Ten US cities with populations of 50,000:

Joplin, MO
Lacey, WA
Galveston, TX
Smyrna, TN
Hoboken, NJ
Enid, OK
La Crosse, WI
Troy, NY
Logan, UT
Methuen, MA

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Just four days later and I need to update this tweet.

Ten US cities with populations of 60,000:

Malden, MA
Lorain, OH
Bismarck, ND
Bristol, CT
Muncie, IN
Lodi, CA
Pasco, WA
Pontiac, MI
Utica, NY
Skokie, IL

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Sadly it's time to update this again.

Ten US cities with populations of 90,000:

Davie, FL
Hillsboro, OR
Kent, WA
Lynn, MA
Macon, GA
Sparks, NV
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tyler, TX
Vista, CA
Yuma, AZ

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Every time I update this thread I find more cities I've been to. I see them more clearly, hear more fully the silence of the loss each represents.

Ten US cities with populations of 100,000:

Bend, OR
South Bend, IN
Vista, CA
Allen, TX
Renton, WA
Las Cruces, NM
Boulder, CO
Green Bay, WI
Boca Raton, FL
Nampa, ID

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Ten US cities with populations of 125,000:

Topeka, KS
Simi Valley, CA
Fargo, ND
Abilene, TX
Hartford, CT
Miramar, FL
Wilmington, NC
Athens, GA
Norman, OK
Lafayette, LA

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Ten US cities with populations of 150,000:

Joliet, IL
Paterson, NJ
Clarksville, TN
Bellevue, WA
Killeen, TX
Macon, GA
Pomona, CA
Kansas City, KS
Lakewood, CO
Alexandria, VA

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Ten US cities with populations of 200,000:

Aurora, IL
Little Rock, AR
Salt Lake City, UT
Amarillo, TX
Yonkers, NY
Akron, OH
Glendale, CA
Huntsville, AL
Augusta, GA
Tempe, AZ

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

Ten US cities with populations of 240,000:

Reno, NV
Gilbert, AZ
Buffalo, NY
Winston-Salem, NC
Norfolk, VA
Fremont, CA
Irving, TX
Hialeah, FL
Madison, WI
Boise, ID

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone.

I usually update this thread as we reach new dark milestones of the number of US Covid dead equaling the size of ever-larger cities. Yesterday alone we lost 2800, a population larger than two-thirds of the towns in America.

One last time for the end of the Trump era.

Ten US cities with populations of ~400,000

Oakland, CA
Tulsa, OK
Tampa, FL
Arlington, TX
New Orleans, LA
Wichita, KS
Cleveland, OH
Aurora, CO
Minneapolis, MN
Virginia Beach, VA

Pick one & imagine it empty: buildings still there, cars left in the streets, but the people all gone

And now 580,000.

That’s all of Wyoming.