It is Thanksgiving Day of what has been something of a
surreal world filled with drudgery and suffering that has probably not been
shared by more people at the same time in this world than any time in human history.
Yes, there have been world wars but never have so many
people across all seven continents have had to take isolation and quarantine precautions
due to the pandemic of Covid-19. According to the
World Health Organization, there have been 57.8 million cases of Covid-19 and
1.3 million deaths from it since they started keeping score. (https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update---24-november-2020)
We have been strongly encouraged by government officials to
practice “social distancing,” which means we are to stay about six feet apart
from each other. The “steps” taken by government officials also
has meant shutting down sectors of the economy, which has meant economic hardship
for many people who have not worked in “essential” jobs.
So, many people have been isolated, not being able to go anywhere
and stuck in their thoughts about how they are going to make it. Children have
been kept home from school and not being allowed to go out and play with friends.
This blog is more slanted to the United States and North
America, but our societal traditions and calendars have been disrupted. Where I live in Louisville, Kentucky, the
Kentucky Derby is normally a rite of the Month of May where the best thoroughbred
horses race, and Covid forced that race to run the first week of September on Labor Day. The National Hockey League played for the Stanley
Cup in September. As I write, the Macys Thanksgiving Parade is going on
right now and it just does not seem the same without crowds of people (they
hinted that they taped portions earlier in the week in the name of Covid
precautions). Many of our lives go with the rhythm of the
calendar and the seasons that Covid has made us feel out of sorts as a society.
That brings us to the holiday season which is supposed to
start today. I debated whether or not
to write this year for the few people who have read this including my aunt by
marriage. I thought as I was loading the turkey breast into the smoker . . .
absolutely, I should write. This could
be the year people read this stuff.
So, it’s Thanksgiving, It’s Covid. What can you say about a day like this: Why
not be thankful you don’t have to see the dysfunctional family today, and put
up with their political speeches and awkward questions you don’t want to answer,
and unsolicited suggestions?
I was thinking about that as I was recalling a phone
conversation with a family member a few months ago and the family member (probably
after a few glasses of wine) was repetitively telling me that my choice for
president was a piece of $%*!. Mind you,
I will probably call the family member today and hopefully, the conversation
will be polite and end with “We love you.” However, there are people out there
who have such a deep-seated painful family history that there is no desire to
talk let alone see them on Zoom.
Covid gives people a government-mandated excuse not to see those
people, have a controlled conversation and then hang up and go back to binge-watching Netflix, some other streaming video or You Tube. Maybe that is something to be thankful
for?
Anyway, if this is the first time you have seen this blog,
and you are looking for coping or survivng the holidays, feel free to scoll
back. I have written 105 previous posts about many
different topics.
I plan to explore grief and loss and loneliness in the next
few weeks on this blog. I would like to
encourage you to help me make this viral.
This is not a monetized blog (or at least I don’t think it is) and I am
interested in helping as many people as possible in getting through the holidays.
