A WALK IN THE PARK

     The American public has received a warning: the COVID-19 vaccine, whichever one it will be, will be no walk in the park. While one often hears talk that the flu vaccine made someone ill, (unproven), we are being told, warned, that the vaccine for this virus will indeed make one feel ill, be ill, with some of the very symptoms of the virus. No walk in the park indeed. Will these symptoms develop in intensity? What happened with those people who had symptoms who participated in  the trials? How severe was it? Did it develop into full blown virus infection and among which demographic? And still, we are being asked to trust this vaccine, this rushed effort with so much political baggage behind it?

The Pfizer CEO tells us he purposely did not take federal funding because he wished no political messiness or taints. Smart guy and personally I think I will trust that vaccine more than the others, but still, there is no walk in the park awaiting us, not with the vaccine, not with its distribution nor its consequences, nor with the infrastructure necessary, nor with the horrific numbers we are hit with every day to the point of numbness. When a person who states she is a registered nurse in a COVID unit is seen entering  a bar, well, think about that and what it could portend for her unfortunate patients.

Bumping up against 260,000 dead, over 2,000 a day, growing and growing, and multiply that for at   least another two, three months - and that is an optimistic timetable - meld in the numbers of infected, now over 12 million and growing apace, and those who will suffer long term effects, and well, the park is beginning to dry out and up, newspapers blowing along the edges of the roadways and benches looking worn and unkempt.

Fauci issued another warning as he pleads every day for behavior control, for common sense, for precautions. Yet we still have idiots among us who refuse to do so. The consequences are harsh - for them, their families, friends and for the rest of us. Every patient is another stress on the limited supplies, on the draining staying power of the first line responders, of the daily caregivers and hospital workers. Each one is a new weight on the already tattered social fabric of the country.

In fact, to be honest, this entire year, for all but a month or so, has been no walk in the park. We have faced unforeseen catastrophic problems, refused to recognize them, paid no heed, been bombarded with unprecedented deranged political behavior, and a general malaise or unwillingness or a meld of both, to face life head on. We walked right by the park and did not notice its deterioration. Nor, it seemed, did most people care, for they were in it up to their necks, in sludge ponds of conspiracy and accusations capable of rending the entire park moot. 

Finally, too little, too late, the obvious has been acknowledged, though the insane continue on with their futility of behavior, their startling lack of mental acuity and refusal to accept reality. Already behind in the desperate need and fight to right the wrongs of the Trump administration, even as that defunct regime continued on its mad path to ensure disaster beyond its waning days, perhaps we can begin to mend the wounds, heal the divides. But it will not be easy. No walk in the park here. None at all and in fact, so much of the park has been so damaged as to make it nigh unto impossible to repair, not with any kind of quick fix. And as for the problems of the judiciary, tainted and defamed and attacked by Trump et al, well, there are about forty years to go. Not a good recipe for improving or easing this walk in the park.

We all will have to work hard, develop patience, work on trust issues, be prepared for hardships on many fronts, but we can do it-if we so wish it, wish to recreate some kind of park that resembles what we used to have. The old normal is gone. We must accept that. We can rebuild if we wish to, if we cooperate, if we put our shoulders to it.

A good place to start is to give Biden and friends time to tackle the problems, time to plan, time to organize and time to plumb the depths of the disasters Trump left behind, on purpose, with malice aforethought. 

We can also work on local levels. This morning I read yet again that the Executive Board is canceled. Nothing since the last meeting in February, I believe. Why is that? Room C has plenty of room for a safe meeting and ZOOM is perfect. The theater is opening December 1 for movies, so why not there and hey, here is an idea - how about a Delegate Assembly meeting!!!!! The time is done. The time is over. This nonsense, this avoidance, this purposeful ignoring of the bylaws of the Village has to stop. David barely budges to move himself to meetings. What the hell is he doing besides eating his candy and wondering how behind he has fallen in the techie world? Perhaps what we need is another Fausto built shield isolating David from the rest of us so we can get going on rebuilding the beautiful park that was once the Village Eden.

The outcomes of hard work give us hope and energy. Let us get started on every level. And let me say Amen - time to feel that America can become America once more. Congratulations, President-elect Biden. Congratulations to all Americans. Congratulations to America. And indeed, may G-d bless us, one and all.