A few unrelated items to ponder this week as we navigate new beginnings…
Kaiser High was acknowledged in April as the #1 public school in Hawaii and was also tied for #1 in the entire United States among public high schools in math and reading proficiency, according to U.S. News and World Report. “It’s Academic Hawai`i”, a weekly, academic game show featuring some of the brightest students from local high schools, ran from 2012-2018 on KFVE. The show had only one three-time champion in seven seasons- Kaiser High School. Kaiser’s principal commented on the local/national math ranking by saying “we challenge ourselves”, according to Pacific Business News. As it should be! Go Cougars! It’s always great to see our public schools earning deserved academic kudos both locally and nationally…
Moving on, comedian Dennis Miller once said that the toughest job in the world was being a bank security guard in Alaska: 20 people walk into a bank… they’re all wearing masks (insert laughter here). Well, reality nowadays is- 20 people walk into a bank, socially distanced of course, and they’re all wearing masks. Suddenly, a guy walks in without a mask. Everyone gets really scared… As Bob Dylan sang 20 years ago: “People are crazy and times are strange / I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range / I used to care, but things have changed.”
Finally… we simply can’t seem to do it. As a species. We’ve paid the price, darn it, and now we have a right to go out unencumbered as we frolic and play. Without masks, without physical distancing, without practicing safe sanitization. Well… someone forgot to tell Beelzebub, a/k/a/ COVID-19. Because it’s still here and it also wants to play, and (for now) it’s here to stay, thanks to human transmission and letting our guard down. COVID-19 appears to be mutating, morphing- and who knows what that portends. We’ve already seen death and long-term damage via more than eight million (confirmed) cases worldwide in just seven months. We need treatments, we need a vaccine, and yes, we want our freedom. But for today’s purpose, what we really need is to have a clue, sports fans. As stoics love to remind us, freedom is not free; well, neither is winning this biological war. So put on your equipment, give space, and keep fighting the good fight, brothers and sisters. No slackers allowed.
Think about it…