Yesterday, I received the first dose of the Pfizer Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a CVS store in Merritt Island, FL. This is three months after Megan received her vaccination as a nurse. It was a minor miracle; Megan had used a website to see if there were any vaccines available in the area and entered in my demographic information. The next day, I spent 10 minutes in line and another 15 minutes in the store to confirm that I wasn’t suffering from any side effects. All was good. Another surprise was that it was easy to shift my second dose from a CVS in Florida where I was on vacation to a CVS in Maryland where I live. I don’t think I could have had a better experience. I feel incredibly happy, tired, and lucky today. The end of the pandemic seems one step closer.

I suspect that most people will suffer through a lot more red tape than I will on their journey to the vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy is a huge threat to herd immunity especially in the South, but it does mean that some vaccines are available because people either don’t want them or because they are shopping around for a specific vaccine. Strangely, this hesitancy comes from people who want things to return to normal but don’t realize that the vaccine is a major step towards this goal.

I’m ready for things to go back to normal. Being on vacation has been nice because I am fortunate enough to forget about work for a few days and focus on my family. When I return, it’s back to the non-stop zoom calls, irregular hours of working, and keeping the kids occupied, safe, and healthy. In a few years, I’m sure that there is a lot that I will look back on with fondness about this time period. Right now, the past year feels like a setback on so many fronts.

The past few months have been very eventful. The 2020 election is over. We have a new president-elect and we know who will control congress after runoff elections in Georgia On Monday, Megan will get her COVID-19 vaccination. While the number of infections is soaring and the death rate is higher than it has ever been, this scientific miracle could make life return to normal again. All the conditions will be ripe for a more scientific, systematic approach to tackling the virus.

However, four days ago, our Capitol building was attacked by domestic terrorists who were redirected from a political rally. In the capitol, the members of the House and the Senate were counting electoral votes for the presidential election. With the exception of some political theatre, this is a largely inconsequential event. The domestic terrorists overwhelmed the capitol police and threatened to violently overthrow our democracy. It was terrifying and we’re still trying to figure out what happened. Lawmakers were forced to go into hiding. The terrorists flew the Confederate flag within the building. Some lawmakers were exposed to the virus while they were sequestered. One terrorist and two officers are dead. It felt like something out of Keifer Sutherland’s 24 show, except the terrorists were angry Americans instead of jihadists.

The last four years of life in America have felt chaotic and this event was shocking even though it wasn’t surprising. There are less than two weeks left before the next president and congress take over. As our country determines the consequences of the 1/6/21 insurrection, 12 days seems like a very long time to wait for sanity and stability. It certainly exposed challenges and fragility that can’t be fixed anytime soon.

Sometimes an event occurs that is so memorable that it defines all similar events.  When Kanye West got on stage and stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift, it was something so unclassy and unexpected that it became known as the “Kanye”.  It wasn’t the first time that a drunken stooge got up on stage and humiliated himself and ruined a celebration.  However, it gave us a new name to call these special occasions.

This weekend, I had a “golden pig”.  It occurred at a Euchre card game in Aberlyne, Wisconsin.  I had never played Euchre before and I had no idea what I was getting into.  The card game was an annual event and all the players were seasoned veterans.  It’s a team game where four people play at a table and two players are paired up.  The winner moves on and the loser stays at the same table. 

For the first hour, I never moved.  I was a blight upon any Euchre player partnered up with me.  Despite their best attempts, I just wasn’t getting it.  The second and third hour were not significantly better but I started to enjoy myself and accept my plight.  Between meeting all the new people and learning the game, I was having a great time.

After the game, the host gave out awards.  I earned the best award ever – a large wooden pig painted in gold a bottle of male sexual health pills.  There were only 57 pills in the bottle of 60 and it had expired in 2004.  However, the pig was the real prize.  It has such an awkward, silly grin.

I came to an event were I knew no one, I embarassed myself, and I left with a golden pig.  I had no expectations and I had an awesome time.  I later realized that this wasn’t my first golden pig.  I have a special talent. .