by Blair Stenvick • Dec 31, 2020 at 2:00 pm MichellePatrickPhotographyLLC / Getty images
[This year s news cycle was a vicious one, and left little time for reflection. As 2020 nears its end, we re taking the opportunity to look back on the most important Mercury stories written during the past year. This article was originally published on to help continue our work into next year and beyond. eds.]
I wrote this piece on a whim in mid-March the same week most of my coworkers were laid off from the Mercury
because of sharp revenue losses spurred by COVID-19. It was also the week Gov. Kate Brown first closed Oregon schools and banned large gatherings. The post was inspired by a panic-shopping trip my wife and I took to Winco an event that still sticks out in my mind as one of the Oh, shit, this is for real moments of March. It was a silly, surrealist little thing that I thought might make a few people laugh or cry or whatever, b