A VIRUS JOURNAL March 27

            A COMMUNITY'S THOUGHTS - CONCORDIA, KS
                  March 27, 2020

The Blade-Empire is publishing this community journal as an ongoing record of the thoughts of our citizens as we embark on this journey through the coronavirus crisis.
Tell us what you think; your thoughts, fears and hopes for yourself, loved ones, and your fellow Americans. You may use your name; or you may submit anonymously.
When the pandemic is over, the Blade-Empire will publish the journal as a book. The thoughts of Concordians will become a time capsule and historical record for future generations to remember.

Chuck Lambertz, city commissioner and therapist: In my role as a therapist and as a city commissioner and frankly just someone who likes to know things, I’m trying my best to learn as much as I can about COVID19. I believe the best response is an informed response. I’m reading information shared from CDC and KDHE. I’m asking medical professionals and listening to their responses. I’m reading articles from relatively trusted news outlets. I’m processing opinion pieces and amalgamating the best sense I can make from all of it. What I am learning is that COVID19 is a monster unlike anything we’ve seen before.  
This novel coronavirus is now being compared to the single greatest pandemic the world has seen in recent history and that was just over a century ago. There were lessons to be learned from that pandemic however, and the primary lesson is the benefit of social distancing.  
Judging from the conversations I’m having via social media or in person from a distance, there seems to be about a 75/25 split between people who worry we aren’t doing enough and people who think we’re doing too much. There is a consistency though, people are worried.
As different as life feels right now, I worry this is a relative calm before the storm. In Kansas, we’re no stranger to storms. Perhaps we’ve become a little to accustomed to them. While there are certainly a fair share who take shelter when advised to do so during storm warnings; far too many of us tend to grab the lawn chair and go outside to watch it all go down.  
I have a lot of clients who are anxious about this pandemic. I have a lot of friends and family who are experiencing some anxiety about this. I’m anxious about this. Our anxiety and level of anxiousness vary regarding the potential impact of this pandemic on our physical and mental health as well as the impact to our economy, both in the short and long term.  
Anxiety can be a healthy and appropriate response to a given situation. It serves to prepare our minds and bodies to respond to dangerous environments and situations. This system is designed as a protective factor in our human nature, but it can also over function and when it does, it can cause a myriad of symptoms which I talk about often with my clients. For me, knowledge is power. I would rather be stung by a truth than soothed with a lie any day. I believe honest and open conversations are the best response to any difficult or conflicted situation.  
I have many common conversations in my work as a therapist. One is the reality that any one of us really only have control over how we act and how we react. Another conversation is the reality that ultimately, most conflicted decisions come down to choosing which discomfort we’re more willing to take on in any given situation.  
In being purposeful with our actions and reactions to the guidelines and recommendations being made by our leaders both nationally and locally as well as actively choosing the discomfort of social distancing and remarkably reduced contact in our otherwise very social lives we will hopefully avoid the discomfort of witnessing the horror of this sickness in our community.  
As a family, we’re having open and honest conversations as adults as well as age appropriate conversations with our children who are asking a lot of the same questions we are about what we can do. We’re talking about why we’re not able to go and do a lot of the things we did before such as visiting friends and playing at the park. We’re talking about the sickness that is going around and how its making a lot of people sick and scared. We’re talking about the ways we can help ourselves and our community try not to get as sick. One of the sayings we have as a family is ‘teamwork makes the dream work’. We talk about the importance of teamwork most often when we have an important job to do that isn’t necessarily pleasant or easy such as house chores or cleaning up dog poop.    
Teamwork can and does indeed make the dream work. We have a remarkable community here. One we often can take for granted. We live in a community that often springs in to motion to help one another in times of hardship. If we work as a team to help flatten the curve, we can weather this storm with significantly reduced impact to our community. I’m told our medical facilities are as well prepared as any can be but it sounds like no facility is as prepared as it needs to be if this virus hits us the way it has other communities around the globe. One of the risks we know about this bug is that once we start getting positive lab tests, its already been in the area for at least a week.  
There is a storm coming. We don’t know exactly when or how it will hit us, but we do know it is coming. We can either make the difficult but appropriate choice to take shelter as we’re being encouraged and advised to do, or we can taunt this storm by bringing out a lawn chair. Just please know that if you do choose go out into the storm, it’s not just your life you’re risking. That’s not hyperbole.

Quinn Kymer, age 11, CMS 5th Grade student: I like memes and funny stuff. I am in the fifth grade at Concordia Middle School and I really like to draw and watch YouTube. I also live in the country.
The Corona Virus really sucks and i hate it. I felt like crying and I prayed that nobody would get hurt and everything would be ok. I am trying as hard as I can not to get it or let other people get it like my family or anybody like that. I pass the time by watching Youtube, drawing, going outside, doing school work, playing video games and stuff like that.
I hope that when it is over that it won’t come again and that everybody will be ok.
When things are back to normal, I will try to see more people like my friends and family, go outside more, not be afraid because it is not here, and that is pretty much it.

Michelle Bombardier: To the Class of 2020,
Today it seems the world turned upside down.
A few short weeks ago we rang in the new year...2020...and suddenly it became real. You’re graduating. 18 years flashed before our eyes and we knew the time for accepting you were actually Seniors was now. One more semester before you head off on your next journey. Dollar signs and deadlines flashed in our heads. Spring Break, Prom shopping, Graduation Announcements, finalizing reception venues, planning a menu...our heads were spinning while stars shone in your eyes, eagerly and excitedly awaiting all that Spring was going to bring.
This wasn’t in the plan.
Your class came into the world in an era of crisis. 9/11 for you was a story in a history book. We were relieved you wouldn’t remember. We carried that fear of the unknown in silence, protecting you as only we knew how. We rocked you in our arms as towers fell and bombs lit up the sky in far away lands. We hushed your cries with promises you were safe and we wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you. You had nothing to fear. We made you that promise.
Then one day we felt sure we’d made good on that promise. We took vacations, we watched you graduate from Kindergarten...who could have imagined this then...you played with friends and we started noticing you were growing up. You meddled through changes in math, went to your first dance, had your first broken heart, lost your best friend, gained new ones, started driving, got your first job, bought your first car, and suddenly you were old enough to vote in your first election! We’d made it, just as promised.
And here we are.
Cap and gown hanging in the closet, or more accurately still sitting on your bedroom floor in the package awaiting the night before the big day. Announcements waiting to be ordered, addressed, or mailed out. Venues reserved, meals planned, cakes and cupcakes ordered. Speeches planned, written, rewritten, and even rehearsed. Wondering if you’ll get the chance, as so many who came before you, to hear that commencement march, to walk across that stage, receive your diploma, and toss those funny square hats into the air!
Not knowing is the hardest.
Then there’s the things we do know. You won’t walk those halls again this school year. You won’t walk into Mrs. Watson’s class, the band room, weights class, the choir room, auditorium, gym, or even the office. Backpacks are still unpacked, full of pencils and books. Cleats still sit falling out of your bag on the floor and golf clubs resting by the door. Varsity jackets missing the fourth and very last pin on your letter. Manuscripts unread, competitions cancelled, projects unfinished, contests that won’t happen, art shows erased, and yearbooks missing pages from canceled events and seasons.
But it’s the quiet.
No more bells ringing. The cacophony of voices in the hustle and bustle of the hallways between periods. You can’t hear the lockers clanging or friends parting before that last bell, saying, see ya after class. Or the roar of engines as everyone heads out of the parking lot for the day.
You feel lost and cheated.
Alarms aren’t going off in the morning with parents making sure you actually got out of bed. It’s weird even looking outside in the middle of the day! You eat lunch without your usual cafeteria group. You realize there’s a prom dress hanging on your closet door that may never be worn. That Senior Prank...still just an idea that won’t be seen to fruition. Senior Skip Day...well, they all feel like skip days now. It’s not fair.
What am I supposed to be doing?
Here...listen close, don’t miss this part. You may think you’re missing everything. Everything you’ve worked for has been ripped from you! Your heart feels broken beyond repair. Guess what? There’s so much more ahead. You’ll still graduate. It just might look different. That negative connotation that your generation has with being the social media generation? It’s saved your sanity. It’s allowed you to talk to your friends. It’s allowed you to send each other photos. It’s given you an outlet for your frustrations. It’s given you connection to all you thought you lost. You’ve found commonality with those you may not have had a chance to have spoken to in school. You’ve formed a bond that surpasses cliques and petty differences and superficial friendships. You’re seeing things from a different perspective, from many points of view. That overused 2020 vision theme applied to your class, it’s become real. You see each other and yourselves more clearly, more honestly, and more vulnerably than you’d ever imagined. You’ve found strength in difficulty. You’ve had a period to reset...to reflect...to recognize that you can do anything.
Before you know it, you’ve moved on. You’ve landed a great job, or at least a good place to start. You’ve signed your papers and are headed to basic training ready to serve your country. You’re packing your bags to find yourself before starting school. You’re enrolled at a votech or setting up your college dorm. It’s the new beginning you’ve been looking forward to for months! It’s here and guess what?
You’re ready.
My dearest child, while you thought your world was ending, here’s where we let you in on a little secret about you that we’ve always known-your best days are ahead of you. The joys and accomplishments you’ve spent the last 12 years working on pale in comparison to the joys and triumphs that await you living out your dreams as an adult in the world you’ve created! When you start your career, we’ll be right here cheering for you. When you buy your first home, marry the person you love, or have your first child, we’ll still be right here cheering you on. As you live out the life God has planned for you as a full fledged adult contributing as a member of your community and the world, we will be applauding your success with all that we have inside us.
Your senior year hasn’t turned out as planned. You have a right to be angry and confused and sad. We are here for you as you work though all these feelings, just as we will be here for you in all the days ahead. But the real tragedy would be if you spent these days thinking only of what you’ve lost. Use this as a time of reflection that will put you on a path to greater success, towards dreams you may have never imagined before! There will still be sad days ahead, challenges you must face head on. But your futures are so bright! Happiness is just ahead. You just have to seek it, grab hold of it, and don’t let it go. Make the most out of these challenging times. Seize every moment leading you toward happiness. Rise above what you’ve been dealt.
Class of 2020, we promised you the world. Go take it!
We love you!
The parents of 2020

Please email your thoughts to russell@nckcn.com. In the Subject Line type "Journal Entry'
Or you may write down your thoughts and mail them to:
Blade-Empire
Journal Entry
510 Washington Street
Concordia, KS 66901
Please email photographs of you, your family and friends coping with the crisis. Humor is always appreciated.  Email the photos to russell@nckcn.com