In a pre-apocalyptic world, I set aside a bit of money to get out of the house each week. I wrote in a coffee shop just to reconnect with humanity for a little while. And I met a friend for lunch to shake the rust off the ol' social skills. I doubt my $20 was a make-it-or-break-it investment in my community, but my $20 along with everyone else's kept our social centers thriving and supported more jobs than I think any of us realized at the time.

That was February 2020.

This is now: Now,...