"Amazon may be the 600 pound gorilla of online shopping, but it is by far not the only one. The small retailers are still hurting, and any dollars you could throw their way would be most appreciated."
Welcome to the waning days of our unique "holiday" known as Black Friday. Now why in the world would I say that? Waning? Really? Yes - waning. As the saying goes, "it ain't like it used to be". And there are two reasons for the diminution of Black Friday - Amazon and Covid. Even without the unexpected and unwelcomed visit by Covid this year, Amazon was in the process of slowly killing the big box stores. Yes, there will still be some "early birds" today, looking for the "deal of the century", but it is nowhere as crazy as it once was.
But Black Friday will come and go, just like yesterday did. But then we get to face something which could be more sober - Christmas season. As joyous and happy as Christmas time is, it could be covered with a dark shroud this year. As the doctors have been warning us, we very likely could have a "spike within a spike" in the next three weeks. Just like we saw surges after Memorial Day and Independence Day, we could have a much bigger surge after Thanksgiving.
The good news of course, continues to be the vaccines. Now to the real good news. The first tranche of vaccines will be released in the next week or two. That should be about five to ten million doses. The bad news of course, is that is not nearly enough to handle "spike or no spike" infections. But it is a start.
The mixed news comes out of AstraZeneca. They will be going into a brief pause to do more testing. That is the bad part of their news. The good part, is the reason they will do more tests, is maybe only half the dose might be as effective as a full dose. That will be great news going into the first and second quarter of next year.
There are many folks (and I know a few), who eschew masks, social distancing and Governor Walz mandates. Also, have no interest in the vaccines. I understand - trust me, I do. However, we must first agree on one thing about this virus. It is here, it is highly contagious, can be deadly, and is not going anywhere. What I would implore of people is simply this - if you are not going to take the vaccine, and are over 60, take some OTC supplements to bolster your immune system. Vitamins C, D3 and zinc for starters. If you don't believe me, check with your primary physician. I sure did.
Back to Black Friday for a minute. When I say it might be time to wish a fond ado to this long standing American event, it cannot mean we will quit shopping. Many stores now, no matter the size, have a website. Amazon may be the 600 pound gorilla of online shopping, but it is by far not the only one. The small retailers are still hurting, and any dollars you could throw their way would be most appreciated. Plus (and this is very important this year), you don't need to social distance from your laptop. You need only clean your keyboard every now and again.
The Dark Winter starts officially on January 1st. The holidays will be over, and Covid will still be our turd in the punchbowl. The one thing I keep hearing over and over from many different people is this - give me the shot, so I can go back to normal living. Most doctors have been very clear on one thing - it will be a long time before we have "normal living" again with Covid around. The vaccines will allow many of us to have MORE normal living, but not total normal living. As for me, I will take the MORE normal living in a heartbeat. What we have right now, is far, far from normal.
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