It’s not easy to stay upbeat in a pandemic. But when the news gets me down, I keep my spirits up by focusing on the many good things in my life.

Family, friends, and colleagues top the list. But I am also immensely grateful to be living in Bloomington, a city with good values and good people. That is what we are celebrating in this special issue.

This entire magazine is dedicated to the people of Bloomington. We couldn’t mention everyone who has made a contribution to our community—that number would be in the many thousands. Instead, we revisit some of those who were profiled each year since Bloom began in 2006. We have recapped their contributions and accomplishments at that time both to Bloomington and to the world at large—from a dedicated Downtown Specialist who keeps our sidewalks and streets clean to a Nobel Prize winner.

Most of those profiled are still with us, but some, like Toby Strout and George Taliaferro, who gave so much of themselves to make us better, are sadly not. We remember them here.

I hope you enjoy this retrospective.

Malcolm Abrams
[email protected]

A Big Thank You

Where would we be without our dedicated doctors, nurses, and other health care workers; without our police, fire, and EMS personnel; without the folks at Bloomingfoods, Kroger, Aldi, and Fresh Thyme; without our postal workers and delivery services? Thank you all for helping to get us through this perilous time.

What’s the Future of Bloom?

We are determined to keep publishing the magazine, and you can expect the August/September issue to appear beginning August 4.

We hope to continue uninterrupted beyond August, but if the pandemic continues to rage unabated, we may be forced to pause for a while and then start again when the situation improves.

In these dire times, we are most appreciative of our faithful advertisers, subscribers, and the many people who have donated to our GoFundMe or sent contributions by mail (see page 18). If you would like to pitch in, visit “Keep Bloom Magazine Alive” at magbloom.com/donate.

A Thought for Our Time

“It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”

—Mark Twain