Some weeks there's so much going on it's hard to keep up. I'm just now catching up to the groundhog day news.
I've asked this question before, but just how general is Phil's forecast? Sure, the sun was shining bright in Punxsutawney, but the morning of February 2nd saw clouds and snow here. Just because Pennsylvania gets 6 more weeks of winter, are we obligated to follow along?
Because my favorite ground dwelling weather forecaster, Elkhorn City Elster, did not see his shadow and celebrated by sledding down Hotel Hill. Maybe winter is almost over here in Pike County?
Clearly this is old news, but it sums up what we're all dealing with. If you need a reminder, while you read this there's an impeachment trial underway, an ice storm may or may not have shut most of east Kentucky down taking your power with it, the Party of Strife in Frankfort is dreaming up new ways of taking Kentucky to the bottom of the pack, Kentucky basketball has collapsed, and, of course, over 27 million Americans have been infected with Covid 19 and we'll soon pass 500,000 Americans killed by the pandemic.
It is hard to believe what has transpired in the last year. I bring this up because one year ago I was just back from a trip to Los Angeles to start preparations for a summer musical series. While we discussed storms and terrorists, not one word was mentioned about a worldwide pandemic that would bring all preparations to a screeching halt by March.
One year later we're making plans again, but instead of gathering in a comfortable location in LaLa Land, we're doing it virtually through Zoom. If you haven't had the pleasure of sitting through a meeting on Zoom, imagine the joy of sitting in a traffic jam with ten to a hundred people watching a video feed of your face and your nose is itching. If you aren't a TV talking head, you have no idea how uncomfortable it is.
But I digress.
A year ago nobody was zooming. A year ago, nobody in Pike county was wearing a mask and Meat was trying to tell me he'd already had that mysterious bat flu back before Thanksgiving. A year ago I was full of excitement about the summer's music series and a handful of trips around the country that never happened.
Now I'm trying to figure out how we stuffed a decade into 365 or so odd days. Odd being the key term in that statement and probably the best explanation.
In a year that has seen innocents murdered on television, economic devastation from pandemic driven shutdowns, an insurrection at the Capitol, and nearly 2.5 million dead by virus worldwide, I'm more amazed by one thing over all.
For over a month, millions worldwide have received immunizations from Covid-19. The vaccine is for a disease not seen before fifteen months ago. This is a miracle of modern science, a testament to what we can do.
And if the ice hasn't scuttled my appointment, someone has stuck one of those vaccines into my arm when you read this, too. Now that is hard to believe.