As we all nestle into our beds anticipating Santa’s arrival, I’m thinking about what a ride this year has been.
At his time last year, we had just learned the news that a COVID vaccine would soon be available. After the roller coaster that was 2020, it was a soothing thought that by Christmas of 2021, things would be largely back to normal. A newly-elected president would take the levers of power and correct our course with calm and in the public interest.
In July, President Biden told us we could take off our masks. Infection rates were extremely low. Fantastic. That was a good month.
In August my son said goodbye to his appendix and my daughter-in-law did the same with her gallbladder (perhaps they ran off together). This really brought sharp relief to an important consideration in looking at the pandemic – hospital capacity for managing other acute health problems.
I am very grateful for the Hillsborough campus of UNC hospitals. They handled these two emergencies easily. I was with Brian as he was waking up from his appendectomy. We had the recovery area to ourselves that Saturday morning.
I couldn’t help but think of the tens of thousands of Americans languishing in waiting rooms or not going to the hospital at all with heart attacks, strokes, cancer complications and yes – bad gallbladders and many a hot appendix.
The lack of available acute care capacity means that somewhere in another community a young father with a randomly angry appendix would be forced to avoid an over-capacity hospital in his community and become septic – catastrophe. That such an outcome can be attributable to political winds is … immoral.
Now, the masks are back and we do battle with two variants – Delta and Omicron. While there are small numbers of especially loud folks who squawk about these requirements, we’re finding our way.
We’ve lost a lot. As we approach the anniversary of the Capitol riot on January 6, we need to keep in mind that it’s entirely possible that we could lose our republic. Should we drift off to sleep, stay at home on voting days and slack on our due diligence, opportunists will take advantage. This is not a theory and it is not a drill.
So we will need to steel ourselves to be ready for an advanced course in citizenship next year. The filing period for municipal elections was interrupted earlier this month. Watch for news of new deadlines for filing and check in on Chapelboro.com to follow along on who’s running in these races. The Orange County school board race will be interesting, for example. I saw some online chatter about one candidate being worth a look because of her position in favor of universal health care. Oh my.
That will be fun to watch, but first, some time off to hug the family, eat some roast beast and take note of those we’ve lost this past year. For me, that’s my dad. No one loved Christmas more. He could be diabolical about hiding gifts and wrapping them in unexpected ways. During this time of year, he was a kid all over again. I do my best to carry on that tradition.
If you work on Christmas because you’re one of the guardian angels employed at a hospital, fire department or police station, thank you for being there. I hope your shift is not exciting and you know how much we appreciate you. Last and far from least, thank you, WCHL for ALL that you do. I’m beyond privileged to work with the most dedicated and fun staff anyone could ask for. We have a big project next year and I’m looking forward to diving into it, but for now… have some more pie.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
