Corona Virus Quarantine: Day #100: June 28, 2020

It’s hard to believe I have written 100 of these things.  I wish I could say I had something special in mind to mark the 100^th one but I do not…just what’s on my heart and in my mind.

I would have to summarize the last 100 days as a combination of scary, confusing, uncertain, stressful and fun filled, amazing and spectacular.

Hard to believe something can be all those things at one time.  Corona Virus has certainly instilled fear in our world, particularly our country.  I don’t love that.  No one knows what is right, wrong, true or false.

On top of corona virus, we have civil unrest.  I read an article today that suggested we are living in times more tumultuous perhaps than 1968.  I have to tell you…that’s scary.  That was one gnarly year.

As a history teacher I know a fair amount about that year and each year I talk about it in class I never ceased to be amazed at how crazy and wild that year really was.  I imagine in 50 years teachers will look back on 2020 and feel the same way (I hope to be retired by then)!

1968 was the year our troops were fighting in the most unpopular war in modern American history…Vietnam.  That was the year of the Tet Offensive, the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War that dragged on many years later.  The Civil Rights movement pressed on and made strides when the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed prohibiting discrimination in housing.  That was the year Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated.  The assassination of MLK led to the worst rioting in the history of the United States. We saw riots in over 100 US cities.  It was the year Tommie Smith and John Carlos staged a silent demonstration at the Olympics and were expelled from Team USA as a result (read more about this story it’s pretty incredible).  The picture of these two men making this statement remains iconic to this day.

On top of all of that the 1968 Presidential election was a disaster, one of the front runners assassinated, one independent candidate running on the platform of segregation today, tomorrow and forever (and yes, this was a real man who was a Governor of Alabama.  I should also note that he won over 9 million votes, nearly 13% of the total popular vote…disgusting) and then there was the Democratic party in general who couldn’t figure out who they wanted after Kennedy’s assassination.

The 1968 Democratic Convention led to a protest turned violent and later a trial of the Chicago Eight (later Chicago Seven but that’s a long story).  We saw police officers and the protestors clash on TV.  This was the time of the sexual revolution, people were experimenting in new psychedelic drugs like acid and the counter culture movement was ever growing.  College campuses were erupting in protest. The divide between generations seemed to be enormous and ever growing.

And all of this played out in front of all of the world on our TV screens.

Sound a bit familiar?

The problems we face this year of 2020 are not entirely different.  We have a pandemic which is different but several other things seem eerily similar.  And now it plays out not only on our TV screens but also our phones and tablets.  We can’t escape the 24-hour news cycle and that is not a good thing in my opinion.

So I deeply hope that this article, this author got this wrong.  I am going to pray that people do the right thing…That rather than fighting we find a way to come together…That rather than worrying (I myself am working on this) we formulate a plan to solve some of the current problems we face.

I am going to pray.  I am going to educate (my own kids and others) and I am going to do whatever I can in the spaces I can impact.

Sorry for the history lesson today it’s just been on my heart.  Father Pat at Sacred Heart gave a beautiful homily today.  I wish I had the text of it to share with you. But it was about this very thing, how our world right now is headed down a bad and dangerous path.  The Devil’s work.  He mentioned how we’ve walked down this path before in history and that we always find a way out.  I am hopeful he’s right.  This time too, we will find a way out and we will be better for it.

I will pray for that.

GOD bless.

 

To lighten the mood a little bit…how cute is this.  At first glance I thought it was the girls playing volleyball but Fletcher later explained to me it was him and Daddy fishing on the new dock.  So sweet! 

Daddy took Fletcher to drop off his birthday present for his buddy Jack.  Jack is in 7th grade and just turned 13 but these two have the sweetest friendship.  Jack is always so nice to our Fletcher and watches over him.  Fletcher loves him.  When he found out it was his birthday he immediately came home and wrapped him a present.  I didn’t see it.  He wouldn’t tell me what it was.  I learned today he gave him $5 of his own money and the prayer box that sat next to my bed.  This prayer box had notes Bryan wrote me over the course of a month.  I think it’s hilarious he wrapped this up for his friend.  So something this child would do. Thankfully the prayer box returned home with my notes from Bryan in tact. Jack kept the money and DQ gift card.  This kid.  I only wish I could have seen his face when he gave it to him.  I can just see the smile.

Finally I spent my afternoon teaching volleyball to the girls classmates.  I love to teach people this game, but it’s extra special and cute when it’s my kids and their friends.

#dorseyshenanigans

#celebr8awesome