A friend of mine died yesterday. I’ve known him since we were kids, though I don’t think I’ve seen him since my father’s funeral five years ago. He was a good ol’ boy in the sense that he was always good-natured and easy-going, and he was always willing to help you out if he could. Those have always been rare on the ground. The Earth rolls on regardless.
It’s New Year’s Eve. If you’re going out to ring in the new year, please be careful. It being amateur night hasn’t changed, but we’re also dealing with a passel of yay-hoos who haven’t been able to get properly sloppy drunk in public for two years. Don’t drive unless you have to and watch out either way.
And if you’re planning on going out to raise a glass or two, what the hell is wrong with you? We’re knee-deep in the same pandemic we’ve been dealing with for the past two years, one that’s killed over 800,000 people in the United States alone, disrupted global commerce and revealed serious fundamental cracks in the American Way Of Life. And while we do have access to vaccines that do work, we’re also facing a variant strain of the COVID-19 virus that seems to have little problem circumventing even a full set of vaccinations and boosters.
Again, I want to emphasize that while the omicron variant seems to be more virulent than any other breed of COVID, it doesn’t seem to be especially deadly. We’re posting record numbers of new cases – both in individual states and across the country – deaths really don’t seem to be increasing all that much.
Yet.
The real danger comes in the creeping increase in hospitalizations. The vast majority of those hospitalized are unvaccinated and the end result is COVID cases that could be avoided – or, at least, not as nasty – are taking up bed space in hospitals, forcing people who need emergency care to wander far afield to find a place able to take them. The number of kids having to go into the hospital has skyrocketed, even though vaccinations have opened up for them. Hospitals are also having to decide who stays and who goes, which increases the level of stress on the already run-ragged hospital workers. So, think about that before you hit the bars tonight.
Let’s end with some good news. Grass fires have been roaring through Colorado for the last couple of days. They seem to be centered in Boulder County, and somewhere between 500 and 1,000 houses have been destroyed. It’s moving pretty swiftly, as well, with people being evacuated with the fire literally on their heels. So far, what started these fires is unknown but experts have ruled out downed power lines.
What’s the good news? No deaths have been reported and despite the loss of property, all the evacuation efforts have gone off without a hitch. It really is the little things sometimes. Here’s a link to where you can go to help the folks in Colorado if you can.
So that’s that for 2021 and it has been a bummer. By the time we talk again, it’ll be 2022 and between you and me, it doesn’t look like it’ll be much better. We here in the Enon Holler area are looking at some foul weather this weekend. Take care of yourself and each other, beloved.
Dear Y'all 