. Already in America,
the death toll from the illness is more than
four times that of the infamous 9/11 ter
rorist attacks in 2011, which killed nearly
3,000 people—and the carnage continues.
Americans grew up with movies and
science fiction stories that fed fears of a
quick and fiery end to civilization caused by
nuclear war or a bolt from the blue in the
form of a comet or an asteroid impacting
Planet Earth. Pandemics like coronavirus
offer no such sudden end to civilization, but
we are discovering anew the deadly damage
that a tiny virus—smaller than a dust mite,
invisible except through the eyes of pow
erful microscopes—can inflict on lives and
finances alike.
Ronald Reagan, the secular saint of the
Republican Party, famously claimed that
government is the problem and not the
solution. The present pandemic should
show that government action is needed on
the local, state and federal levels to combat
this invisible enemy that threatens all of us.
The pandemic has felled citizens across class
and racial lines in today’s America, but, as is
usual during any sort of disease or depres
sion, it is the poor and racial minorities
who suffer the most. Even if governments
do their best to fight the virus, individual
actions and precautions by citizens are
imperative if this deadly disease is to be
contained. Face masks have made a needed
comeback in the America of 2020—a grim
fashion echo of citizens in 1918 who helped
fight Spanish flu by adding face masks to
their wardrobes when going out in public.
Americans are a friendly, handshaking,
back-slapping people who are not used to
the “social distancing” called for to com
bat coronavirus. In America BC—before
coronavirus—millions
enjoyed concerts,
plays, movies, sporting
events, restaurants,
shopping malls, bar
rooms and church
services every day
and every night in
every state in “the
land of the free.”
Today, America is on
hold, and millions are
staying confined to
their homes during
this time of “patio
pocalypse.” We are
air-conditioned and
app-connected during
this time of trouble,
but we are unable
to enjoy the simple
human pleasures of
hugs, handshakes,
family meals and face-
to-face conversations.
This country and this
world can overcome
this latest threat, but it will not be easy, and
it will require action and sacrifice by politi
cal leaders and ordinary citizens.
A war is being waged against a deadly
foe. Heroes are emerging every day from
that war, and citizens owe a debt of grat
itude to the doctors, nurses, emergency
medical technicians, respiratory therapists,
police officers, firefighters, food servers,
journalists, sanitation workers, drug
gists, grocery store personnel and others
who strive to provide for the needs of all
during this time of trial and tribulation.
While millions are housebound during this
pandemic that raises fears of an armchair
Armageddon, we must wash our hands and
cross our fingers for national leadership
on par with that of President Franklin
Roosevelt, who back in 1944 proposed
the right to adequate medical care for all
Americans, as well as the right to pro
tection from financial burdens caused by
aging, illness, accident or unemployment.
Roosevelt’s compassion and action during
the Great Depression and World War II are
needed more than ever from the president
today. Humorist and political observer Will
Rogers was correct during Depression times
when he said wise words that apply today:
“In time of crisis, people want to know that
you care, more than they care what you
know.” ©
At a restaurant, a bar, a concert, a play—
and we will be at them again—you have
immediate human interaction. You order
from the server or from the bartender; you
applaud the musicians or the actors; you
enjoy the people you’re with. The same at
a store, especially a smaller, locally owned
business, where the owner may be present.
You give immediate feedback. They see what
you like and what you don’t.
A newspaper is different in the sense
that we’re in our offices getting it ready, and
then we put it out there for you to pick up
or read online. But we don’t see you do that.
We’re working on the next paper when this
one comes out, and unless you call us up or
write us a letter or an email or stop us on
the street, we’re never sure what you think
about what’s in the paper. We’re sort of fly
ing blind and hoping we’re connecting.
That’s why your outpouring of contribu
tions during this present crisis has been so
heartening for us—a solidly tangible suste
nance that has come to our rescue when our
financial situation is most precarious. You,
our friends, our families, people we know,
people we don’t, have rallied to support us
with your hard-earned money, freely given
in a time of need. At the tightest point so
far, your dollars enabled us to meet our
payroll, our greatest expense for the heart
of Flagpole: its skilled, dedicated and consci
entious staff.
Meanwhile, our advertisers have hung in
there to the extent they are able, even while
their own businesses are devastated—
which means that we help steer customers
to them, while their payments help us to be
here for them.
Flagpole has applied and been accepted
for the national government’s Payroll
Protection Plan. We don’t know how long
it will take, but when that money arrives,
it will see us through two months of pay
rolls. In the meantime, we continue to face
not only payroll, but also rent, printing,
insurance, utilities, maintenance and all the
other monetary demands impinging upon
a business.
In short, your contributions are still a
welcome and vital help in keeping Flagpole
going. You help assure that this locally
owned, locally staffed and locally written
newspaper can continue to knit our com
munity together with the news we need to
know.
There’s one other thing. Your contribu
tions have not only helped Flagpole survive,
you have lifted our spirits and encouraged
us to hold on and prevail against this crisis.
Sealed off from your immediate reactions to
our journalism, we have felt the immediacy
of your financial support, while your voices
have broken through to tell us directly, in
notes that accompany your contributions,
that you appreciate and need Flagpole.
Thank you for all these encouraging
words. Here is just a small sample from the
many messages of support:
“From someone who left Athens 10 years
ago who fondly remembers and still appre
ciates Flagpole. Keep on keepin’ on.”
“I count on Flagpole to know what’s hap
pening in Athens. Keep it coming!”
“I can’t imagine an Athens without
Flagpole. You help keep this community
vibrant, and I hope you continue to do so
for many years to come.”
“We appreciate, value and need you!”
“Flagpole is Athens. Stay strong and keep
up the good work, guys.”
“Keep on truckin’!”
“Thank you Pete & Alicia & Larry, Anita,
Jessica M., Blake, Jessica S., Zaria, Chris,
Cody, Hillary and Gordon for your past and
continuing dedication and effort to inform
and entertain our beloved community. We
are grateful for your creative and smart
weekly now more than ever.”
Thank you all for your help and encour
agement. We will need more before this
crisis is over and we can figure out how to
keep Flagpole going. You have helped us
renew our resolve, and we are relying on
you to continue helping us weather this
storm. To donate, go to flagpole.com or
mail checks to Flagpole, P.O. Box 1027,
Athens, GA 30603. And thank you! ©
John Prine was among the more prominent victims of COVID-19.
APRIL 15, 2020 | FLAGPOLE.COM
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JOSEPH SIFFRED DUPLESSIS / NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY