Two weeks and counting. That’s how long it has been since I’ve been behind my desk at the I-R. Instead, three of us have been working remotely from our homes. Two others continue to observe the six-foot distancing rule and other safety precautions and work at 304 N. Douglas Ave. A sixth is out and about delivering the weekly papers.

Such times we are living through.

Those of us in the news business are considered essential — still it feels odd to be disconnected from the office.

My lifeline in all of this — beyond Zoom, of course — is that I have lived in my current home for almost two years and, thanks to the coronavirus, I now have time to look out my backdoor windows and watch the geese and ducks settle on the pond that defines my neighborhood. The pear trees that line the street in front of my house also are in bloom.

Hope comes easily in the midst of such beauty.

Ellsworth County has been incredibly fortunate. As I’m writing this Sunday, we still do not have a confirmed case of the virus after seven tests.

That is due in no small measure to our local health community, including Kerianne Ehrlich, supervisor at the Ellsworth County Health Department, and Dr. Ronald Whitmer, county health officer.

There are so many among us who should be recognized — postal workers who continue to deliver medicine and other necessities so we don’t have to leave our homes; employees at Ellsworth County’s two grocery stores and others in the food industry who keep us fed ... the list goes on and on.

Keep them safe.

LMD

Three weeks ago I had never heard of Zoom, a video conferencing platform. Now it’s everywhere. I’m so busy either scheduling or attending Zoom conferences there is little time for anything else.

At noon Thursdays is the community update conference organized by Ellsworth County Economic Development. At 11 a.m. Fridays is a statewide conference of newspaper representatives sponsored by the Kansas Press Association. At 9 a.m. Saturdays, daughter Allie has scheduled a weekly Denning family virtual coffee.

This is all good, especially the family get-together. Before Zoom, we met once-a-month in Salina for coffee. With technology, Allie, who lives in Washington, D.C., and my nephew, a resident of New Hampshire, can now participate.

But I have to wonder from a business standpoint — when the coronavirus emergency passes, will Zoom still be popular or will it fall to some other platform that doesn’t remind us of a time many of us would rather forget?