Death to 5781!

For some reason, I’ve been thinking that our animus to 2020 and longing for 2021 is setting us up for a fall. I don’t know why this is,  but  a strange little voice inside keeps saying, "We didn't fix our societal horrors, and the virus doesn’t know what year it is.” If we were using the Jewish calendar year, for instance, we’d be in 5781 right now, and we’d make the switch to 5782 in September. It's not a new year except by our own conventions.

You see my point.

It’s okay if you don’t see my point, honest. I’m not sure what it is.

I’m just nervous; people are so full of “good riddance!” and “at last, that’s all behind us!”  Knock wood, somebody, please!

But the sense that better times are coming is for good reason!

We’ve got a vaccine, going into 2021, or rather three vaccines so far, however slow the roll-out has been, however much to blame our incompetent and uncaring Administration is. The vaccines are here! Things are looking up!

In fact, late last night, my friend who works at the largest long-term care facility  in Oregon posted that they had vaccinated 300 people yesterday, both staff AND elderly residents. This means I am now only One Away from knowing some actual, vulnerable older person who got vaccinated!!( I’ll settle for anybody 70 or over who didn’t get a shot because he or she works in a medical or group setting.) I’m truly excited about this.

And yes, I know that in 2021 we are getting a new Administration, hallelujah, assuming Mr. Trump doesn’t motivate a group of well-armed crazies to do something unspeakably awful. But failing that catastrophe,  I am looking forward to a Biden/Harris Civility and Science Rennaisance, and with any luck, to much more than that.

Having said all of that about the arbitrariness of our calendar, I’ll  confess that our holiday card talked about wishing a hearty farewell to 2020.  It’s not like I don’t think in exactly those terms. I do. I’m just jumpy, is all.

So, knowing that the calendar is arbitrary, I nonetheless want to plug a Netflix mockumentary confection called “Death to 2020.” If you don’t have Netflix,  sorry. If you do watch, hang on through the first ten minutes. It picks up once Lisa Kudrow appears as an unholy Kellyanne/Kayleigh combo. 

All I can say is, it worked for me. I watched it twice. Here’s one good line, uttered by average citizen Gemma Nerrick (Diana Morgan),  who is clueless, but so pleased to have her opinion valued that she goes as deep as she can.  During lockdown, she says, “it was so quiet… you could actually hear yourself think. (Beat.) I expect.”