Editorial To Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving is different, to say the least. This year has been a trial by fire, or perhaps more accurately put, a trial by disease. The Coronavirus upended so many aspects of our life-- from our daily routines to illness and death.

It has also given us a new perspective on what is important.

Perhaps you are one of many people who lost their job or working hours due to the pandemic. Paying your mortgage or providing food for loved ones is no longer as simple as it was before.

Perhaps you lost a dear loved one or cared for a person through their illness. In some tragic cases, family members have been unable to be in the same room as a sick or dying relative.

Perhaps your business has been hampered, shut down, or saw declining business due to the new economic reality. It seems as if we only missed a national depression by a whisker.

Perhaps your children’s schooling has changed-- maybe for the better or often, despite the best of efforts, for the worse.

Perhaps your job has changed and you are still adapting to the idea or the practicality of working from home.

All of these, and many more, are a part of our new reality. 

Our area is known for our resilience. We have fought through and won over larger challenges. Our towns and villages defeated the ravages of Hurricane Irene. We went from a historically high unemployment rate to one below the state average before the pandemic started. And our hearty folk and resolute attitude is one thing that is constant.

We are not heroes, but instead those that a disease, a recession, a national crisis will not bow down. Our efforts, in volunteering, local service, and business is what is driving us through this crisis.

And although I do not know the details in between, we will emerge at the end of the tunnel stronger and tougher than before.

That, we can give thanks for.