In my last post “Will April Showers Bring May Flowers” I was hoping that we would be cheered by the arrival of May’s beautiful flowers along with a reduction of the quarantine regulations as set forth by the governor of New York State. But I did caution that we are living in uncharted waters and that we must remain flexible in order to adapt to these changes brought on by the spread of the Covid 19 virus.

We were cheered by the tulips which came up to share their beauty for all to see, as well as the greening up of the grass and the blooming of the forsythia. Still, we grew weary of the orders that we had to stay inside and if we did venture out to buy some groceries or other household essentials, we needed to cover our faces with a mask to help remind us of the crisis that we face. The words that kept appearing on the television were “appropriate social distancing” which meant keeping at least six feet apart from another human.

Everyday there were new numbers posted on the television in regards to the numbers of people who had come down with the virus, those who recovered, and those who died from the virus. As of last week, the number of people who have died from the Covid 19 virus in the United States alone stood at 177,00 people; so many numbers, so many different directions from the President, from the States’ governors, and from the local politicians that my head began to spin.

I did read an article which made sense to me and I will share the author’s thoughts with you. Unfortunately I did not copy the author’s name or I would share it with you. This person went on to say that our society has definitely changed and we will never go back to what we have accepted as “normal”; Visiting our friends when we pleased, going to eat at our favorite restaurants, going to work, going to school, or even going to church. Our appearance as human beings has changed and we now need to wear a mask to warn others to stay away because we could be a virus carrier. This learned man’s reasoning uses the 9/11 attack on the New York Trade Towers as an example. The attack occurred on Sept 11, 2001, almost 19 years ago. Eleven hundred people died in that attack and as Americans we vowed to never forget. And we haven’t forgotten. Many of the rules and regulations that were put in place then are still in place. For example: taking an airplane trip and going through airport security. And last week’s Covis 19 virus deaths in the United States alone were at 177,000 deaths – some 160 times the deaths associated with the 9/11 attack!
We will be forever changed.
