December 2021. Almost 2022. Nearly two years of the crud. We have 204 million in the U.S. (61% of Americans) fully vaccinated. We should be able to get back to normal, right? Family gatherings. Broadway shows. Sports venues. Concerts. Grocery stores. Target – and not just going in with mask on, head down, focusing on the bare necessities but maybe taking a moment to see what other goods they have that you didn’t realize you needed – like those uber-cute pillow cases with little sheep in clouds. You only know about these things when you stroll at a leisurely pace pushing your wagon of Clorox, baking soda, tomatoes and of course, toilet paper. But when you’re focused on getting in and out and avoiding…eww, people…there is no time for this luxurious, leisurely, lollygagging, leveraging of lavishness. We seemed to have travelled back in time to March 2020. Despite being vaccinated, we are once again wearing masks. Family and friend gatherings are getting cancelled. We’re back to elbow bumps instead of hugs. Air travel is getting cancelled not due to no one wanting to fly but because crews have tested positive for this potentially benign COVID irritant (i.e., Omicron). From what we hear, it’s like having a head cold but it is spreading like wild fire and everyone seems to know someone who has gotten this bugger. If one gets it, self-quarantine is required so our fighting front liners must call out of work. You thought we had a staffing issue previously? Forget it. Now, companies are so short-staffed that hospitals are denying further admissions, shows and sports are taking a pause, restaurants are closing down for part of the week, we might need to wait a while for our next hair appointment. The list goes on. Today, I was on the ever-reliable internet and I saw a picture from the 1800s during the Spanish flu where one of the gentlemen wore a sign that said, “Wear a mask or go to jail.” I have two thoughts on this – I hope we never get to that and – well, they did manage to make it go away even without vaccines. And they didn’t even have the ability to stay in touch via phone or Zoom.