Lately, I find myself saying things like “when everything gets back to normal …” and I have to stop and pause. Sure, normal is fine. But what if we could be better than normal? While we’re all struggling in our own way with the impact the coronavirus is having, I’ve seen a lot of good come from a lot of people—including glass industry companies.

If you’ve not yet seen it, the April issue of USGlass magazine takes an in-depth look at the impact this pandemic has had on the glass industry. In my 20 years of being a part of this magazine, of all the articles I’ve written, working on this piece was probably one of my favorite experiences. Now I know it sounds funny to say that writing about a devastating disease was a good experience, but it was. It gave me an opportunity to get to know this industry in a way I hadn’t before. Even as I sit here writing this, I’m struggling to find the words that best describe what it was like to work on it. I was overwhelmed with the goodness that I saw. The generosity and the drive by so many people, companies and organizations to help those in need was incredible.

Of course, those mentioned in the article are just a sampling. There are so many others out there who are stepping up and doing whatever they can to help. Whether it’s donating personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies, using your own equipment to make PPE such as face shields, or sewing masks yourselves to help, people are doing so much.

The other thing I keep hearing, almost daily, is how glass is allowing people to be together, to share experiences, even when they can’t do so physically. You can see just a few of these examples in publisher Deb Levy’s column on page 8. It’s in these moments that I’m really proud to be a part of this industry and these products.

Things are going to get better and some level of normalcy will resume. But I hope we won’t forget how even in these troubling times, we came together to bring something good to those around us.