Welcome to this edition of
First Downs and Second Guesses
Blog #179- April 2020
I just received another refund check for an event I had prepaid to attend. It was from the
College World Series of Omaha. The College World Series, which was to have been played at
TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha in mid-June, was a victim of the coronavirus pandemic. I also received a refund check from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. That was for the prepaid amount to attend the NABC national convention that was to be held during the Final Four in Atlanta earlier this month that also fell victim to the virus. I also received a refund check from the NCAA for the two tickets I had prepaid for [and won] in the lottery to win tickets to the 2020 Final Four. There is one final possible refund check out there waiting for me that I desperately hope I never receive: Prepayment for my season tickets to the Nebraska Husker football season.
In a unique use of social media, with the spring football game cancelled, the creative folks in the Husker athletic department assembled a virtual spring football game, arming each team with historical Husker star players. The Red Team won the game 63-61, with former Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch throwing the winning touchdown pass to former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers in the closing seconds. I guess the game drew a couple hundred thousand viewers. That is the way life is proceeding these days. You gladly pre-register or prepay for tickets to events you love to attend. But then today's Grim Reaper, the coronavirus pandemic, snatches that event into its clutches and refuses to let go. The PGA Senior Open championship will be played in Omaha in June 2021. It was also played in Omaha back in 2013. Plans are still moving ahead, as they should be. The Ryder Cup is still on schedule to be played in Kohler, WI in September of this year.
I applied in late August 2019 to volunteer to work the event. My name was randomly chosen from a list of 30,000 applicants. What luck, huh? Where are they assigning me? To the Pro Shop, where tens of thousands of attendees from around the world will congregate to purchase their memorabilia, gifts, and merchandise. Will I feel safe there? That's what I'm pondering these days. The number of COVID-19 patients is rising each day in Nebraska. The people have been
social distancing for a couple months now. The greatest number of cases are popping up around cities that house meatpacking plants. Most of the workers are immigrants, most likely
living with extended family in their homes. Testing is not good in Nebraska yet, plus these
meatpacking plants are not adhering to any kind of social distancing or providing PPE (personal protective equipment) to their employees. The governor refuses to consider closing the plants, even for a short while, foolishly fearing an uprising from the people of Nebraska if the food supply is affected. What an idiot. He should be smart enough to understand that Nebraskans don't "rise up" because they can't
buy hamburger or steak at the local grocery for a while. Which brings me to thanking the heroes that are working at those grocery stores, re- stocking shelves and keeping product flowing. I make it a point to personally thank the
clerks, stockers, deli workers, meat cutters, and check-out helpers every time I'm at the store. My two daughters are in the medical field, so I have a huge personal interest in those front-line workers. My youngest is an M.D. working at a psychiatric hospital in Philadelphia.
My oldest daughter is an overnight nurse at a hospital here in Omaha. Both are exposed to
COVID-19 patients each day. My wife and I worry if they have all the necessary PPE that they need.
Stay safe and healthy. Don't listen to a word that comes out of Trump's mouth. He kills people by pushing drugs that have been proven to be lethal if used incorrectly, and actually
thought that injecting or ingesting disinfectants into the human body would be a cure for the
virus. Frightening. Listen to the scientists. Listen to the medical experts. Don't listen to politicians. We are
truly all in this together and we'll survive this pandemic as a nation by staying home and away
from crowded places. Help each other out. And thank the heroes in your community for all
they do for us.
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