Blog Post
June 2020
It’s been more than a year since I wrote a blog. Some readers have asked when I would write another one. That long drought wasn’t intended. When I wrote that blog my intention was to write one every two or three months. The frequency would be partly determined by the response I got from readers and partly by what I perceived as interesting topics. No one wants to read a page that doesn’t say anything.
I didn’t plan on family health issues becoming the higher priority for the past year. Some of those issues are under control and I’m happy to say we’re still here. When I say “we’re still here” I mean we’re at home observing a “stay in place” option during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I did venture out several days ago to make a grocery store and pharmacy run. Like many of those I saw out for the same reasons, I was wearing a mask and tried to keep a reasonably safe distance from others. However, I was surprised at the number of people I saw who must think they’re invincible. They ventured out without wearing masks or observing any “social distancing.” Some were old, some young, some men, some women and some children. I hope they’re all going to be okay. What concerned me most about their behavior, though, is that by not wearing a mask they were risking the health of their friends, neighbors and anyone they casually met in a store. In my opinion they were acting irresponsibly. We’ve already lost more than 120,000 United States citizens to the virus. It is a serious health issue.
Last winter I was looking forward to a great summer of baseball. I love the sound of a ball smacking into a catcher’s mitt and the sight of a well-hit ball sailing over the outfield. Now it appears we might not have a baseball season this year. In fact, we might have only limited sporting events for the next year. A second wave of the virus this fall is predicted by the medical and scientific experts. If that materializes most sports, including baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer, might have to cancel their seasons. Some professional teams have announced they have players with the virus. Numerous colleges have reported team members with the virus.
As devastating as a season without sports is to the teams, fans and our nation’s economy, I’m most concerned about the impact the virus is having on today’s youth. Schools might not open in the fall. Some have announced they will be open as on-line programs only. If our education system continues as stay-at-home on-line programs only those without computers will suffer the most. Our educators are working to solve those problems.
While I don’t have answers for those issues, I do have an answer for those who want baseball but can’t get anything on TV but occasional reruns of past games. I recently added two books to the George Grant baseball stories. Book four is The Perfect Rookie and book five is The Amazing Player. For the safety of everyone, please stay at home as much as possible. For entertainment, you can buy copies of the George Grant books from Amazon (ebooks and paperbacks) and from Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo and others (ebooks only). Reading baseball stories from the safety of your own home might be the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones during this pandemic.
