November 23

It’s Monday, November 23, 2020, the world has kept revolving, the seasons changing. Eight months of Mondays has passed since I began this journal of self-discovery. Eight months of Mondays since the world seemed to implode and we were all forced to take a pause.

Now with case numbers climbing and the world suffering from covid fatigue we stare another pause in the eyes.

A lockdown in Toronto began today, as well as parts of Manitoba. They have shut down stores, and essential items are the only thing they can buy. Restaurants, gyms, and theatres are closed once more, businesses suffer and many people are wondering if the price is worth the cost. Pictures from Winnipeg show non-essential items covered in plastic at Costco and Walmart, it looked like a scene from a movie. The strangest thing was the pictures were real and they were taken this week. People can still order online and with the Christmas shopping rush beginning, this could be the death knell for many small retail stores.

How do we balance protecting businesses and protecting lives?

Last week, the same day Big White opened, masks were mandated in the province of BC. Now anytime someone goes into a public space, store, or even an apartment building they are required to wear a mask or face covering of some kind. Case numbers continue to climb and it would seem that masks may be a part of our lives for the next while. Face coverings will be a fact of life at Big White; the season may depend on people using them.

Face masks may be the way we need to keep business open in BC. I really hope we can avoid another lockdown in our beautiful province. I know financially it will be devastating for many people and it will be mentally devastating for many more. Can we manage to save lives at the same time?

In the streets and the cafes, anger simmers. People tire of Covid lockdowns, sick of coronavirus hi-jacking the news and the world. Just because they are tired doesn’t give them the right to treat others with unkindness or disdain. In a Kelowna coffee shop, three men became abusive to the owners after being asked to put on their masks. They claimed that their rights and freedoms were being violated, but it was a private coffee shop. Meanwhile in the streets of Calgary and across the world people march calling for freedom. Yet while they march more people die.

A glimmer of hope has crested the horizons of time. There are now three vaccines for fighting our viral foe. Vaccines ready for distribution that may turn the tide of the pandemic. I wonder if enough people will be willing to take the shot and trust it isn’t some vast conspiracy of control.

I have written about the world and how it has been changed into the coronaverse by microscopic strands of RNA for the last eight months. I have enjoyed connecting with everyone in this new world we are entering.

Our world has been hurtling along at the speed of light and sound for the last hundred years and we were due for some form of reset, some form of drastic change. What the world will look like in another year of lockdowns and restrictions is anyone’s guess. My hope is we will emerge stronger, I hope we can find a way to become united. We can’t let the fear tear us apart.

I will continue my regular musings on my blog, but it has been challenging to stay relevant every day. Please come back directly to the blog on Mondays; we have been in a continuous cycle of Mondays since March. I will check in then as well as other times when stories present themselves. I am working on my book. It is a work of fiction and has nothing to do with Covid.

I hope everyone stays safe in the coronaverse. Most importantly stay kind to each other.