OP ED: Steven for PNO

Hello PNO readers and contributors. I wanted to take a minute to sort of reach out to JB and at the same time comment on what “our” family has experienced over the past 3 months being unable to get back and forth to Panama.

Yesterday in Florida, the country more or less “re-opened”. I say more or less because if you are not aware, Florida is really two states that exist as everything above and below Orlando.

I live in Broward County, yet work in Dade. Here in the South, there is still a deep hesitance in regards to what I am seeing up in the panhandle and upper part of the state.

Flags were flying and big signs saying we are “OPEN”, yet the gyms and malls here in the south are still on lockdown. Beaches up north are plentiful, yet down here not the case.

We have family in California that last week saw Santa Monica Pier re-open, and this morning my colleague from New York told me of a sense of reserved caution as the biggest city in the world tries to grapple the resurgence of our lives against the risk of exacerbating more exposure to a virus as yet still unknown.

If anyone has stories from your areas of the world, please send them to this comment page. Panama has extended the lockdown for another month until at the earliest of JUNE 22nd.

I know JB is anxious to see his granddaughter as this has been a truly surreal experience.

All please be safe and continue to practice the diligent distancing that has proven to be effective to date.

Be well

Steven