A Dark Place

In today's headlines, President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus and Wood County (the mostly rural county where we live) is inching closer to 1,000 cases.

Even though there's been a state mandate to wear a mask, our numbers basically double each month. We went from 10 cases June 2 to 69 on July 2, then jumped to 242 August 2 and up to 487 on September 2. Since schools – at all levels – have been in session, our number jumped to 905 as of today.

But it's not just school-aged kids. Check out this report by our health department, which several agencies shared on social media today. If you need to fact check, I'll get you in touch with several friends who work at the healthcare facilities in Wood County.

The quote that got me: "We are headed to a dark place if we can't get our fellow human beings to be less selfish and more concerned about our neighbors."

That and the warning that "We're headed for a train wreck with uncontrolled community spread."

I know some people say that authorities are being alarmists and spreading fear. You could say the same about sharing stats of how many people die because of not wearing their seat belts or motorcycle helmets. It's just a plain fact: People ARE dying. And, just like cancer, COVID-19 is not discerning when choosing its victims – and there's no vaccine or cure right now. That's the difference.

Let's all try to make good choices so we don't go to that dark place.

As we tell our college kid: "Be safe and make smart decisions."