My wife and I were going out for dinner last night, but changed our minds due to concerns about exposing ourselves to COVID-19.

So we talked about going to a movie. We scrapped that for the same reason. Multiply these decisions times 150,000 and you begin to see how this is going to affect many of the businesses in Lane County. It’s going to be staggering for many that rely on daily customer visits like restaurants, movie theaters, sandwich shops, possibly health clubs, etc.

No customer traffic means jobs will be lost and the effect will spiral. Many businesses may close, more jobs will be lost and so on.

If each of us bought a ticket or season pass to the movies, even if we decided not to use it, that could help. If we bought meals to go or to be delivered, or a gift card to a restaurant for use later on, that could help, too. You get the idea.

If each of us who has the financial ability would help out a little now, it may ease some of the problems down the road.

And if you can spare it, put an extra dollar in the tip jar. That person behind the counter is probably struggling to buy essentials, since they may not be working as many hours now.

Fred Ledgard

Eugene