By any objective measure 2020 was a horrible year. Front and center of this horror is COVID-19. As of this writing, it has infected more than 83 million people around the world killing more than 1.8 million. Nearly 1 in 5 of those deaths have happened here in the United States. COVID-19 has now claimed the lives of more than 345,000 Americans. On the first day of 2021, this country will have crossed the 20 million case mark.
While some countries have made the best of these horrible circumstances (i.e. New Zealand) here in the U.S. the pandemic has led to a health care system on the verge of collapse, economic catastrophe and social unrest exacerbated by malevolent leadership.
Fortunately, there is a twinge of hope. American voters saw fit to elect a new President who will take office in less than three weeks from now. Of course, Joe Biden's efforts to clean things up will greatly be assisted if Georgia elects both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock this coming Tuesday despite my reservations. If nothing else, I picked one hell of a time to move to Georgia.
But Republicans are making a concerted effort to delegitimize Biden's presidency before it begins. While the efforts of House and Senate Republicans to disregard the Electoral College results next Wednesday fail I fear there could be violence aided and abetted by President Trump between now and Inauguration Day.
Even if Biden takes office with little or no incident there will be a critical mass that will actively resist wearing masks, social distancing and taking a COVID-19 vaccine. For those of us who wish to be vaccinated, there is the challenge of getting these vaccines into people's arms. However, I do think the incoming Biden Administration has the competence and compassion necessary to get this done come hell or high water. If more than two thirds of America's populace has been vaccinated by this time a year from now and community spread is dramatically reduced, Biden will have bought himself a great deal of goodwill. Of course, only time and our patience will tell.
As for myself, in the grand scheme of things, I have been very fortunate. I did lose my job like tens of millions of other Americans, but I managed to find a new one. This meant leaving my Dad and moving from New York City to Atlanta a little over two months ago. Such a thought was the furthest thing from my mind at this time a year ago. Then again this could be said of a great many things.
Since arriving in Atlanta, I did have a COVID scare but again good fortune smiled upon me in this regard as well. Knock on wood for the same in 2021. I'm slowly adjusting to my new life in Atlanta. My new job has a pretty steep learning curve. But the decisions I make are not matters of life and death. With this in mind, I do not envy the health care workers who have seen so much death this year and will likely see a great deal more death in the coming year. But I am grateful for them and hope they get the kind of care they give to others.
With just over an hour left in 2020, I am sitting in my large garage apartment alone. I have spent a great deal of time this year alone. Prior to moving to Atlanta, I spent nearly 7 months in an apartment upstairs from my Dad to promote social distancing. Since moving to Atlanta, I am alone at home and am nearly alone at the office as most people work from home. I am accustomed to being alone and like not being in anyone's way. But no man is an island.
Still my problems pale in comparison to millions of other people. Things could be much worse. I have found joy in practicing tai chi, watching reaction videos and discovering the 1970's all-female rock band Fanny. As an aficionado of late 1960's and early 1970's rock music, I am astounded I never came across Fanny's music until this year. I have now immersed myself into the band and have become friendly with Fanny's lead guitarist June Millington and drummer Alice de Buhr on Facebook. Millington hosts a weekly live show on Facebook while de Buhr co-hosts the Get Behind Fanny podcast. I listened to the former earlier this evening and the latter will be the first thing I do in 2021 as the latest episode drops at midnight.
For all the misery which defined 2020 and will remain with us to start 2021, I am nevertheless looking forward to the New Year. I hope the same is true for you as well wherever you may be.
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