{"id":4340,"date":"2021-06-13T07:54:41","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T11:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=4340"},"modified":"2021-06-13T07:55:21","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T11:55:21","slug":"outside-my-window-part-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2021\/06\/13\/outside-my-window-part-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Outside My Window \u2013 Part 16"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is the next in the \u201cOutside My Window\u201d series about daily life during the pandemic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s Over<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It took less than a month.  In the first week of May, I officiated a track meet in Columbus.  Everyone, kids, coaches, parents, wore masks.  \u201cSocial Distancing\u201d was still a \u201cthing\u201d, and we all took pains to avoid crowds.  We were still a world restricted by the pandemic.  I officiated my last meet in Chillicothe three weeks later.  Masks were few to be seen \u2013 none of the officials wore one.  A few kids, a few elderly spectators, but other than those it was a \u201cmask free\u201d environment.  There were crowds in the stands, a record showing for Southeastern High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world turned quickly.  The death and infection rates here in Ohio plummeted.  Over 50% of adults are vaccinated, with a part of the rest already infected and over the disease.  So the spread slowed.  It doesn\u2019t really mean \u201cit\u2019s over\u201d.  Over 250 died from COVID in Ohio in May.  The  Butcher\u2019s Bill from the pandemic stands at 20,000 deaths in Ohio.  But only 503 are being treated in  hospitals now, down from the many thousands that nearly overwhelmed some facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID statistics are reported in the weekend newspapers, alongside the baseball scores and the horse racing results.  But they\u2019ve lost their impact:  to folks here in Ohio, it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normal Life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My family went to a \u201cfancy\u201d restaurant last week to celebrate a birthday.  It was the first time since \u2013 I\u2019m not sure, maybe Christmas of 2019 \u2013 that we went to an \u201cupscale\u201d place.  Life was normal:  crowds at the bar, no Friday reservations available until after 8, the servers excited to be busy.  It was as if COVID hadn\u2019t even happened.  We had a great time, with seafood and steaks and wine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote my first essay on the pandemic on March 16, 2020 (Crisis in a Small Town<\/a>).  It was about how our small town of Pataskala was reacting to the pandemic, even though the actual disease hadn\u2019t touched us yet.  Sure there were fights over toilet paper at the local grocery, but there were also lots of stories about a town pulling together in crisis.  The local restaurants quickly switched to full carry-out modes, and one of the bars (Ziggy\u2019s) even found a way to carry-out their mixed drinks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Variants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So here we are, more than a year later.  And for the moment, our crisis is over.  We still hear of the dreaded \u201cvariants\u201d that somehow might escape all of the defenses.  And we are still reading about the tragedy of COVID \u2013 now ravaging India and other parts of the world.  Ohio has almost half-a-million COVID vaccinations ready to expire.  We can\u2019t send them to India, but we could put them in Ohioans arms to protect them and keep the rest of us safe.  But those vaccines will likely go to waste.  Even a million-dollar lottery isn\u2019t enough to get some to roll up their sleeves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the next step in COVID is to be charitable.  All of the billions of dollars spent to develop and produce enough vaccines for the United States, need to be re-directed to saving the rest of the world.  And it\u2019s not just charity, it\u2019s self-interest.  The fewer people with COVID, the less chance of a mutation in the virus that would circumvent the vaccinations.  Stop the spread, stop the variants:  protect us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I keep thinking  back to the flu epidemic of 1918, the \u201cSpanish Flu\u201d (it just as likely originated in Kansas).  They thought it was over after the first wave, but the second mutated strain that came back with the Armies from World War I was even more deadly.  We know a whole lot more about viruses today.  The solutions are really common sense.  But common sense doesn\u2019t seem to be much of a driving force in today\u2019s world.  We\u2019ll see if there\u2019s another essay in 2022 about life and COVID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ohio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile it\u2019s back to normal here in Ohio.\u00a0 We are going to a long awaited family reunion next weekend in Cleveland.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s another Pole Vault Camp (yes, there is such a thing) to coach this week, and maybe Jenn and I will take in a ballgame soon.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s nothing like a minor league game on \u201cdime a dog night\u201d, sitting in the bleacher seats in the hot sun, beer and dog in hand, rooting for the Clippers.\u00a0\u00a0I hear they play the Toledo Mud Hens this week.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s about as normal as life can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outside My Window Series<\/h3>\n\n\n\n