Upon hearing that last week was the third in a row in which the virus claimed more than a thousand lives it may be tempting to take this as a sign that we are in for a bad fall but what is a third week of so many deaths if not proof that this society fell to the virus long ago.

On this day should you find yourself celebrating labor by partaking in a sale on apparel or home goods please take care oh, please do take care, lest you wind up celebrating labor by infecting the workers who are ringing you up.

I have heard it said that for most of us it’s not that difficult really not that difficult to wear a mask, but wearing one has never been the challenge, alas, for most of us it’s difficult it’s really difficult to keep doing the right thing when we find ourselves doing it alone.

A word of advice for educators who still wear masks in the classroom: When they say your mask is proof that you are trying to indoctrinate your students calmly reply, that to the contrary the last thing you want is for your students to be in doctors’ offices.

I asked my aunt, the doctor, for an explanation of the finding that “Fibrin drives thromboinflammation and neuropathology in COVID-19” and my aunt, the doctor, explained that this finding means you don’t want to catch Covid.

According to the map of COVID Wastewater Viral activity the level in the US is currently high in 14 states, and currently very high in 31 states, and while it is true that we are not swimming in the wastewater these findings make it clear that we are swimming in COVID.

I have heard it said that “none of your problems are because someone else is on welfare” and I agree, I fully agree, though I would also note that many of our problems are because we do not care we do not care enough about other people’s welfare.

As we wait for the bus a man asks if I have an extra mask we ride together most days so he figures I might have one, he explains there’s no need to worry he’s fine, it’s his wife who’s been sick for days, and as I hand him a mask I am reminded this is why I carry extras.

Though we spent the summer FLiRTing with Covid it already seems as though even more contagious variants are on their way and though I know you are tired so very tired of this virus please keep in mind the virus is far from exhausted.

The CDC keeps saying “you can take steps to help protect yourself”: keep your vaccines up to date, maintain good hygiene, keep the air clean, and while there is much each of us can do, by now it’s obvious none of us can personal responsibility our way out of this pandemic

When they tell you (and they will tell you) that masks do not work what they are telling you what they are really telling you is that wearing a mask is more work than they are willing to do.

I asked the teacher how it is at her school today and she explained that parents are insisting their children keep their phones in the classroom so they can say farewell in the event of a shooting, which is a reminder that the virus is not the only sign this society is unwell.

We have the tools yes, they keep insisting, we have the tools but now that the funding has expired an updated vaccine will cost the uninsured around $200, we have the tools yes, they keep insisting, we have the tools, but you only have the tools that you can afford.

I keep reading studies that carefully explain how for those recovering from Covid it is absolutely essential to rest not for a few days not for a few weeks but for a few months and though I know that is what the studies say I don’t know anyone with that many sick days.

Some people are at risk but he’s sure he isn’t one of them and that, he says, is just the way it is, he feels bad for them but they aren’t his responsibility it’s life, he says, and life is unfair, so I try to remind him that life is unfair but we can still try to make it fairer.

When they accuse you (and they will accuse you) of being overly devoted to the precautionary principle choose to take their words as a compliment for there are worse things, there are much worse things, than being accused of being too principled.

According to the data many places have not escaped from this summer’s severe COVID surge but those places need not worry for much longer, this summer’s severe COVID surge is nearly over yes, this summer’s severe COVID surge is about to become this fall’s severe COVID surge.

She tells me she is worried about me, with her hand on my wrist she asks if continuing to wear a mask might be bad for my mental health, and because I love her I do not say that what has been bad for my mental health is that my friends and loved ones have taken their masks off.

Think nothing of your disappointing summer. The book you were hoping to write remains unwritten.   The trip you were hoping to take remains untaken.   The love you were hoping to find remains unfound.   You survived another pandemic summer and that is enough to hope for.