It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

That famous quote comes from Charles Dickens’ classic book, A Tale of Two Cities.  Dickens’ words came to mind while searching my mind on what I would write at this juncture of our stay-at-home life, with the novel coronavirus taking over our lives.

There is plenty of pain to consider.  Local businesses are struggling.  COVID-19 positive tests are rising and there have been deaths in our area.  Health experts say we have not seen the worst of it yet.  All we can do is stay home to the extent possible and wait out the pandemic.

I will not dwell on this pain.  We all know it and the news media is doing an excellent job informing us with accurate, factual information (more on that later).

What I will dwell upon are the many heroes in this time of crisis.  We should all be thankful for our first responders here in Fishers.  We have some of the best, and they respond to every call and always take risks.  Think about the police officers taking gunshots aimed at them recenlty on what should have been a routine welfare check.  They responded to resolve the situation.  Sadly, two people died in that incident but no police officers were injured.

Yes, I’ve seen some of the crazy posts from a few people on social media during this time, but in this day and age, I suppose that is to be expected.  But I will focus on another group of people.

Many more have utilized social media to offer their help to those in need – offering their neighbors delivery service of food and medicines.  Those local residents are offering to help and are following-through with those requests and doing what is right.  So, to all the individuals out there helping others, my hat goes off to you.

The medical professionals in our community and elsewhere are nothing short of amazing.  They take risks to save others, and in part of our nation, nurses and physicians are dying.  Let’s take a moment and just think about them, and if your faith allows, say a prayer for them.

We have a city government and school corporation with a goal of always making decisions in the best interests of our children, families and all those residing here.  I know some in the community take issue with some of the local actions, but I’m not going there.

I have covered news in this community for over eight years and I may not have been in agreement with every decision local officials have made.  Here is what I do know….every decision is made with the goal of helping every individual and every family living here.  A leader shows her/his colors when a crisis arises.  So far, in my view, our local leaders have passed that test of leadership.

Let’s not forget other parts of our community stepping forward.  There are private businesses putting all employees on full pay and benefits even when they cannot come into work.  Other employers are doing what they can for their workers.

The local school district donated a large number of masks for medical professionals to use because school has been out of session.  Navient and IKEA have been donating masks as well.  I am sure there are many more in the private sector helping-out and have not sought publicity for their actions, but let me recognize you, in general, anyway.

The City of Fishers has setup a COVID-19 hotline…317-595-3211.  If you have friends or relatives living in Fishers without Internet, please let them know about this hotline.  Any assistance you need should be directed to people answering this line.  If you need mental health assistance, call that number.  If you need other help, or want to offer help, call that line.  It is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With all the bad news, I once again plead with everyone to subscribe to your local media.  News organizations live off subscriptions and advertising.  Ad revenue is already falling.  If you want accurate news from professional journalists, support your local media outlets!

One more thing.  With the abundance of bad news, I am so heartened by what I see regular people doing….offering help, looking out for their neighbors.  Overall, I am proud to be a part of the community we call Fishers.  Let’s keep it up!