Life is changing in dramatic ways. To capture how Pittsburgh has been transitioning into the “yellow phase,” I set out to interview as many people as I could, from all walks of life.
I wanted to talk to ordinary workers and public officials.
I wanted to know: What was happening to parents who could now send their kids to daycare (or still couldn’t)? What was happening at the stores that opened (and the stores that couldn’t)?
I asked my colleagues to share what they were hearing. Their tips sent me to a bookstore and a shoe store. I emailed a bunch of gyms; one of them emailed me back.
I asked people I talk to regularly for stories; one of them directed me to her neighbor. Another shared the contact info of her herbalist. The herbalist had a sister who sounded interesting, so I reached out to her, too.
"It’s the most surreal thing to greet customers you would give a handshake to or hug, and not do that and stand six feet apart in a mask.”
—Bob Shooer of Fleet Feet
I reached out to a restaurant that I’d heard about when I was working on another story.
I looked at some event calendars and reached out to people holding a virtual poetry event and a library reading.
I looked at press releases and found a mayor and a water authority employee.
I already had an interview set up with a school, where I met seniors with thoughtful perspectives on the future. And I’d interviewed a married couple months ago about what it was like to have COVID-19, so I called them back.
Not all the stories made the cut.
But we found eight that we think are both worth your time and, collectively, paint a sweeping picture of how lives are changing at this unique moment in time. Thanks for reading.
