The talk of the town

There is no doubt what the talk of the town is today. I could write that the talk of the town is the talk of the Country and even the world. The Coronavirus, or simply Covid19 is what folks are talking about everywhere. In December 2019 I know for me, I wasn’t thinking that in September 2021 we would be talking about this virus as I am writing and thinking about it today. Over 200 Countries in the world with over 76,023,488 individual cases as of December 2020. A lot transpired in one year, and now, 9 months later, we see the variant continues to impact the lives of thousands upon thousands alone here in the United States. It was January 21, 2020 that the first case was documented in Washington State. The person to person contact has been devastating on every imaginable front, and worse, every front unimaginable. Who would have thought automobile production would be halted because parts were unavailable? Food shortages as suppliers and distributors were unable to gather and ship food because of the spread of the virus. Who would have thought that students would go to school as their classrooms would become virtual as their schools would be locked down because of this pandemic? Did you imagine that tiller parts and lawn mover production would be halted or even the fact that Mason Jars would become an item stores would be unable to stock? The impact of Covid19 has touched every aspect of normal living to the point where today, the conversation of what is normal is challenging to describe or predict. What has become normal is that no one knows. The government has not been reliable with information. Our medical family practitioners, the doctors we have known our entire lives, or at least for many years, the doctors we refer to as family, they have been wondering, shaking their heads and at a loss as to what to advise, prescribe or how to explain this crisis that continues across our land. The talk of the town is our disbelief as to the impact on our families, the hospitalizations, and the most costly impact, the deaths of our loved ones, close friends, co-workers and those we know through life's travels. The talk of the town is now at a point where people are mad, confused, angry, stunned ad not sure what to do as we all should be looking for our role in this crisis that is not somewhere else, but that rather is right here at home, in our communities, in our churches, on our son or daughters sports team and in our schools. There is no facet of life not impacted today. My heart breaks for those whose lives have been lost, for those who have battled for their lives and for those standing around wishing to find someway to make things better. I personally have taken the vaccine, I took two shots. Having been someone who has faced serious life health issues, and as someone who has taken plenty of medications where I signed to release liability understanding the medical communities suggested treatment was all just a trial test. It was a guess with a hope that things would help me and I gladly signed up. Why you might ask, well thanks for asking, my answer is simply. I will choose quality of life over quantity of years every time. Everyone must make their own decisions, I get it, but your decision also has a huge impact on those you know and don’t know. I’m asking those I know to please do the right thing, if not for you, for those you know. I believe it really matters. Until then