New words for a new time… that have gotten really old

We are not at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic which has dominated the news, limited our access to family and friends, and generally made recluses out of all of us. Those of us on the “mask-side” look down our noses… well if the fog in our glasses clears, we look down the ramp at those who “don’t believe.” I would say that most of the “mask-side” is either vaccinated or on the way to being fully vaccinated. The rest of the population either sees the vaccine as a danger to their own health or a waste of resources when “this too shall pass.”

I’m not here to tout either side… even though I have had my second shot and have passed my waiting period. I’m glad I had the shots. I had absolutely no reaction to the shots, but I know plenty of people who had headaches, fever, and weakness for twenty-four hours or so. To me, even that would have been a small price to stay off the respirator, out of the life-alert helicopter, and out of the funeral home. But… I’m not trying to tell someone what to do with their lives.

What brought up these thoughts was a list of phrases and words which became commonly used during the pandemic. Although perfectly good English phrases, they took on deeper meaning when it had to do with death and dying. “Flatten the curve” was one of those phrases. Highway engineers flattened curves and girdles and Spanx have done their parts in the curves that have gotten out of control. But when hospitals filled to overflowing with sick Covid patients, we all stepped in to flatten the curve by every means possible. Not to be bragging, but my curve was flatter than some people.

With the phrase “community spread,” we were unable to find someone to blame. They tried tracing out movements and contacts. They tried contacting those who were sick, first. In the end, we just got it from “the grocery store” or choir practice or that funeral we should have not attended. We, human beings, like to have someone to blame.

A few years ago, the Mazda cars really made a name for themselves “zooming” around corners and down mountain slopes. Now, every child and most employees in the country have participated in video conferences called Zooming. We got to see news anchors with messy bookshelves (a sign of genius), our co-workers dressed nicely from the waist up, and our ministers preaching to an empty sanctuary. Yes, we should have all invested in Zoom stock in 2018.

We all learned to spell “quarantine” and “fatigue.” Together, they about summed up the last few months. We find ourselves going into the grocery store without a mask. And we end up just feeling guilty… not going back to the car for our mask. We are tired of staying home. We are questioning our decisions about marrying that guy, having those four kids who are not very smart in math and need someone else as a tutor. We look on our neighbors whom we consider to be “Covidiots,” and are jealous of their vacations, their in-person learning, and their parties… while we watch from six feet away.

Like I said, we aren’t at the end of this dark period, but there does seem to be a little light flickering up ahead. Whether it through “herd immunity,” or it comes as a result of vaccinations on a large scale, this too shall pass… and we’ll have a good time sharing these silly phrases with those of the future.