The news is full of the stories. Several partiers going out in a group all test positive for good old covid-19. Restaurants and bars close down for more sanitizing, more rules, more trying to figure out how to keep young, healthy people from congregating in tight groupings. Who cares? The people they then interact with after they are infected like good old mom and dad, grandpa and grandma. Though as some old "farts" are saying, from a safe social distance of course, we should be willing to sacrifice ourselves for the good of the economy.
Science and medical be damned-boys and girls "just wanna have fun". The idea that we actually live in society and perhaps owe something to our fellow humans is not a consideration as it reeks of control. Such as waiting your turn at that promotion until you have proven yourself or letting someone else in front of you on the road. The same folks who don't vaccinate their children as "the government is not going to tell me what to do" or will not believe the completely debunked theory on autism. Again you live in society not a cave in the mountains. Please let me know so I can keep my children away, thank you Ms. or Mr. Philistine. It could be we have always been that way but it just seems our selfishness is better advertised these days.
Businesses eager to reopen; people excited about getting out have led to a perfect tsunami of spreading infections. Is it not logical that those places that opened early and often are now seeing explosions of new cases? Hospitals are starting to be overwhelmed; the second wave is upon us or as I see it, the actual first wave for those who still do not believe in what they cannot see (a virus). Wearing a mask or standing apart is so hard for the social animals that we are. We are drawn to each other regardless of the intensity of the flame. To be silent and alone is against all that we feel and are. Even to our own detriment.
At my first rock concert as a freshman at Michigan State we stood in a line that snaked halfway around campus (slight exaggeration) and when the doors opened, we were told to "run for your seats". That was enough. I am a huge proponent of assigned seats and the most expensive I can afford or why bother.
Where one has to draw the line, however, is we cannot have everything all the time. It is not our right or necessary. The pandemic is not political, discriminate or malicious. It just is a fact of life. The new "normal" is definitely not the old normal and change is inevitable. Those who refuse to change will be left behind, or maimed or dead; that is clear.
On the positive side, I love reservations. When we were young teens my parents took us to nicer restaurants on occasion, to learn how to act in an "adult venue", where they actually took reservations! (Note: other people don't find your misbehaving child as endearing as you do in "adult venues"). I find it so galling that an establishment that wants our money, lots of our money, thinks it is alright to let us languish in inadequate waiting areas jockeying for position or on the street just for the privilege of spending OUR money. Or to be tethered to a blinking disc to signal they are allowing me the distinct honor of dining with them. As my family knows, I find it irritating and usually will not do it. (I also hating seeing onions in my dish) No place is that good. I have even said the next line I stand in will be for the 2nd coming.
Unfortunately people are so eager to visit or dine at a popular spot they are not at all put off by waiting in a line outside like so much cattle. And being human they tend to gather together to talk loudly, laugh, spit and generally toss their assorted juices to all and sundry.
Also to my joy I hear Disney is implementing a reservation system that texts you when you're next in line. Brilliant! Wending my way around acres of pipe barriers for an hour in the heat or racing across the park trying to even get in the line just to enjoy one ride is a sure pleasure-killer in my book. Why these common sense and respectful policies were not implemented before now is beyond my comprehension.
Of course it begs the question. Would I get in and wait in line to get tested or receive a vaccine for the current scourge? Well, at least it's worth some serious contemplation.
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