I live in a rural community of fewer than 600 residents, the 19th smallest county out of our state’s 21 counties. Our county has a total population of around 105,000 with the largest town, my neighboring town, having around 15,000 residents. Needless to say, we have become accustomed to a slower, quieter way of life here. Rarely do we have traffic jams, overcrowded shopping districts, or long waits for tables at restaurants. Because we are such a small community we have been fortunate that the coronavirus has had a relatively small effect on us. In a state of more than 8 million people with over 177,000 cases of COVID-19, and more than 15,000 deaths, we have been very lucky with a reported 1,279 confirmed cases and only 167 deaths. As the community I live in slowly tries to regain a sense of normalcy, it’s incredible to look at images of major cities around the world that have become virtual ghost towns, calm and quiet like our own regular way of life here.

I am a huge fan of drones simply because of the images and videos they offer to me. With drones, I can see the world in a new light from the comfort of my home. Drones can give me a sweeping, birds-eye view of the Grand Canyon or the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Arctic glaciers or a field of French lavender, a herd of elephants in Kenya or a pod of dolphins in the ocean. All of these are things I dream of seeing one day with my own eyes, but until that can happen, seeing them through the high definition of a drone’s camera is mesmerizing. Perhaps some of the most eerily mesmerizing drone videos I have seen of late are the views of some of America’s largest cities abandoned under quarantine.

New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago are the three largest cities in the United States of America with populations of 8,336,817 in NYC, 3,979,576 in LA, and 2,693,976 in Chi-Town. When quarantine lockdowns began in March and early April of 2020, drone operators stepped out to capture the once bustling cities in utter silence. Set to haunting music the drones glide over the cities showing images the world never expected to see. Megacities that would have once overwhelmed a small town person like me reduced to a handful of vehicles and isolated pedestrians. There is a certain grace to it all. The steadiness of the film being captured by the drone while it records a city seemingly asleep.

Whether we have visited these places, are from there, or have only seen them in photos or films, we all have a mental image of what places like NYC, LA, or Chicago should look like. New York’s Times Square should be filled with tourists walking about, the streets of China Town almost impossible to drive through. The Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel should be rotating as riders look out over the ocean, the LA freeway packed bumper to bumper. The Cloud Gate in Chicago’s AT&T Plaza reflecting back the thousands of pedestrians walking past daily while office building parking lots should be full to capacity. Instead, the drones show us a view of the cities that allow us to appreciate their architecture and vastness in emptiness.

As the drones sweep over NYC’s Central Park, LA’s Disneyland, and Chicago’s Logan Square, we as viewers rationally know that all the people are still there. Safe and quiet inside their homes waiting for the world to heal. But to see it all from a drone high above, it inspires a sense of awe that our nation’s largest cities have gone still. While many think these drone videos are evocative of a post-appocolyptic film, I see it as people be respectful of the need to isolate for the betterment of the world.