As 2020 draws to a close, a note of thanks

 

There’s little debate that 2020 was an awful year, but I can’t let it end without a note of thanks. Not to the people, or cosmic forces, that caused all this misery, but to the people whose heroic actions have given us hope.

Health care workers are some of the most selfless people I've ever met. They aren’t in it for the money. They genuinely care about people, and we’ve seen that demonstrated this year by their dedication to treating patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even when their own health and safety was at risk, they bravely went to work every day. 

Photo by Gustavo Fring of Pexels.

 

I’ve spoken to nurses who held the hands of dying patients when their families couldn’t be there. I’ve heard doctors describe how they put terrified patients on ventilators, and those patients pleaded with them to bring them back.

Many of these providers are frustrated that people continually ignore clear safety guidelines, yet they don’t stand in judgment. They treat every patient, no matter their views on the pandemic, because that’s what health care providers do.

They’ve faced a five-alarm emergency every day for over nine months. Imagine your toughest, busiest, scariest day at work, and have that every single day, and knowing tomorrow will be the same.

I don’t know how they do it. But I know our society would collapse without them.

Another note of thanks goes to the scientific researchers. Think about this a second. It took over 20 years of research to develop an effective polio vaccine, and the disease had been around for hundreds of years. Scientists found several effective vaccines for Covid-19 less than a year after the disease was discovered. That is a truly astonishing breakthrough.

The importance of scientific research shouldn’t be underestimated. The rapid development of vaccines came about because years were spent researching the genetic makeup of viruses and novel RNA treatments. The work was done by scientists from multiple countries, and some of the key researchers were immigrants.

This shows what happens when government and private funders devote their resources to curing a disease. Imagine what else they can achieve, how many lives they can save, with the right resources.

So, to every researcher who goes into the lab, thank you. When humanity is helpless to fight a disease, you’re our only hope.

And finally, I want to thank to essential workers. I’m talking about the people who had no option but to leave their house and do their jobs, while people like me had the option of sheltering indoors. Grocery clerks, delivery workers, first responders, police, teachers, drivers, construction workers, government workers, and so many more, many of you have vital jobs that help our society function. Thank you for your hard work.

I wish changing the calendar to 2021 will solve all our problems, but I don’t think that’s the case. Let’s remember this. We are stronger when we are unified. A virus doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care who you are. It doesn’t matter whether you believe it exists or not.

When we’re facing a virus-like threat, whether it’s a natural disaster or a man-made disaster like war or climate change, we must come together and follow the right path.

Here’s to a better 2021.

We should keep up these practices after Covid-19

The way our lives have changed amid the Covid-19 pandemic has made be realize what gross, unsanitary lifestyles we had before. Some of the practices we’ve adopted to slow the spread of the virus should become permanent.
Whether coronavirus or the common cold, who likes getting sick?
I’m not saying ban all parties and crowds forever, but how about this? Stop shaking hands. I’ll be sitting in temple blowing my nose for everyone to hear, and people still want to shake my hand. One time I went to an awards events when I was sick and I politely, or so I thought, declined to shake hands with everyone. I got so many nasty looks. Would you rather know what my sore throat feels like?
Do we need physical contact to prove who has the stronger grip? So I can feel your sweat? Nothing’s wrong with a proper bow, or a salute.
And don’t get me started on the Miami custom of hugs and kisses. Just put your germs directly on my face, please!
Taking health into account when entering a store is a great idea. I love that the Publix crew is cleaning all the shopping carts. No more carts with empty wrappers and sticky handlebars. Please do that forever.
When hand sanitizer is easier to come by, it should be placed in the entrance of every store to encourage people to rid their hands of germs before touching the merchandise. That goes double for clothing stores. The poor clerks have to refold the clothes after some stranger with dirty hands touched them.
Some companies are investing in a touchless experience in the bathroom - automatic faucets and doors that open without a handle. It’s hard to clean objects everytime someone touches them. It’s easier to minimize the numbers of times people need to lay hands on things.
When you’re sick, don’t “tough it out.” Stay home. I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone. Unless I literally can’t get out of bed, I want to work. Now that we’ve seen how efficient we can be working from home, it’s not a big deal to work remotely if you’re not 100%.
For jobs that can’t be done remotely, hopefully employers will understand employees should be given paid sick days, because that’s less expensive than getting half the workplace sick.
Come to think of it, what’s the point of spending over an hour a day in traffic when you could have an extra hour actually doing work? Is it worth a 70 minute drive for a face-to-face meeting when you could have done a Zoom chat? People do need to meet in person, but not every day.
Now let’s talk about food. How come at buffet lines everyone touches the same utensils as they shovel the food onto their plates? Dozens of people handle the same tongs and spoons, putting all kinds of germs on them, and then they use the same hands to stuff bread rolls into their mouths. All the viruses you can eat.
Why can’t a food service employee handle the utensils for the customers? Or each customer gets a personal pair of tongs and a spoon as they head down the buffet line?
Then there are religious ceremonies. Whether a Christian performing Communion or a Jew doing a Kiddush, it makes no sense for everyone to drink from the same cup of wine. Don’t expect blessings to remove germs from the cup as it becomes a Petri dish of saliva. Why not bless the wine, then pour it into small cups to pass around? Only drink from the small cups, not the big one.
My ranting is over, for now. Why should you take it from me? I did write an entire science fiction novel about a woman trying not to spread an infection to other people. Moni Williams flees Florida for the New Mexico desert.
Take to heart these words in the the opening of "Silence the Living":

Her standing here alone was the only way to survive, for herself and every native creature on Earth.

When I wrote them, I didn't know they would become real for so many of us.