Living in the Epicenter: S-I Writer Describes Personal Connection to Outbreak

Jogging past a neighborhood retirement home in Kirkland, Washington, Greg Bishop had no way of knowing what was unfolding just a mile from his residence.

Greg Bishop works as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and lives with his wife and child in Kirkland, Washington. 

A mile from the Life Care Center of Kirkland.

Near the retirement home reporting the first U.S. case of novel coronavirus.

At the American epicenter of a global pandemic.

Bishop, a talented journalist who previously covered the Seattle Seahawks for the Seattle Times and the New York Jets for the New York Times, finds himself in the awkward position of writing about himself. 

His circumstances. 

His unsettling surroundings. 

At first, Bishop initially and innocently jogged past the Life Care Center, unaware what was unfolding there. Before long, as the emergency vehicles and TV trucks turned up in droves, it was clear what had happened there.

Something truly frightening for those inside and out of the facility.

Bishop since has personally lived through the response to a life-threatening situation that has expanded everywhere and watched as the outbreak has changed his and everyone else's daily activities.

He has seen the neighborhoods shelves empty, the general Seattle area slow to a crawl ahead of the rest of the country.

Bishop, who wrote about his experiences for S-I back in early March typically would be traveling and working on something NFL-related or preparing to spend a month at the Tokyo Olympics, all of which have been put on hold. 

Instead, he's exclusively a virtual employee, working from inside the safety of his residence, telling stories however and whenever he can. 

Wondering like the rest of us when life will resemble anything close to normal again.