Re-opening Minnesota

"What have we learned about this COVID - 19 experience? Tons. Books will be written on the lessons learned from this virus. Books will be written on the social disruption which happened after Memorial Day. Are the two related? They might be." 

Okay. Now we have lost our Penny's store. Our once busy shopping area is still not looking as it once did. Why not? We are not back to our previous "normal" yet. Wisconsin is well on its way to being back to its original normal. South Dakota is at its normal, as it never left. But Minnesota took the "No Balls Walz" blue pill, and now we are still in la-la land. It has been reported that today, the great and powerful wizard of Minnesota, will allow more of our previous "privileges" to return. We will see.

Sorry, it that sounded a bit snarky. It was meant to be. If anyone is wondering why so many citizens are taking their ire out of our governor, let me put it this way. Minnesota, which has been locked down tighter than a drum, has almost as many COVID deaths as Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota combined. What does that mean? Our stats on this disease suck, and we have sacrificed a chunk of our state's economy for nothing. A big flinch.

Enough about the past. Now to look forward. Like now that we are in summer, what is there to do? Many beaches and pools are closed, and our parks have tight restrictions on them. Baseball is still a mess, and how this shortened season will play out is still a mystery to most. Football in the fall? Who knows. 

The big question in many parents minds - is school. After this most strange school year, what happens next fall? More distance learning? And who will be the home monitors for that? More and more parents, who had been off this spring due to COVID, are being called back to work. Even those who can work from home, can't focus on their work AND be a tutor to their students at the same time. Plus, it has been reported that if schools do open up fully, up to 20% of the teachers will quit rather than go back into the classroom. Why? Too risky.

We need our restaurants opened up fully - and now. In order for us to truly be re-opened, it has to FEEL like we are normal once again. Restaurants today feel anything but normal. Stores? Same way. I guess one of the lessons we learned from the past week, is since protests and funerals for martyrs are except from social distancing and face masks, then none of the other restrictions should be enforced. No masks, no social distancing. Open the churches, the ball parks, the beaches, the state fair. LET'S GO!

What have we learned about this COVID - 19 experience? Tons. Books will be written on the lessons learned from this virus. Books will be written on the social disruption which happened after Memorial Day. Are the two related? They might be. In any event, first things first. Open up Minnesota, then we can write our books about lessons learned. Please Walz, do the right thing - just once.