Hey SLO, want to thank medical workers? Ring some bells tonight — and every night

Brooklyn and Queens are doing it. So is Chicago. Ditto the entire state of Rhode Island.

Communities around the world are ringing bells during the coronavirus pandemic, and San Luis Obispo County should join in, too.

It’s a simple act — it doesn’t require any special talent like singing or playing a musical instrument. Yet at the same time, it’s uplifting. Some even have a name for it: Bells of Hope.

It’s a way to say thanks to the doctors, nurses and first responders on the front lines. It forges a connection at this time when we’re sequestered in our individual homes and condos and apartments (if we’re lucky enough to have a roof over heads), and it’s a way of reaching out to people who might be frightened and alone and despairing during this COVID-19 crisis.

Plus, it gives kids and grandkids something to look forward to — and to look back on decades from now when they remember this weird time in history.

In some communities, like Brooklyn and Queens, the practice started by churches as a call to prayer.

In Rhode Island, Kentucky and Mississippi (and possibly more states as well) governors asked churches throughout the state to ring bells at specific times of day, until the stay-home order is lifted.

In other places, mayors have made the request.

Here in San Luis Obispo, a couple of letter writers brought up the idea.

SLO resident Linda Groover was the first.

She heard about the practice from family members living in Geneva, Switzerland, where bells have been ringing and horns blowing nightly at 9 p.m. since the pandemic began.

She suggested we do the same every night at 8 p.m.: “Step out on your porch, patio, balcony or open a window and ring a bell, blow a whistle or hit a pan with a spoon. Let our solidarity be heard!”

Ellen Morrison, also of SLO, was on board.

“I thought that was an excellent ideas so I shot out emails to as many people as possible inviting them to join us. At 8 p.m. Friday we were out on our porch, ringing our chimes. I didn’t hear any others. Would The Trib be willing to support this ritual? I think 8 p.m, every night would be great, to keep the momentum growing. ... I think ringing the Mission bell and all of the church bells around town would help create a new tradition.”

Yes, The Trib wholeheartedly supports the ritual, and we urge local mayors and county supervisors to get behind it as well.

If the churches can manage to ring their bells nightly, by all means, please do.

But don’t wait for others to start.

We urge you to do exactly what Linda Groover recommends: Tonight, step out on your porch, patio or balcony or open a window. Ring a bell. Shake a wind chime. Rattle some chains, even. Think of it as a way to socialize while keeping that social distance.

You may be the only one on your block. But tomorrow, or the next night, maybe a neighbor or two will join.

If not, don’t get discouraged.

You never know who may be listening. The sound of even a single bell may be all it takes to remind someone that we’re still a community and we are, indeed, in this together.

This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.