Small thread on COVID in red, white, rural US: this am, we went hiking in a state park the next county over. We stopped at a well-know BBQ place for takeout in Ogden IL, population 811

This place, the Pink Pig, has remained open for indoor dining. There’s a reminder that everyone who works there lives locally on the door. I learn from the bartender that the hit has been effectively 9 mos of business

Because it’s a drive from more populated areas, there is no Grubhub takeout option. The population that would drive to eat there in this town of 811 is mine. But not 30 miles for takeout (though it is worth it)

These rural towns are suffering. Don’t blame them for their politics and their stubbornness if they are staying open. There is this restaurant, a gas station, a small general store. That’s it. They rely on the shelter-in-place crowd to survive.

This place is basically THE economy of the town. There’s no way to think about cutting back indoor dining for the few willing to risk it (tables so far apart).

In this town of 811! people, people know each other. They feel like they can make their own decisions about the risk and accept that risk if it’s a mutual understanding. “If you are the one I get it from...l

I know that my hospital is filling up from cases tearing through these communities. A stimulus would do so much in these communities. And a recognition that resistance to rules isn’t just politics in R places but the need to survive.