Phase 4 begins Friday…in Illinois. We can eat inside the restaurant of our choice as long as social distancing is observed and tables are spaced 6 feet apart. For standing areas restaurants need to limit capacity to 25%. Indoor theatre are limited to 50 people or 50% of capacity. Outdoor venues are limited to 20% capacity. These measures are positive and risky…if not observed properly… Covid-19 has not caught, ‘the last train for the coast,’ as the, ‘Father Son and the Holy Ghost,’ of the famous Don McLean song, American Pie!
And, so, we must make up our mind as to the next step on the tightrope of our 2020 pandemic. The plan is for our primary schools and universities to open for in class learning in the fall. This plan is not business as usual but rather a detailed accommodation for living in the midst of a virus that has already taken over 120 thousand lives in the United States…and a current upsurge in over 20 states. Many of the states that are undergoing a spike in COVID-19… began safeguards late and ended them early. Many politicized the pandemic and the wearing of face masks and social distancing. The virus does not care who is the president and is oblivious to his rhetoric. Epidemiologist tell us that the Coronavirus is spread from human to human by aerosol. Speaking…singing…yelling…wind instruments…all propel the virus if you are a carrier of COVID-19! The empirical facts of transmission have not changed…and will not until we have a vaccine.
I learned at an early age, to my chagrin, that there are things that I have to do and things that I want to do…there are items that I need and items that I want… Our present conundrum may fit this equation? During our isolation I have been grocery shopping…we need groceries. Our church has been meeting on the virtual platform of zoom for months…and it has been inspiring and enriching! I chose to have our Father’s Day lunch by curbside delivery from Del Sol’s.
We are all influenced by our social circles. We love to hear what our friends are doing and what they think about a subject. We may know people and friends and relatives that assure us that the uproar regarding the pandemic is a tempest in a teapot! It may be comforting to know people that have not observed social distancing or who do not wear face masks and who tell us to live our lives to the fullest, and not to worry…or who say that we are entering stage 4 and so the virus will not infect you as long as you follow the safety guidelines… Has anyone asked the Coronavirus opinion?
We all are afflicted with a bit of a sense of invincibility. We have been through much in our lives…and survived the battles and have the subsequent scars to prove it! We have been struck by the lightning of chance on more than one occasion. But seldom did my being struck…cause you to die…
The Jazz Man 
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