A Memorable Moment in Time - Time Out #279

Our iconic 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, is frequently quoted uttering his famous words, "There is nothing to fear except fear itself".

Truer words were never spoken, readers of Our Town and far beyond.

Before mid-March, 2020, fear was not your average 4-letter word. Sure, we occasionally used it in our casual conversation, but it really didn't have much "staying power" until novel Covid-19 descended on Planet Earth. Every day since early last spring, that word fear has been totally out-of-control, and has continually gained speed, like a runaway locomotive. It hasn't mattered whether you were watching television, a screen on your personal electronic device, reading a printed publication, talking to someone, or have been simply lost in your personal thoughts, fear has been in the forefront of the situation. It was almost as if our foreheads were constantly undergoing water drip torture treatment, and our brains inside were drowning from the effects of fear! Something as unbelievable as a viral invader, invisible to the naked human eye, had taken over our universal domain, and was infecting our fellow humans at an alarming rate. In the initial one month phase of the outbreak, we were in so much disbelief and fear, all we could think about was "hunkering down" so terrible Covid-19 wouldn't crawl up our noses, and gain an entry into our "keep out!" bodies. It certainly wasn't for a lack of "news" coverage that we weren't informed just about every time one of those dreaded virus particles leapfrogged from one location to another. The information coverage was absolutely non-stop, and over-the-top. Matter of fact, in my humble opinion, it STILL is the case! And, underneath all the information avalanche, the common human mental thread that has been woven throughout the entire process is that 4-letter word again, FEAR, continuously over and over and over.

So, what has been light at the end of the tunnel of hope? Several solutions have been offered, but, by far, the one with the most "street cred" (as in credibility) is the Covid-19 vaccines. Yes, those same magic concoctions that have aided modern medicine immensely during the last century. I am on record to have said in late April, 2020, due to American brainpower, and our incredible ability to solve impossible and unsolvable problems facing our society, I predicted we would have a vaccine ready for our public use by the end of October. This was a mere 6 months later! Well, I missed the actual start-up date by 6 weeks. I believe history has it the last successful vaccine took 7 years of work, before it became available to our people, certainly not just 9 months like these current vaccines we are now injecting all across our country.

Which brings me back to that dreaded word, fear, once again.

When the vaccine roll out was announced, I guessed I would probably be in Phase 2, and, possibly, receive my first vaccine injection in late January, 2021? Totally surprised, I got my first shot the day after Christmas, and my second vaccine will occur 3 weeks later. Why, you ask? In my humble opinion, I got mine earlier than anticipated because current estimates are only about one-third of eligible Americans will take the shots when asked, because of their fear of many, many things. The excuse list of "no, not now" is as long as one may imagine, and I'm sure the specific reasons are endless, too. The fact is, however, the public majority answer is something other than "yes" when asked if they will take the vaccine when their name is called to make that important decision.

The mental relief I felt when the vaccine entered my left arm was wonderful! I don't think I felt any discomfort.

Thank you SO much medical science, and the myriad of dedicated workers in many, many areas. The end is in sight for placing this incredible pandemic in our rear view mirrors!