From Sunny Seattle...
If the Sun wasn't out, I don't know where we'd be.
Sunshine in Seattle can be unreliable until July 5 or so. The winter we had in the city this year was borderline cruel. We went from well behind on rain to nearly a foot over normal. Right before Christmas, Seattle recorded its literal darkest day ever. I'm not one who usually suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but this winter pushed me pretty close.
So, this week, with the vast bulk of residents hunkered down working from home (or worse... but we'll get to that), the sunshine has been our only respite.
The outdoors, you see, is still open.
We're an active lot in Seattle. You may have heard we're a bit outdoorsy. Stereotypes often have their roots in some small truth and it's no accident that Patagonia, Fjallraven, Columbia, REI, Kuhl, Arcteryx and more all have downtown storefronts within blocks on one another here. We can't really go to those stores right now. They, like every other "non-essential" business have shut their doors.
But we can still go outside. I texted a friend to catch up on what is now a daily dog walk. We caught up from six-or-more feet away from each other and, with a clear view of Mt. Rainier from the park we were in, you could be forgiven if you forgot for a moment that the seams of society were being torn apart.
The Sun is supposed to be with us through Sunday. Next week, we may face new challenges here as the rain returns.
Perhaps, that's just the time we need to face down some of the other challenges. Today, at least at this moment, I'm feeling better about things than I have for the past week. Our governor called a press conference today not to lock us further down, but to extend help to individuals and small business owners. I saw that the Senate managed to pass the COVID-19 response bill the house put together, and President Check-Your-401k signed it, including the paid leave portion. Here's an actual quote from Mitch McConnell:
I think we're going to find out a lot more is needed to support people, though. Friends in service work are out of luck right now. More than 50 restaurants have shut their doors, many permanently. Others are trying to-go or delivery setups. The bars are closed. The gyms are closed. Yoga instructors - of which we have more than our share in Seattle and I have one in my household - are scrambling to find ways to teach their classes virtually, though it's unlikely they'll recover all the income they had on the horizon just a week ago. What's clear is the city that emerges when things stabilize will be different.
Aside from knowing people whose financial livelihoods are in peril, I also know a few people who have COVID-19. This was inevitable. All the money in the hands of people isn't going to give the peace of mind a clear test result can give. It is vital we really get our testing capacity ramped up.
If you've spent a day in corporate America, someone has likely mentioned that "you can't fix what you can't measure." Such is the case with our new coronavirus. I applaud the State of Washington for doing all it can to get testing moving, but we need more of it and we need it nationwide. Plainly: we have to take the guesswork out. We need the asymptomatic to know they have it and stay home (rather than participate in soccer practice like I walked by earlier...). Because, if we know that, then we can start to put a timeline to things.
It can all work together. we need to know how long things are going to be down. We need to know how long you need to support people. We need to know when you can start making real plans if you're a business, large or small. Anything that we can control that gets in the way of that will hurt people, financially, physically or both. The way I see it, we're at moment where we can spend a lot of money right now or lose a lot more later.
Without that, no amount of sunshine is going to brighten this summer. Not in Seattle. Not anywhere.
Sunshine in Seattle can be unreliable until July 5 or so. The winter we had in the city this year was borderline cruel. We went from well behind on rain to nearly a foot over normal. Right before Christmas, Seattle recorded its literal darkest day ever. I'm not one who usually suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but this winter pushed me pretty close.
So, this week, with the vast bulk of residents hunkered down working from home (or worse... but we'll get to that), the sunshine has been our only respite.
The outdoors, you see, is still open.
We're an active lot in Seattle. You may have heard we're a bit outdoorsy. Stereotypes often have their roots in some small truth and it's no accident that Patagonia, Fjallraven, Columbia, REI, Kuhl, Arcteryx and more all have downtown storefronts within blocks on one another here. We can't really go to those stores right now. They, like every other "non-essential" business have shut their doors.
But we can still go outside. I texted a friend to catch up on what is now a daily dog walk. We caught up from six-or-more feet away from each other and, with a clear view of Mt. Rainier from the park we were in, you could be forgiven if you forgot for a moment that the seams of society were being torn apart.
The Sun is supposed to be with us through Sunday. Next week, we may face new challenges here as the rain returns.
Perhaps, that's just the time we need to face down some of the other challenges. Today, at least at this moment, I'm feeling better about things than I have for the past week. Our governor called a press conference today not to lock us further down, but to extend help to individuals and small business owners. I saw that the Senate managed to pass the COVID-19 response bill the house put together, and President Check-Your-401k signed it, including the paid leave portion. Here's an actual quote from Mitch McConnell:
"I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that will help even a subset of workers," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "We're going to pass the House bill, but its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive package more urgent. So we aren't leaving -- everybody understand that -- we aren't leaving, until we deliver."I mean, credit where credit is due. Hell, it even seems likely we may even get a bill passed that sends checks to individual Americans. I can debate the merits of supporting the airlines with billions of dollars months after they bought back so much stock (aside: we'll probably all be happier at some point down the line if the airlines do not fold up the tents), but this sudden recognition of the role of the demand side of the economy is important. When your economy is based on people buying stuff, it behooves you to make sure people feel secure enough in their positions to actually part with some money. The market tanking? It's because people aren't buying stuff. The stocks doing well? Let's just say funds with grocery retailers and wholesalers are doing fine this week. Kroger stock is up 11% this week.
I think we're going to find out a lot more is needed to support people, though. Friends in service work are out of luck right now. More than 50 restaurants have shut their doors, many permanently. Others are trying to-go or delivery setups. The bars are closed. The gyms are closed. Yoga instructors - of which we have more than our share in Seattle and I have one in my household - are scrambling to find ways to teach their classes virtually, though it's unlikely they'll recover all the income they had on the horizon just a week ago. What's clear is the city that emerges when things stabilize will be different.
Aside from knowing people whose financial livelihoods are in peril, I also know a few people who have COVID-19. This was inevitable. All the money in the hands of people isn't going to give the peace of mind a clear test result can give. It is vital we really get our testing capacity ramped up.
If you've spent a day in corporate America, someone has likely mentioned that "you can't fix what you can't measure." Such is the case with our new coronavirus. I applaud the State of Washington for doing all it can to get testing moving, but we need more of it and we need it nationwide. Plainly: we have to take the guesswork out. We need the asymptomatic to know they have it and stay home (rather than participate in soccer practice like I walked by earlier...). Because, if we know that, then we can start to put a timeline to things.
It can all work together. we need to know how long things are going to be down. We need to know how long you need to support people. We need to know when you can start making real plans if you're a business, large or small. Anything that we can control that gets in the way of that will hurt people, financially, physically or both. The way I see it, we're at moment where we can spend a lot of money right now or lose a lot more later.
Without that, no amount of sunshine is going to brighten this summer. Not in Seattle. Not anywhere.
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