PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Publisher & Editor
Gregory Enns
772.940.9005
enns@indianrivermag.com
Associate Publisher
Allen Osteen
Associate Editor
Judith Collins
Copy Editors
Pattie Durham, Gaettane A. Paul
Design Editor
Michelle Moore-Burney
Writers
Susan Burgess, Donna Crary,
Rick Crary, Rachel Cuccurullo,
Pattie Durham, Kerry Firth,
Ellen Gillette, Janie Gould,
Catherine Enns Grigas,
Mary Ann Koenig,
Barbara Reid, Anthony Westbury,
Bernie Woodall
Photographers
Robert Adams, Rob Downey
Anthony Inswasty,
Mary Ann Ketcham,
Liz McKinley, Phil Reid
Advertising Representatives
Sunny Gates
772.204.5043
sunny@indianrivermag.com
Marsha Lange
772.237.1717
marsha@indianrivermag.com
Bookkeeping
Mary Enns
Distribution
Wes Holloway, Kirk Jones
Our Motto
‘We fly our own mission’
— Ed Drondoski, Founding
Photographer
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River Magazine Inc.
Reconnecting to our humanity
When COVID-19 made its way to Florida in March, we knew we were in for turbulent
times. Many thought that the virus would be around for a few months before
dissipating like seasonal flu.
Few people predicted a virulent second wave this fall that would spike numbers ever
higher, exhausting front-line workers and fatiguing the public. The development of a vaccine
has brought new hope that the end may be in sight. Besides sickness and loss of life,
what else has coronavirus left us?
• A new form of public hygiene. Masks will be forever a fashionable option. Everything
from how we greet people to how often we clean our hands is forever changed.
• More time at home, mostly for the purpose of social distancing. This isn’t a bad thing,
as long as it doesn’t lead to social isolation.
• Virtual communication via internet as a totally acceptable form of socializing, from
virtual happy hours to the remote dinners.
• A new commerce. We’ve discovered the convenience of having things brought to our
home instead of going out and shopping for them.
While some of these changes are advantageous, it seems the more we become virtual the
less we become human.
So when we have coronavirus beat, maybe we should reexamine the practices it brought
and adapt them in a way that reintroduces the human element and helps restore the world
to pre-coronavirus status. Consider:
• Make it a point to reconnect in person with the people that you have only been able to
virtually visit.
• In the first year, attend two or three more live performing arts events than you did before
coronavirus. The performing arts have been especially hard hit during the pandemic,
and they should receive special consideration during the return to normalcy.
• Eat out more than usual to help restaurants, another hard hit business category, rebound.
• Visit your favorite locally owned retail stores more frequently than usual to help them
come back. Keep home deliveries to a minimum during this time.
• Get back to attending large gatherings, whether at a concert or church, that help us
connect in a profound way as one big human family.
I’m not sure that any of these will bring us back to the world pre-COVID, but they may
get us back to who we truly are.
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Reach Publisher Gregory Enns at
enns@indianrivermag.com or 772.940.9005
/www.indianriverstore.com
/indianrivermagazine.com
/IndianRiverStore.com
/www.indianrivermagazine.com
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