Rachel Gordon remembered the Friday of March 13, 2020, with a sunny clarity. It was the day before spring break, and the gray of a Missoula spring was smothering. Wind howled as 20 mph gusts blew toward the east all day.
Earlier, in her global health class, Gordon had been discussing the novel coronavirus â classified two days earlier as the first pandemic in over a decade â with her professor and classmates. Cases of the virus had been confirmed in Washington, only two states away. She didnât know much. And it made her anxious.
But Gordon recalled a smattering of sunshine, maybe representative of her excitement for a break and the upcoming trip to Bozeman she had planned. As she reflected nearly a year later, she remembered thinking to herself, âOh â Friday the 13th. Good thing itâs a really good day.â