Coast Chronicles: Holiday dribs and drabs

Published 7:55 am Monday, December 13, 2021

O is for OMG!

Here we go again. O is for Omicron (long “o,” short “o”) that sneaky covid virus variant that made its way silently around the world before we even noticed. So just when we thought we could relax a little and celebrate with family and friends for the holidays, we’re facing another viral foe.

Since Omicron made its official appearance — the World Health Organization announced it on Nov. 24 though it was found in the Netherlands nearly a week earlier — scientists have been scrutinizing it to determine how nasty it’s going to be. Preliminary data indicates it appears to be more transmissible than the Delta variant, but perhaps not as likely to land you in the hospital — though all this is still being studied.

Medical researchers have announced one new covid fact: evidently the virus loves fat cells, which is why it has slain so many folks packing excess pounds. In an ominous reversal of the Las Vegas mantra, Dr. Phillip Scherer, Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, says, “Whatever happens in fat cells doesn’t stay in fat cells. It affects the neighboring tissue as well.” Another reason to shed some weight — but let’s wait until the new year to make those (doomed?) resolutions.

To party or not to party?

Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah festivities that were shut down last year we were hoping could start up again. But this Omicron dilemma has flummoxed several friends I know who are considering whether to party or not during the holidays. Half of one couple I know is saying, “By god, we’re going to dress up and celebrate this year.” While the other half of the pair says, “But what if?” And even if/when the decision is made, how does one establish the protocols? Do you need a bouncer at the door checking vaccination and booster status? To sip your martini, cosmopolitan, or rummy eggnog, don’t you need to take your mask off? And isn’t a party a time to stand close to friends you haven’t seen in months and speak to them, partaking of that very human habit called breathing?

Yes, to all of the above, except perhaps the bouncer. I’ve just assumed that friends I know are vaccinated and boostered because it’s just simpler — and more polite? — than asking about it. But in a couple instances when I have asked, I’ve been unpleasantly surprised by the answer. So what’s a person to do? Well, I say party on — judiciously.

Last week the Bayside Singers gave a shortened but still much appreciated performance at the Lutheran Church. Vaccination cards were (in most cases) checked at the door, and everyone — even the singers — wore masks throughout the performance. The church was full to the gills, a sign in my mind of how much we all desperately want to gather, even if it’s just to see one another across a crowded room or, daringly, to bump elbows.

Polls show

We’re craving a return to normal or as close to normal as we may see for awhile. And, I have to admit, I’m one of a growing number of us who are angry with the voluntarily unvaccinated; they’re both endangering themselves and allowing the virus to keep spreading, perfecting its infiltration techniques. In the USA, we’re still averaging about 120,000 new covid cases a day, and the virus has killed 800,000 Americans. Yet we have a safe and effective vaccine that protects against this little bug that has managed to disrupt our lives for nearly two years.

A recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute cites that “vaccinated Americans are losing patience with people who claim religious exemptions in order to avoid getting the covid-19 vaccine.” Megan Myscofski, Arizona Public Media, says the poll indicates that “two-thirds of vaccinated Americans say they’re angry at those who refuse to get vaccinated and that they’re putting the general population at risk.” In my mind, any able-bodied person who refuses the vaccine, especially if on some misguided political grounds, is endangering themselves and perpetuating our pandemic.

There have also been several editorials in recent months questioning whether we should be paying for the hospitalizations and medical complications of unvaccinated folks. On humanitarian grounds, I know we should be supporting all people who are suffering, but, c’mon folks — we’ve had vaccines as part of our health regime for decades.

I still remember as a kid of maybe six- or seven-years-old lining up for my polio dose in the office of pediatrician Dr. Rew in Yakima, Washington. (In fact, kids in Kitsap, Whatcom, and Yakima counties were part of the phase-three trials for the polio vaccine.) Washington was one of the last states to get the medication because our polio season was later than most — it struck primarily in the hot summer months. (Pierce County got its first polio doses on May 7, 1955. Story at tinyurl.com/34ra3y43)

I guess at the time there was some of the same distrust of that vaccine, but I know my parents were relieved when the doses came to Yakima. (One of my dad’s brothers had ended up with a withered and useless arm before the polio vaccine was developed.) I can’t remember if we had a shot or a sugar cube — but I have to say I’m glad my parents made the decision they did. That was one less particularly debilitating kid-disease to worry about.

O is for Olive

OK, back to the holidays so we can end on a cheerier note. My friends have decided to have their party — yay! So I’m considering which ugly Christmas sweater to wear and which mask will go with it. I love the holiday lights going up around town. We all need a little good cheer these days and I’m looking forward to gathering with fully vaccinated friends (carefully, sensibly, and in smaller numbers) around the punch bowl or a heavily laden buffet table so we can remind ourselves how fun it is to be alive.

And speaking of fun: some of you may remember that my sis has a one-year-old standard poodle named Olive — she’s a brown curly rascal of a dog with long legs, that unmistakable poodle elegance, and a sense of humor that drives us crazy. She has a habit of opening almost-closed doors and grabbing a favorite shoe, or blanket, or towel, or T-shirt in order to catch our attention. She pulls said item out through the doggie door and dashes around the yard with it in her mouth until one of us chases her down and demands “Drop it!” It’s a little game she’s invented.

Last year one of Starla’s friends gave her “Olive, the Other Reindeer,” a totally charming kid’s book (and now a movie, etc.) by J. Otto Seibold (tinyurl.com/yckcdj6v). Read this out loud and you’ll get the joke:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose.

And if you ever saw it

You would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer…

I say it’s absolutely what we need more of this holiday season — puns, laughter, silliness and celebration.