The Last 6 Months.

 

I had the day off of work yesterday thanks to one Mr. Cesar Chavez and so I did not do any of my normal weekday stuff except for my daily journal. I keep a bullet journal (I think I have talked about this before). Well yesterday I filled up the current journal and when that happens I always take a minute to flip back through it and I write a little note about the life and times recorded in that journal.

Well the particular journal I filled up yesterday spanned September 2020 - March 2021 and let me tell you dear friend, a whole lot happened during that time period. 

It was almost impossible to shift my brain back into September of 2020. I mean, the Former Guy was still President, there were no vaccines, we hadn’t gone through the winter Covid death surge yet … just … so much … we have lived through so much just since September and it was basically only six months ago. On September 22, 2020 the total number of Covid deaths in the US was 200,768 and as of last night that number was 552,033. So more than half of the Covid deaths in the United States occurred in that relatively narrow window of time. We have lost so much and so many in such a short period. It’s staggering and yet, I think it is actually underappreciated. I know so many people who have - either constantly or only occasionally - behaved as though they are special, as though they are virus-proof, as though the rules of morality and good conduct simply do not apply to them during these really bleak times. And when I consider the quarter of a million people who died just during the lifespan of my little journal, it really shakes me. Assuming that I live through this period, I’m going to have a much darker outlook on humanity. And that shift has taken place mostly in the last six months.

One of my fears is that as soon as we get through all of this, our culture is simply going to memory-hole the whole thing. The people you know who were reckless and stupid will simply behave as though they never were. We will rush to get back to something like normal. I’ve heard some talk about the need for a Covid memorial, something in DC like the Vietnam Memorial. A place we can all go to to remember what has happened. A place that helps us to not forget. I think that would be a good idea.

Until then, at least I have my little journal.

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