looking forward and back

Last year at this time, we were buckled down in a routine of not going out and never without masks. My summer classes had been cancelled due to the dangers of travel and the risk of dying from a deadly disease.  My daughter and son in law who had come here to escape the pandemic in New York had returned to Brooklyn as cases here were rising fast and as New Yorkers were getting a grip on things.

The economy was limping along thanks to stimulus spending intended to keep things afloat. Rich folks were raking money in like gangbusters and poor folks like always were figuring out ways to get by. 

Toilet paper was gradually creeping back onto the supermarket shelves, and the idea of a vaccine that might bring safety to us all seemed like a distant dream. Those of us with a modicum of common sense, knew that the next months would be disastrous for some, most particularly for those who chose to ignore science and refused to wear masks. 

So 600,000 deaths later, here we are again. Arkansas was featured today on the front page of New York Times website, due to the spike in coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths among those who have refused vaccinations. On twitter they call these folks #covidiots. And we've learned that those who choose not to get vaccinations still have the power to infect those who have gotten vaccinations. They are willing to die for their beliefs and take other innocent folks down with them, including those whom they profess to love. (personal note, being willing to die for your beliefs can be a noble thing if your beliefs are truly worthy of dying for. Covid-19 misinformation is not).

With every covid-19 post Facebook tells us to get the facts straight. And they will do the same with this post, issuing a warning. And in the meantime, some folks we may care for and about will be continuing to use social media to stop the use of the vaccine thereby putting friends, neighbors and the national economy at risk.

I urge those who choose to remain among the unvaccinated to reconsider for your sake as well as mine. I want to have a normal school year this fall in which children can run and play and those who are entrusted with their care may be equally as carefree. The vaccination can do that for us.

If you've not gotten your shots, get them ASAP.

In the wood shop I've been sanding boxes. I've been revising edited text for my new book and planning one about making jigs.

Make, fix and create...