Corona Virus Thoughts # 23

Dad received the first shot of his vaccine Monday. It was run so expertly that we were out of the Oregon Convention Center BEFORE our scheduled appointment. I guess Oregonians can still plan and implement some projects on the ground well, just not web sites to help facilitate the project. Think about that crucial difference and the types involved with each endeavor.

He has to return in three weeks. By then I might have my first shot. The state sent me an email saying I was going to receive an email with a link to a scheduling web site. We’ll see.

It felt interesting to be living an intense moment of world history by ushering my father into get his vaccine. I mean, we were physically part of it all, not just watching the Twin Tower fall on TV.

The death toll heads toward 600k.

A New Yorker piece on the early stages of the Pandemic revealed the massive blunders by the federal government that worsened the catastrophe. The bottom line was the bottom line, in that the fear of hurting the economy and the stock market led to decisions like not halting flights from abroad coming into the US. Not even domestic air travel was curbed like it was after 9-11. The resulting spread of the contagion was assured after that.

Dad and were talking about if things will really change after the Pandemic subsides. I have my doubts. You still have every Republican in Congress voting against increasing the minimum wage after hailing all the heroism of the front-line workers. There hasn’t been any substantive movement on ending mass incarceration. Thirty percent of Republicans say they won’t take the vaccine. Southern legislators want to enact laws to further suppress the vote.

Is normalcy, easily the worst word in the English language, going to return?

Another big question: will the Rolling Stones ever play live again? Is it finally over for the war horses?

(Note: as soon as I finished writing this, the email from the state arrived and I am booked for a shot next week.)