One thing we've done better than in the past is that the names for this disease and the subsequent variants have been memorable but not accusatory Unlike, say, "Spanish Flu", "Zika", or "Ebola" we've resisted the urge to brand it with the locations or the peoples where this disease was first identified It helps to have a name like SARS-CoV-2 that doesn't have immediate associations with sectors of the planet I do see the irony of the latest variant being called Omicron "Om" used to be a way of channeling a transcendental state Now it's more like, "OMG"
January 11, 2022
YES. Last year they built a playground near my apartment. And it was a lovely playground. Brand new equipment. The problem was - it was completed in late May. And California didn't believe playgrounds should be open. So, every night when I took my walk - I strolled by this playground. I saw the "CAUTION" tag plastered all around it. The equipment sat empty. And it was silent. Those are two things that playgrounds should never be. It deeply saddened me. I don't have children myself but I wondered "what will the children do if they can't even be outside and play?" My heart ached for all the parents out there. How sad that these children couldn't do something normal. Instead we confined them to houses and deprived them of fresh air. Of the opportunity to play with others. To learn social skills, to learn how to share. To be educated. We forced them to grow up when all they wanted to do was play on a simple playground. Towards the end of last year, when the third (I think it was the third...) shutdown happened, the parents revolted. And I applauded them. Now the playground is open. And when I take my walk each night, I think of that small victory. The elementary school closest to me just reopened. That's another important step forward. We have to continue taking baby steps. We have to keep moving forward and give these children something back. We need to let them be children again. Tell them to go back to day dreaming and playing outside again. Tell them to see their friends, go to concerts, do something normal. We need to let them be children again.
May 17, 2021