LETTER from CHIP NORTHRUP

Heroes Of The Plague

To the Editor:

The humorist, Will Rogers, once said: “When all the filing stations on all the street corners are out of gas, then we’ll see what kind of people we’ve become.” It takes a pandemic to see what kind of people we’ve become and who the heroes are. Here’s my short list:

1. The staff of Bassett Fox – for getting ready in time, working tirelessly and telling the truth, particularly Drs. Streck and Hyman, and all the doctors, nurses and staff that are working 10-hour shifts to keep us all safe.
2. The local employers that are doing their best to keep their businesses going.
3. Essential workers – who some of us used to take for granted – the pharmacy staff, the grocers, the farmers, the mechanics, the firemen, polices and EMS. The linemen and utility workers. The truckers and delivery men. All the postal workers. All the local government staff. The health equipment suppliers. Now we know who’s really important.
4. Jane Clark and Leatherstocking Corp., for shutting down the tourist magnets to avoid over-loading Bassett.
5. The Presutti Family – who had the foresight to build Dreams Park and used the same foresight to close it down to avoid burdening the area with sick tourists.
6. Governor Cuomo – now officially “America’s Governor” for his leadership, his compassion and his insights.
7. The manufacturers – who rose to the task of making the supplies needed on the front line
8. The Freeman’s Journal & Hometown Oneonta – for keeping us all posted, literally up to the minute on what’s going on in times of crisis, nothing is more helpful

When this pandemic is completely over – when there is an effective vaccine that will enable people to congregate safely in groups – most of us will remember what kind of people we were in a crisis and we will remember who the real heroes were: They are the people that we cannot live without. Remember that.

CHIP NORTHRUP

Cooperstown