A year ago, I scrapped The Bold Italic’s entire editorial calendar. I had dozens of article drafts in my inbox that reflected a bustling and energetic Bay Area — a reported story about a new alcohol-free bar opening, a first-person essay about an experience at a kink club, and so on. They would never be published.
I pivoted this publication, as everyone else did the same with their own lives, businesses, and environments, to respond to a virus that had taken hold of our world. The Bold Italic’s new task became to cover the Bay Area’s new normal, trying to navigate it alongside our readers.
I remember when it became clear Covid-19 wasn’t a fleeting news story, but a life-altering pandemic. It was just before March 17, 2020, when San Francisco would become the first city in the country to institute a shelter-in-place order. The Grand Princess cruise ship was docked in Oakland, passengers trapped. People started working from home, packing up their things from the office. Emails began to sign off with “wash your hands and don’t touch your face!” Toilet paper was straight up missing.
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The first time I read the term “social distancing” was when editing this essay about the anxiety that comes from living with roommates when trying to stay safe amid Covid-19. Little did I know then that this article was the first pandemic piece out of hundreds The Bold Italic would run.
Over the course of the year, we’ve tried to bring to light not just facts and information about the virus, but also the stories and voices of Bay Area residents grappling with life as it’s been. How people were feeling. Coping. Adjusting. Mourning. Growing. Learning.
Now, with the one-year anniversary of the first shelter-in-place order this week, TBI is dedicating this week to those same types of stories from Bay Area denizens reflecting on this past year. We’ll also feature reporting on what we can expect for the Bay Area once we open back up again and Covid-19 is in check for good.
Check back daily to read your neighbors’ perspectives. Highlights include:
- Musing on the mundane yet extraordinary experience of living through pandemic San Francisco
- Mourning what San Francisco used to be
- A sense of dread at the thought of returning to normal
- What’s in store for the future of downtown San Francisco
- An ode to Bay Area festivals we missed
- Reader submissions of their last “normal” moments pre-Covid
- Locals weighing in on what they hope for the Bay Area post-Covid
- Questions answered about the impending rent and eviction crisis
- A quarantine love story — with dogs involved
- Pandemic Bingo: One-year anniversary edition
