Would You Like A Lime With That Week Twelve

 

George Floyd.

 

Just like in the book I introduced last week, Ralph Tells a Story, where Ralph struggled to get ideas to write about, I had no story for this week.  I was okay with that.

It was a hectic week.

Memorial Day Monday was nice.  Kim and I took long bike ride on the W&OD Trail.  But with the holiday that meant we were facing a four day work week.  And though Covid 19 social distancing was beginning to be relaxed across the country, Northern Virginia was still waiting for Friday.

Then on Tuesday I had to make an unexpected trip out to help my mom with an issue with my dad.  So early in the morning on Tuesday I made the familiar trip out to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  The fog on the Bay Bridge was so thick, with no other traffic around me, I felt like I was traveling in my own little bubble of disoriented visibility, waiting patiently for the signs of the Kent Island shoreline.  Concerned about the weather, and traffic and arriving on time, I ignored my usual Little Steven’s Underground Garage and opted to listen to the news channel instead.  I heard an interview with a pastor from somewhere in the south talking about his plans to open up their church.  Proud of his progress, his plan included taking the temperature of every one of his congregation before they could enter the building.  Very responsible move I thought.  Then he said something like this, “Anyone with a temperature of 104 degrees and above were not going to be allowed in.”

I admire this pastor for trying to open his church, but I am not sure he should be the one in charge of the reopening committee.  I am not sure that a gathering of people with temperatures ranging from 100 to 103.9 degrees is going to have a good outcome.

And then of course there was,

 

George Floyd.

 

This Memorial Day was unlike any other. Yes, it is true that we remembered those who fought bravely for our country and lost their lives in that effort. But we did so more quietly. There were no concerts, no ceremonies, no parades, no barbeques.  Sure, there were some wreaths placed and flags displayed. But the beaches and boardwalks seemed to be the big story as crowds flocked to the ocean to celebrate the reopening in phase one.  But then there was also,

 

George Floyd.

 

Though I was not at work on Tuesday, like most of you,  I did my 7 PM meeting on Zoom from the deck as the sun was setting over the river to the west.  I decided to spend the night to make sure all was well and got up at 5 AM to head back home and to work.  Like the trip out, the trip home included thick fog once again.  As a result of the weather and my concern about getting to work on time, I listened once more to the news station so I could hear the traffic, the conditions on the Bay Bridge.  And once again I heard about,

 

George Floyd.

 

Now with just three days left in the work week to get my stuff done, I was home late and tired on Wednesday and Thursday. Then it was Friday, with the weather warm and with no story idea in my head, I put aside my need to post for this week and settled in for a relaxing evening on the deck.  After dinner, I called my mother to check in on the day’s events and how my dad was doing.  After we finished talking about all that, she told me about how angry she was.  How angry she was about,

 

George Floyd.

 

After hanging up the phone with my mother, Kim called her dad and I went inside the house.  I finally decided I needed to view the video of the incident that I had been hearing about on my journeys earlier in the week and the one that everyone else was angry about.  The one about,

 

George Floyd.

 

It is true this Memorial Day was different.  And though the reopening of our lives as we remembered them had begun to a small degree, there were no parades, no barbeques, no ceremonies, no concerts.  And yes, we still we remembered our fallen soldiers as we should do on Memorial Day.  But this year we will also remember the last eight minutes and fifty-three seconds of the life of

 

George Floyd.

 

Maybe it is time we remember that every day.

 

George Floyd

 

The Coronavirus Post Script:

 

And remember to keep in your prayers:

Healthcare workers and their families. Remember “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:8);

All those sick or compromised from the virus and all other health issues;

Those non healthcare caregivers working to take care of a loved one while isolated at home;

Families who have lost loved ones;

Those who have lost jobs and businesses.

And keep reaching out to those who may need some attention.