Rhino's Ramblings - COVID - 19 A Cat's Eye View

By Robert Thomas Opinion/Commentary

As I recently walked through Moose Jaw and places abroad I have been continually asked what are my predictions and feelings about the COVID - 19 pandemic and do I feel that 2021 will be the turning point in the war on the virus.

To answer you simply - No I do not think that things are going to return to normal any time soon.

There are just so many variables out there and to say the stars are all going to perfectly align and the world is going to be back to where it was is in my opinion one of the most foolhardy things out there to say.

And yes 2020 has been a really tough year for many people - myself included. Nobody it seems was immune to a rapidly changing world where we were bombarded continually with COVID this and COVID that. Jobs were lost, money was lost, sports was lost, business was lost and for many their sanity was lost in 2020. And yes, lives were lost as well.

And no I am not talking about the President of the United States Donald J Trump meltdown, although there is now a new psychiatric or is it psychological compulsive disorder out there attributed to the soon to be ex-president of the not so free world. It does not matter what side of the issue you are on there is a new psychosis out there you are likely never to recover from.

Unless you took my advice and just say “Who cares” and kindly worry about petting the cat. Stress relief number one.

The year 2020 has been a tough one as I said.

On the local scene we have seen businesses closed by a state of emergency and after being allowed to re-open found themselves somehow restricted by a virus driven bureaucracy intent on inspecting, documenting and building up a mountain of paperwork that common sense defies.

Regulations that are so confusing that even a few politicians needed a tropical break to relax from.

Something their locked up minions have been told not to do.

It was enough to almost drive me insane.

But then I thought about a day in Odessa and when I took a different perspective and looked up to see what a cat sees.

I started imaging what the world must appear as to a cat looking down from a hidden perch.

We had those in power, those with scientific backgrounds and those with politically driven partisan biases fighting over the entire issue and continue to do so. And no banning people from Twitter and social media is not going to end it - the stupidity that is.

I wonder what a cat sees looking down on us. Is it a mood of excitement or just one of shaking their heads in disbelief?

That to me sums up the disaster of 2020 in a nutshell.

We have sat through it all it seems as we have heard prediction after prediction, study after study published in the media to the point where many are personally growing very tired of it all. We are quite frankly exhausted from it all.

I am sorry to tell you this isn’t the Brady Bunch and no COVID - 19 is not going to be solved in 30 minutes minus the commercials and station identification.

Now here is the bad news from my vantage point looking up at a cat if you are hoping that 2021 is going to bring us back to the way we were before I am sorry but you are sadly mistaken.

There are those who keep on telling me that by Summer things will be back to the way they were as by then people will be vaccinated. I personally look at the claim with skepticism.

It has nothing to do with the rate of vaccination that the NDP is decrying at this time, but with the entire logistics of vaccinating a population of over 1.2 million plus at the same time ensuring that anyone travelling here is also themselves vaccinated. It is logistically impossible let alone improbable no matter who is in charge - including the NDP.

And what about those who are not going to be vaccinated? Will we reach herd immunity if only 60, 70, 80 or 90 percent of the people get vaccinated?

Others in positions of power might jump up and say I am wrong - which they are welcome to do - but it is in many ways a distraction and they should know better.

With that said I did some snooping over the past little while within Moose Jaw and with sources outside the city and if you think that the great Summer festivals we have come to enjoy are going to happen this year you are going to be sorely disappointed.

I have friends in bell weather companies - who provide services to such events - telling me that it is not going to happen. In fact there isn’t even any planning for the Summer attractions of Sidewalk Days, the Air Show, Motif and the Hometown Fair to name a few.

Certainly there are applications for grants to put events on but in reality when have you not heard of any group putting their hands out when it comes to cash? It does not happen that often.

And when it comes to vacations Tourism Saskatchewan was running ads on social media asking people to consider going on local two day getaways but they seemingly quit the campaign after being flooded by those who questioned and often attacked even mentioning a holiday during the pandemic. And that included if it was just a drive down the street.

The social media attacks have gone so far to call those who do go to restaurants during the pandemic as “selfish, fools and idiots” and that is the nice stuff.

It is almost everything Moose Jaw is banking on for a rapid and swift recovery is a no go zone.

As I look up at the cat looking down on me I am sort of wondering if it is truly a look of indifference or are the cats just waiting for us to tire ourselves out and then claim the spoils for themselves? Or do they just want a good neck scratch?

I am going to have to take a cat nap and think about it for awhile.