It was June 2010 and a devastating flood had wreaked havoc on parts of Norfolk overnight.
Farm fields were ruined. Businesses near the river in southern Norfolk were uninhabitable. Roads and bridges were closed or ruined. A life was lost because of the flooding.
But on this particular Saturday morning under clear skies, in the northern parts of the city, husbands and wives were walking their dogs. Others were getting in their morning run. Some were sipping coffee while on their decks or patios.
For some, it was as if it was just another summer weekend morning. For others, just the opposite.
A similar picture could be painted last summer when the historic flooding wreaked havoc on parts of Northeast Nebraska and spared others. Norfolk was largely fortunate; Niobrara and Verdigre, among others, were not.
We bring up those two disaster-related examples in light of this spring’s COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on this corner of the state as well as much of the world.
Once again, a situation basically out of anyone’s control has created for lack of better terms a world of haves and have-nots.
The have-nots have contracted the coronavirus and been hospitalized with severe health problems. Some have even died. Other have-nots have lost their jobs. Or they are business owners who face an uncertain future.
In contrast, the haves are those who have been fortunate enough to have jobs or careers that haven’t been affected by the pandemic. They’ve continued to receive their regular paychecks and been covered by health insurance. Or they’re owners of businesses that have easily survived perhaps even thrived during the past few months. They’re individuals who haven’t been sick and perhaps don’t even know anyone who has been.
Robert Graboyes, who is the author of Fortress and Frontier in American Health Care and has taught health economics at five universities, recently wrote about the dichotomy that has taken place.
My wife and I have found silver linings in the COVID lockdown. We’ve baked bread, ordered gourmet foods online, watched movies, taken walks and shared socially distant drinks with neighbors, he wrote. For me, if I would have three months without pay, it would mean belt-tightening. For a business owner, it means bankruptcy and ruination. The business is likely gone forever, and the former employees will probably hunt through an economic wasteland for ways to feed their families.
So, as Northeast and North Central Nebraska continue to adapt to the implications of the coronavirus, it’s important for all but especially the haves to recognize the divide that has been created. And then to do what everyone can to help the have- nots whenever possible.
norfolkdailynews.com