It was last week a year ago that everything began falling apart, with the first casualty being the cancellation of coveted sporting events, including the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, a blow softened by the fact that my Tar Heels were 14-19 and eliminated.
It didn’t take long before businesses, mostly mom-and-pops, began to close, schools and recreational opportunities were suspended, and people were told the stay inside except to riot and loot, wash their hands as if they had OCD, and if they just had to have a dash of sunlight to keep their sanity then keep their distance from others.
Masks, we were told, were not helpful at that time, but later it was determined they were critical and not wearing one made you a selfish and awful human being worthy of derision.
We were told if we did as instructed, that we could quickly vanquish this coronavirus, and things would return to normal, perhaps in a couple of weeks or a month.
Instead, a fissure formed in this nation that continued to grow and divide, and for reasons I have never fully understood, the virus was not color blind, separating the blue from the red — a divide that will outlast this scourge that China unleashed on the world.
I have never subscribed to the theory that this virus was purposely hatched in a Chinese lab with the intent to cripple this nation’s economy, defeat Trump and to pit Americans against one another, but if that were the case, I’ve got to say: “Well done, comrade.”
It will be years before the calculations are complete on the damage done. Deaths should be easy to count, but nothing is easy with this virus, and just another argument has been whether someone who is almost dead anyhow should be counted when COVID-19 delivers the final blow. Those who have sacrificed most have been this nation’s young people who have been denied so much of the joys of youth.
History will laugh at us.
Because America is blessed with incredible minds, vaccines that we were told could be years in the making are available, and this nation is shaking its funk.
I never suffered with COVID-19, and if the vaccine is as advertised, I shouldn’t have to worry about getting it going forward. I am amazed I never suffered the virus, not because I was reckless, but I did let my guard down more than once, and many people who have been dear to me did get the virus.
I had my first shot of the Moderna vaccine last week, and will get the second dose on April 5 or soon afterward. I received the dose after I called a key health official and it was determined that my heart surgery in 2009 was enough to move me up in line. He also suggested I was obese, obviously confusing a beer belly with obesity.
The folks at the Robeson County Health Department got me in and out in fewer than 30 minutes, which included the mandatory 15-minute wait after the injection. The easiest part was answering the question of what race I am and what sex I identify with. I say easy because I think any answer would have been accepted, but I settled on “white” and “male” after toying with “human” and “it.”
Despite the obesity comment, I must say that our Health Department is shining in getting out the vaccine, doing so with great efficiency. If you want the vaccine, but your group’s time has not yet arrived, I suggest you call the department and see if you can get on a “call list” that the department uses to contact folks at the end of the day who rush over to get leftover vaccine that otherwise would be tossed in the garbage. It is a commonsense strategy being employed during a time commonsense has been in short supply.
I know there are some who are wary about the virus, but they need to wise up. I can tell you that I had zero side effects, not even soreness.
So do your part and get the shot. Each one administered moves us a step closer to a new normal that apparently includes Duke staying at home for the NCAA tournament. I can live with that.
Donnie Douglas is the former editor of The Robesonian.