SALISBURY — I need a favor — well, several.

As we hunker down against COVID-19, it presents a challenge to the usual way we put together an issue of Salisbury the Magazine. I feel uncomfortable right now asking writers, photographers and the subjects of their stories to jeopardize their own isolations for features that probably could hold for a better time.

So for the Summer (June-July) issue of the magazine, I’m hoping readers can provide a lot of the material. That’s where you and the favors come in.

Each issue of the magazine has several pages devoted to “Scene” pictures from various events in Salisbury, Rowan County and into Kannapolis. With the current sheltering-in-place mandated by the governor, those events have been canceled or postponed.

To take their place, I ask that you consider sending me a photo of your current “scene.” It could be a photo of your kids studying at home. Maybe you’re playing a board game or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You might be cooking out, fishing down by the pond, walking a trail, building a new deck, shooting hoops in the driveway, taking guitar lessons, video-conferencing with your work colleagues, cleaning out closets or giving your dogs a bath.

It’s good to have people in these pictures as much as possible, so just a simple “porch portrait” of you and yours is surely welcome.

Consider emailing a picture of you and/or any of your activities to me at mark.wineka@salisburypost.com or mark.wineka@salisburythemagazine.com. (One per household, please.) Include names for the people in the photograph and any explanation for what you’re doing, if necessary.

I ask for two more favors, along this same line.

Each magazine issue also has an “Arts” section and “At Home” department.

Our community is filled with many talented artists, artisans and craftsmen who have been using these days of self-quarantine to create.

If you would like to share a photograph of something you’ve done — a painting, a woodworking or metalworking project, a sculpture, a piece of pottery, something you’ve sewn or a piece of clothing you’ve made, a great cake decoration or anything else demonstrating your considerable artistic talents, again please email it to me at mark.wineka@salisburypost.com, and include enough information for a caption at least.

Together, you’ll provide a great Arts package.

As for the “At Home” pages, I was wondering if you might consider providing photos from your  flower (and maybe even vegetable) gardens. Use your best photographic skills and email to me your beautiful up-close pictures of plants, flowers, fruits or vegetables or your overall garden landscapes.

Again, the email address for garden photos is mark.wineka@salisburypost.com.

We can’t, of course, promise to use everything that is submitted, but we’ll be able to use a lot. The deadline for submissions will be April 30.

Taken collectively, your contributions can help in providing some unique pages to this future issue of the magazine.

I think it will help brighten our days amid terrible hardship and heartache, while serving somewhat as a historical snapshot for what we were doing during the pandemic of 2020.

These things we do, things we create and things we grow would not be possible without the obvious heroes among us.

They are our doctors and nurses, first-responders, law enforcement, pharmacists, grocery store and drugstore employees, drive-up and drive-through personnel, newspaper and television reporters, truck drivers, teachers, nursing home staffs, postal workers, home delivery folks, food distribution networks and many others who have risked their health and maybe their lives in making things easier for the rest of us.

How can we ever thank them enough?

Mark Wineka is editor of Salisbury the Magazine, a publication of the Salisbury Post. The magazine’s May issue already is at the printer and will be reaching subscribers this month. The Summer issue with many of the reader contributions sought for will be available in mid to late June.