When I was a kid learning to play baseball, the coach taught us to never slow up running down the first-base line. “Run it out!” he said. “Run through the base!”
That’s good advice for us all as, with collective purpose and resolve, we head into the final stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s been a hard year. A sad year, really. But maybe, just maybe, Thanksgiving 2020 will be our last holiday in which we must “grin and bear it” under the weight of the coronavirus threat. Gov. Gavin Newsom says Californians will get the vaccine in the next 10 to 14 days. It will start with first responders and eventually work its way to all of us.
Marin’s chief medical officer, Matt Willis says most of us may not see the syringe until late April and even then the danger may linger beyond the mid-point of 2022. I hope he’s way off on that and the government finds a way to get everyone vaccinated in January. But sooner or later, assuming the virus doesn’t throw us another curveball, we’ll have the pandemic whipped.
So, hold fast, mask up and social distance for just a while longer. We have the virus on the run. Give thanks for that.
SIP ENTERTAINMENT
— I caught (for the first time) the 1950 version of the film “Father of the Bride” last week. Stars Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor. Worth the time, I thought. Tracy roamed the Hollywood landscape a bit before my time, but based on that performance I can see why he was a popular star.
— Queen’s Gambit on Netflix is pretty good. A bit slow for my taste, but the storyline of a girl reaching the top of the chess world kept my interest.
— If you’re not watching The Crown, you are missing some exceptional television. Season 4 is now on and it features two excellent storylines in Princess Di and Margaret Thatcher.
— And finally, The Undoing on HBO is a good little modern nightmare. It will keep you occupied for a few nights of binge watching. Pro Tip: The plot becomes more interesting with a few sips of Southern Comfort.
THAT AIN’T GONNA SLIDE
The quote of the week comes from Noah Mohan who stopped a kid from Livermore posting swastika stickers in downtown Fairfax. Noah confronted sticker-boy and told him to pick up his trash and scram.
“I’m just walking down the street and this kid is putting up Nazi stickers saying we are everywhere … c’mon man. The kid was not being aggressive, but the ideology he posted basically says ‘kill me and my family’ and that ain’t gonna slide.”
Way to go Noah.
ONE MORE THING
— I accidentally drank invisible ink. I’m at the doctor’s office waiting to be seen.
— If the guy who named walkie-talkies named other things, we’d have forks called stabbie-grabbies, socks called feetie-heaties and defibrillators called heartie-starties.
— What old men in Marin say: “People with beards are people without beards with beards.”
And with that, I’ll pick up my knitting and let myself out. Avoid soreheads and let’s plow through the holiday season with kindness and joy.
(Sherman R. Frederick is the founder of Battle Born Media, a journalist-based, family-owned company dedicated to the preservation of intensely local community newspapers, such as this one. You can follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/sherm.frederick/. He may be reached at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
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