 Welcome to Longmont Voices and Vision, a project of Longmont Public Media. In the midst of the darkest period in our lives, when we're bombarded 24 hours a day with news of the coronavirus and the human and economic carnage it's causing in our society, we're challenged to cope with our fears and anxieties, we're remaining hopeful about what lies on the other side of this crisis. This project presents an opportunity for Longmont residents to share with others how they're adjusting to new realities of social distancing and the kind of future they hope to experience on the other side of the crisis. I'm Tim Waters, host of these conversations in a Longmont Public Media Volunteer. In this series, I'll be asking Longmont residents, many of them your friends and neighbors, three questions. What are you doing to get through this crisis? Even though we cannot be together right now, how are we staying connected to friends and families? And what's the future you are hoping to see and experience on the other side of this crisis? I hope you'll stay with this series and enjoy listening to your friends and neighbors and learn from them how they're getting through and what they're looking forward to in a new reality on the other side. Shaquille DeLau, thank you for lending your voice and your vision to the Longmont Voices and Vision Project. Good way to start with this interview is to share with me and then others who will see this recording a little bit about who you are. Well, thank you very much for doing this, Tim. I think that this is an incredibly important project. So my name is Shaquille DeLau. I am one of the people who has been fortunate enough to move to Longmont in the past two and a half years. I moved here in August of 2017 to start a company that was working on technology for the semiconductor industry. And in the past two and a half years, I have grown to deeply love Longmont and beyond just being here for work or for business. And part of the transformation that has occurred for me in the past year is realizing that this is the place where I want to live forever. I see truly great things in Longmont and very few of those things have really been substantially changed by the events of the past month. And so I am particularly excited to talk to you about the future that Longmont could have. So let's talk about, first of all, in the current situation, unprecedented in any of our lives. How are you getting through? I think that's an important part of the story. How are people getting through this time of social, physical isolation and social distancing? So part of my personal history that plays into exactly how I am handling the current moment is that I have moved a lot in my life. And as a result, connections to people are particularly important to me because I don't really have a hometown. I don't have a place that I go back to for the sake of nostalgia. My connections are to people. And so the way that I'm getting through the current moment is by taking care of my family, my parents, my sisters, my nieces and nephews, checking up on them, making sure that they have what they need to get through the current moment. But also to try and take care of what I think of as my adopted hope of Longmont and to try and stay connected to the people and places here that are important to me. I've been really lucky in my time in Longmont that by accident or by good fortune or something else, I've managed to become sort of integrated into a couple of really important community organizations. First, it was the Longmont Observer and Longmont Public Media. I'm involved at Tinker Mill and a couple of other places in town where there are really places where people from all different backgrounds in this community congregate and work together in ways to help each other and to make the community a better place. And so the way that I've been coping with the challenges of social isolation and social distancing and the risks to the Longmont economy and to the overall ecosystem here has been to do what I can to keep those institutions strong, because I think that they're critical to how we're going to get past this. So, nice segue into my second question is, how are you staying connected to friends and family in this time of unprecedented isolation. So, the way that I've been staying connected to people has been very practical. I do a lot of zoom calls. I, about once a week or so my, my entire extended family about 30 of us have been jumping on a zoom call, and just saying hi to everyone and seeing how we're all doing and catching up with each other. Because despite the fact that a lot of us are trapped at home right now, we live all over the country and social distancing requirements are different in different parts of the country and so there are still things that are going on in people's lives. My parents haven't left their home in three weeks because they're trying to protect themselves and make sure that they stay healthy, whereas my aunt just threw a birthday party for her grandson, my nephew. And you know, it was great to see the whole family together there. In terms of staying connected to the people here in Longmont. Some of the stuff that I do here is sort of looped into essential services and so on sort of a limited basis we've been able to see each other in person and stay connected in that way. But that's another case where some of the technological advancements of the past 1020 years have really made it possible to stay in touch with people in the ways that didn't used to be possible. It's trivial to make a phone call now. Longmont Public Media uses Slack all the time to stay connected, and that's been an essential tool, doing Zoom meetings in order to have our weekly meetings take place. Those have really been the little stitches that have kept connections together, but what's, what's more important is really weaving that fabric that fabric of people. And that's been little things like there's a member of the Longmont Observer Board who's had a fever for two weeks hasn't been able to leave her home. So I've been taking care of her by making sure that she gets groceries. I've been staying in touch with Marcia a lot and making sure that she's her needs are taken care of and just calling her every once in a while to make sure that you know there's Marcia Martin. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, this is Marcia Martin. Just making sure that there's a sense of social connection beyond just, hey, how you doing. Yeah, okay, you need anything. That's fine. And so we talk about our mutual interests and I think that it making sure that connections like that survive this time period are going to be really important for us coming together as a community after this to make sure that we build a stronger Longmont that is better able to withstand shocks like this. So let's talk about Longmont after this. Fair to assume that whatever we settle into as a new normal will be different than life prior to this crisis. So I part of this project is to invite participants to share what's the preferred future for you. What would you like to see us move toward in whatever the new normal is. So as someone who's relatively new in town, I've had the advantage of seeing Longmont during what I'm told is probably the greatest economic boom time in its history. And it's really easy to fall in love with a place during during a time like that, because everything is good. But I feel fortunate in that I feel like my connections to this town have relatively little to do with sort of the economic good times and a lot more to do with the people who have actually connected to. And you're one of those people actually you're one of the people who I would count myself as very lucky to know. I'm flattered by that comment. And so I actually think that your perspective as someone who's lived in Longmont for a long time is incredibly valuable. What was Longmont like in 2009. Right so so there was you know there was that time before that economic impact and the time after and what what changed in that period. Yeah. Well so just for for the sake of accuracy, my life in 2009 was largely on airplanes I was running an organization that got offices in a bunch of different time zones. And, and we'd opened offices in Honolulu and Melbourne Australia so I, I spent a lot of time commuting around the world. My, my view is that while Longmont has been a terrific place for us to live when we moved here in 1994. My wife and I had never lived any place more than seven years with my professional life had taken me on the road, a lot of places. But we moved here and we weren't here very long before we said the same thing you did this. This will be the last stop. This is where we want to set down the roots and spend the rest of our days, no matter what happened professionally this is the place. But the transformation or at least the transition, after the both of the, the, the economic downturn in 2009 and maybe more defining was what happened in 2013 with the flood. The result of those two events. In my view, cause this community to get more focused on on some shared priorities on while we have huge issues in terms of what's equitable terms of economic development. I think the community came together on what do we do together. It at least increases the prospects for a larger cross section of the community. More attentive to generational transitions, knowing that old people, you know boomers like me, hey, okay boomer. Part of our job is to connect with a new generation or two new two generations following us that that do that are more likely to secure a balanced just sustainable future for the community. We're a long we have a long way to go to get there, but I do believe that that was the effect of what happened in 2009 and 2013 be clear on what we can do, what we need to do, and what the priorities are for for getting it done. Part of what I've been really impressed with in observing the long months local government has been the, the level of fiscal discipline that the city has really exercised in the time that I've been here. But of course, that level of fiscal discipline doesn't show up overnight it's it's the result of careful planning over many, many years. How much of that was the result of the 2009 2013 events and how much of that do you think is the culture. It's largely a result of those events. There's a lot that that didn't happen after 2013 that were on somebody's agenda to do list that didn't happen because of the need to attend to priorities that had to be addressed as a result of the flood. And I will say this, I think, I think one of the great examples is what's happened along the same thing river. If anybody looks historically at what happened along our greatest natural resource. It's what happened in all over the country. People turn their back right it became a way to transport waste out of the city. It was just when you look at it you think how could those decisions to the name. At the time they they were decisions that that seemed, you know, appropriate there was a flood plain. People were mindful of that there've been floods that you weren't going to build things in a flood plain. But what the what happened after after both 2009 2013 there was a new appreciation I believe and understanding of the value of the of the asset right of the natural asset, and the value use that we need to bring to the for to protect. Long term. I think that was true in many ways and across the community but I think the most stunning example is is looking at what we did. Historic that contributed to the problem. And what we now have an obligation to do to keep that from happening again and balance protection of a natural resource with how we develop around that natural resource in ways that serve the economics, economic growth of the community. And create opportunities for generations of of long mantras right to live and work and grow in a place that both sustains a way of life, and protects our natural resources. So I think that's absolutely fascinating because I think it's those aspects of governance and culture and priorities that have made long month such a great place for me to live. And I think are exactly the qualities that will carry long month into the future by setting priorities to learn mistakes from the past to figure out what do we need to build a strong base for the future. I mean that's a philosophy that by itself can be wildly adaptable to all sorts of situations whether it's a flood or an economic downturn or a pandemic. That kind of thinking is I think exactly the sort of thinking that will serve long month well into the future. So, in terms of what I want to see long month turn into. In part it's this building that culture is the hard part. And once you have a culture like that in my opinion, in my opinion and in my observation. A lot of the next stuff comes a lot easier because in general, if you go to any random municipality, there's special interests and competing desires and people who can't agree on what the right thing is doing you wind up with gridlock. But by having established the culture that the common good is really what's being sought here. I think that that's a phenomenal foundation for what the future could be. But what I would like to see in the future of long month is really economic and cultural resilience. I think by designing the city in such a way that it can be resistant to future economic downturns and be inclusive of all people. I think that provides a platform under which you can weather a storm whether you're a gigantic city like Denver or a tiny town like Frederick. And I think long month has really positioned itself in a way that it will allow it to do that. Just telling someone the other night that sort of my fantasy for long month that I would like to see us achieve is long month is very close to being and could be a city where anyone of any economic means can live in any neighborhood in the city that they would like. So rather than picking where they live based on their income or their language that they speak or something like that, they can pick the neighborhood they want to live on because, you know, they really like the art teacher in the local school, or they really like the the culture, right they like the neighbors, they like the streets accessibility to amenities that they're particularly interested in whether that's Macintosh Lake, or the downtown business district. Finding ways to make sure that anyone in the city can live anywhere they want, according to their desires rather than their economic means, you avoid all sorts of problems that can occur during economic downturns. It makes it possible to avoid gentrification where people like me, who have who are highly educated and with good incomes, push out the people who turned the city into the great place that it is right. If I come in and displace someone who spent their whole life building this city into the wonderful place that it is, that's a net loss for the city, because it's not clear what my value is compared to someone who was already here. But if there is housing available of all different prices and all different neighborhoods, I can say well, I choose to live downtown because I like being near the restaurant that I like to go to. And I like living near Roosevelt Park, and that's a choice that doesn't take that choice away from anyone else. And it means that in hard economic times like the ones that we might be facing, it means that they're never, there's never going to be a bad part of town. All the parts of town will sort of feel the downturn the same, but we'll still be in a position where we can pool our resources as a community to make this a better place to live. And we're very close to that, I think. I think that is something that Longmont could achieve in a decade if it wanted. Well, you invited me into your interview, which I have not participated in, I've just been asking the questions, but if on the other side of this, the values of justice or what is just balanced, equitable, fair, inclusive, sustainable, durable, healthy, right? If you think about what does, you know, how do you find your soul in economic development and in the future? Because in the last 40 years of the neoliberal agenda, a lot of folks feel like we lost our souls. So if that's the conversation that we can, if these interviews and this experience and what else is happening in the community accelerates or energizes that kind of conversation and then a recalibration of what it all looks like and how do we build this community that the prosperous over the long term in terms of its spirit as well as its bottom line financial prosperity. And it's shared with this entire population. Then we will have capitalized on the crisis in ways that ought to be like us as a thoughtful, inclusive, engaged community. So thank you for inviting me into your interview. And thank you again for your contributions to this project. Take care of yourself, your family. We all look forward to when we can not only take advantage of Zoom, but be in the same room again together to do work, to work together. Looking forward to seeing you again in person soon, Tim. Thank you. Steve and Jan Cukic. Thank you for letting your voices and your vision to this project. So share with Longmont residents just a little bit about who you are. And then I have three quick questions for you. You go ahead. I am a retired consultant and special educator and I am very happily retired, not being on airplanes anymore. And I served as the State Director of Special Education in Utah for 11 years and then went to work in a company here in Longmont, in Fortress West and really enjoyed that time as well. And now I'm volunteering and just enjoying my family in this weird time and friends using kind of opportunities like Zoom gives us. Jan. Well, I'm a retired nursing executive. I've been retired a few years now and haven't missed it a day. Enjoying having fun, although right now it's not the most fun, but thank goodness for FaceTime and Zoom and different ways to communicate with one another. Well, that's a pretty good segue to the first question. What do you, it isn't, it's not a normal time for us in any of our lives. What are you two doing to get yourselves through this current crisis? Well, we have a very exciting game of Five Crowns, which is a card game. We are having a tournament and interestingly. And it's 7 to 6 Jan. Yeah, I've never led a tournament before in Five Crowns. So that's pretty awesome. And we're doing a lot of cooking and watching TV, especially Netflix and what else are we doing? We're taking care of our grandson a few hours a week. We've been cleared to do that by some medical people and that's really nice. I don't know what people do because Teddy to us is just like our child. Yeah, we're very blessed about being able to interact face to face with our daughter and her husband and our grandson Teddy. That's a real joy for us. And so that, that's the segue to the, to the second question in this kind of social isolation and physical distancing. How are you staying connected with friends and family? You shared some of that already, but what else should we know? Well, yeah, yesterday's a good example. Jan has a brother and sister in Newton, Kansas. And so we got together, the three couples got together yesterday on zoom, and it only took us 25 minutes of the time on zoom to get it set up. And it was finally all set up and we're going to be meeting every Monday afternoon. It seems to me that that's a really important thing to do using the technology but using it in a regularly kind of scheduled way I think makes some good sense. I just got off the usual one hour call that I have about eight o'clock in the morning on Tuesday mornings with our men's Bible class from Central Presbyterian Church and it's just a joy to interact with those brothers every, every Tuesday and check in on them and just to have some laughs and to have some thinking about very important issues and, you know, I'm on five boards and I've taken the opportunity to get meetings going in virtually all of those organizations using zoom because it is a way for us to stay connected. And the third of my three questions really is about the future, assuming that on the other side of this, there will be some kind of new normal. You don't know what that's going to be. But assuming it's going to be different. What's your preferred future. What would you like to see an experience on the other side of this crisis. Well, I would like to see a big turnout in voting or President or local elections so that we really have leaders that are representatives of the people and that we get some leaders that really do care for the people, as opposed to their own financial issues. I think that's a that's a great point if this doesn't get more people involved in their communities in all kinds of ways like voting. I don't know what what will do it. All the criticisms we've made about social media has allowed us if we if we choose to use it to stay connected. And I hope that that my great hope is that we will understand our interdependence across this globe, and that we will stay connected after this crisis ebbs a bit. And, and that's, that's what I hope happens. Stephen Jan Cougar. Thank you for sharing your, your voices and your vision with Longmont residents. Kathy Pomar. Thank you for lending your voice and your vision to the Longmont Voices and Visions project. Tell us just a little bit about who you are. So we know who we're hearing from. Okay, thank you Tim. I'm happy to be here and I'm a longtime Longmont resident I was born in Boulder and moved to Longmont when I was four years old with my family. And I love this city. I would say that I am an ambassador for Longmont Colorado whenever I'm speaking to anyone about this community. And I'm just happy to be here today and want the best for our city and I appreciate you doing this. Well, it's, it's, it's been a joy to have a chance to interview Longmont residents, especially given what we're going through right now. And given what we're going through right now I have three questions I'd like you to answer. The first of those three questions is this, how are you getting you and in your family through this. Well, I'd say that my, the most beneficial is getting out and walking and biking, getting out into nature is important and we're staying close to home to do that like the governor has asked. We're wearing our face masks now when we go outside. And we're also, Mark and I were fortunate enough to be able to meet a couple in Australia that asked us to get on bridgebase.com. And so we're playing bridge with them every other for a couple hours so that's been a lot of fun and I would recommend bridgebase.com to anyone interested in bridge. They give lessons and they give all and they've all left levels of bridge. So, and I have a app called down dog which is a yoga app. So I've been doing that. And I'm reading and cooking a little bit more cleaning out our freezer. I asked a friend yesterday of steaks that have been in there for seven years would still taste okay. Getting to the back of the freezer. We're watching movies. And so we're getting by. Okay, you know just hoping for the best for everyone else, you know the world. So some of what you shared with what you're doing with your friends in Australia, kind of a segue to the second question that is in a in a in an unprecedented era of physical distancing and or separation and social distancing is what where we can't be together physically. How are you staying connected with your friends and family. So that's really been important to me. And so, with our three sons and their wives we and chill in our grandchildren we connect with FaceTime. And then we do zoom, we've had some zoom cocktail parties with friends, and that's been fun. We called, I've called many friends and I haven't talked to for a long time. I've talked to others friends because mom passed away in November so I've called her friends to check in on them. And I just enjoyed connecting with people that I maybe wouldn't even take the time for if this situation wasn't happening and then we had personal visits from friends on the debt we're on the deck they're down below. And so that's been fun to with neighbors and friends. So there's been no problem in that area. And it's safe to assume that what we all know there's going to be another side to this crisis where it's safe to assume that life won't be just exactly the same. And who knows what the new normal will be. But one of the questions is, what would you like to see what's your preferred future what would you like to see an experience on the other side of this crisis. Well, I think I want to, I want to take on a little project I took on a couple years ago. It's not saving the world's health crisis, but it's a little long month thing because I really value the agricultural community in Longmont, having grown up here and I know that it was filled with farms all around us when we grew up. And so I want the, I would like to see the silo on highway 66 East of pay street designated as a historic with a historic designation. And a couple years ago Verizon wanted to put on these. They wanted to install wireless panel attempt and Tana's, and that quite a few people in the community fought against that. And they, and Verizon ended up not doing that we were concerned other people with other companies are going to put on those antennas. So we didn't want to disturb a historic item in Longmont. So I'm going to take that on now. It's kind of prompted me to continue that project and get that silo designated. It's a beautiful red silo people that pass it on on highway 66 or golfers on new golf course enjoy it every day. And I, I, I wanted to keep standing forever, not get ever torn down. But there you go. That's a, that's a real focused practical aspiration on the other side, on the other side of this experience. Kathy, come or thank you again for sharing your voice and your vision. This voices and vision of Longmont project. You're welcome. Take care yourself and stay safe and healthy. Okay, thanks to him. Bye bye. Craig Stevens, thank you for lending your voice and your vision to this project. Okay, you know what we're doing here. Let's start just by learning a little bit about you. Well, I get to work from home, which is a real what I found is it's, it's, it's a real luxury. And, and, and I'm used to working from home occasionally, because I, I support a company that has operations worldwide. And so, you know, so it's, you know, sort of 24 seven. So I'm used to working from home occasionally, I do miss going into the office, but, but the office is obviously closed now. So me and my team get to work from home. And so, so that's, that's a good thing. My wife gets to work from home. She works at CU. And they close their offices a couple weeks before my company did that I work for. So we're both, we're both home. And, and the animals are two cats and our dog love us being here all day. And so the dog gets plenty of walks, the cats get plenty of attention. We get to think about side and play. So, so that part is good that the only problem is that that's a temporary situation. I just don't know how long that's going to. I don't know how long we're going to be allowed to continue to work from home, but at least for now it's okay. Well in the current crisis that we're living and dealing. What are you doing to get yourself through the current situation. Yeah, I found and I think my wife feels the same way, you know, getting up every day and clocking in and checking in what's going on at work is, is it's a, it's great. And, but other than that. Yeah, I'm a photographer and videographer. So, I've been shooting a lot of video and shooting a lot of pictures and I do that anytime I have free time. I go out and take pictures and and that keeps me very busy so I always have some project in the queue that I'm working on. And, and I found that that's I mean I love doing that. But it's also it's also really important just to keep focused on certain projects and and and and not only you know working on the projects but getting them done just finishing them. You know you start a project, and then you do the editing or whatever you got to do and then you get to get it done and you post it, and then you move on to the next thing. And so it's very short term. You know, go ahead. You probably have more experience and more resources for staying connected but in this era of social distancing and physical isolation. What do you do and then how do you stay connected to friends and family. Well you know it's it's funny. That aspect of of of our life really hasn't changed very much for my wife and I, I mean, my daughter lives in Iceland. And that's where our grandchildren are. And so we're used to FaceTiming with my daughter and the grandchildren. And so that that really hasn't changed very much. My son is in the Marine Corps now. He just finished Marine Corps boot camp on April 3 last Friday. And now he's heading to Camp Pendleton to go through infantry, infantry training school. And so for me personally, you know, my kids are okay. Right. And my daughter works at an elderly care facility in Iceland. And so she's needed more than ever. Right. So, so professionally and personally, you know, she's life life hasn't changed very much for her. And the grandkids are okay. You know, my son is in the hands of the United States military, the Department of Defense and but I get to once once he heads to Henderson field, he'll have some more privileges. And I just sent him his cell phone. So we'll be able to stay in touch with him. You know, my stepmothers in Missouri, St. Louis, my brother and sister in law are in Connecticut, my older brothers in San Francisco. You know, so we're used to that anyway. So, so that part of our life hasn't changed very much, you know, and, but it's it's more vital now. You know, so we have these little hubs around the world that we keep in touch with, you know, my wife's mother lives in an elderly care facility in Boulder. And, you know, that's one aspect that that's that's changed is we can't go visit her as much, you know, we're used to going out to dinner with her and things like that and going to visit. So we can't do that. But, you know, we talked around the phone and, you know, keep in touch with her and, you know, almost every day. So, so that aspect hasn't changed that. I mean, personally, though, you know, I'm used to being around a bunch of people all the time. And, you know, being active in politics, you know, politics is a, you know, person to person thing. And so so that's changed a lot. But, you know, through using tools like we're using today like zoom, and all that, you know, we can stay connected. But I do sort of, I do really miss, you know, just, you know, hanging out with people. And I'm sure everyone misses that. And, but it's funny, you know, seeing our neighbors now, you know, across the street, you know, so we're just yelling at each other across the street. You know, and my I have a dog. So we walk a dog all the time. And so we're used to seeing our neighbors and their dogs. But because of we have to keep our distance now and my dog doesn't understand it at all. She hates that. And she really can't stand it. And I think all the other dogs can't stand it either. It's like, what's wrong. This is not normal. But so, but you know, the thing about life now is that, you know, it's kind of, I take things like day to day, you know, tomorrow I don't know what's going on too much. And so, you know, so making long term plans, you know, there's no long term plans. Yeah, next week is a year away. I, you know, who knows what's going on next week. Hard to make plans, but I'm going to ask you a long term question, question about the long term. And that is, assuming life will be different on the other side of this crisis, who knows what the new normal will be. What would you like to see what's your preferred future. Well, you know, see an experience on the other side. Well, you know, like, you know, it's what's, you know, normal going back to the way it would say, you know, it's so funny because time is, is not the same anymore. Because if you think about it, like, in January, our world view was a certain way, right. And it's not the same. And, you know, right now, I think I'm pretty much assured that I've got a job for three months. Three months from now is what June, I mean July, August. After that, I have absolutely no idea. And so, so the new normal is I have absolutely no idea what the new normal is, and it's clear that things can't go back to the way they were. Right. Because if you think about, or the, if you think about economics, we need a new economics, we need a whole new accounting scheme. Right. And that we don't have right now. And so normal is not what the way it was in January or December. That can't be the way it is. You know, after the summer or in the fall, you know, I mean, so the new normal is not that at all. It's something totally different. And, you know, it's like, it's like we're in an old like silent movie, like, you know, like the general by Buster Keaton, you know, there's a train in the movie. And the train is eventually going to, it's going to go to a bridge that's collapsed and it's going to go drive off the bridge and crash and blow up. You know, that point where things blow up, you know, where the train comes off the tracks and totally dives down into the gully. That moment keeps getting pushed back and back and back into the sometime into the future and we just don't know when that crash is going to happen. And so it's such a strange world view that, you know, in the future, we know there's a pending doom, you know, but we just don't know when that's going to happen. And but, you know, the moon still rises, the sun still rises, the sun still sets, the moon still sets, you know, the world keeps turning around and around and around, but everything else is so up in the air. So there is no new normal. We're not going to go back to where it was before. And that's, I think that's a good thing. But it's also a scary thing. It is. Craig Stevens, thank you for contributing to Longmont Voices and Vision. Yeah, I don't know how insightful that was, but it's something.