Ben Speggen

I think of Eastport, Maine, the easternmost city in the United States, often. Nearly 10 years ago, Michelle and I had been talking about wanting to go there — particularly on New Year’s Eve. Why? Because Eastporters, being the ones farthest east in the eastern time zone, lay claims to being the first to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.

The fifth of December happens to be the 339th day of the year. Three-hundred-and-fortieth on leap years. A fast-and-loose googling reveals Dec. 5 is also Krampusnacht; and National Repeal Day (thanks, 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution!); and International Volunteer Day, among other marked celebrations and commemorations. In South Carolina, Dec. 5 is now officially, as declared by Henry McMaster, the state’s governor, Community Heart & Soul Day.

Let’s not bury the lede: Cities are not dying. At least not en masse the ways some may have ordained. I feel that it is important to begin there given the rise in discussion of the future of cities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which many, myself included, relocated.