Not At All 'Normal"

As of this moment, per Johns Hopkins, there are 90,340 COVID-19 deaths om the USA.  The number will undoubtedly be higher tomorrow.  It feels like yesterday when I read that more Americans have been killed by the coronavirus than were killed in Vietnam. For those of us of my generation, 58,000 dead was a staggering, unforgettable figure.

So it's hard to reconcile that news with this, from the 5/17/20 Washington Post e-newsletter:  "Millions of people ventured out over the weekend, eating, drinking and throwing caution to the wind. Most states have lifted enough restrictions that some residents are feeling emboldened and free, even as covid-19 case counts and death tolls climb. In an Atlanta suburb, people sat shoulder-to-shoulder at restaurants and nail salons to celebrate their return to 'normal.'"

Going back to work to earn a living I can understand. Deliberately throwing caution to the wind I can't. And whatever happened to that original notion of staying home to protect our elderly citizens from dying? That idea definitely seems to have been thrown to the wind, to the peril of those citizens, and that's not normal.