Living in Arizona during the Delta variant of COVID-19, June 2021

These are interesting times, which is a curse, but here we are, and I've promised to record this in real time, so here ya go. It's June 11th of 2021.

I've been following the story of COVID-19, which is a particularly dangerous type of flu, and has killed, as of this writing, over three million people worldwide. The vaccine has been available for some time now, and is performing better than anyone ever dreamed of. Here in the U.S. the vaccine is free, and widely available. I got my shot at the local Walgreens here in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix.

The Delta variant is what's all over the news now, and it appears to be particularly deadly. It's horrific news, but luckily the vaccines are controlling that, too. I'm no scientist, or doctor, but to me it just makes sense to get yourself as much protection as you can from this. But many people, especially, in Arizona, are choosing not to.

Every morning I go for a ride, and get my coffee. I'm retired now, but even before that I did very little face-to-face work, mostly doing stuff like web design, that sort of thing. So my heart goes out to people who had to go out there with only the protection of a mask, long before the vaccine had been developed. Looking back now it seems like it happened quickly, but those were tortuous times for people as month after month dragged by, and the death rates kept going up.

I'm an intelligent and caring man, so I did what I could - wearing a mask, social distancing. I would wave to people, from a distance, who were out walking their dogs, or who stopped their vehicles in a crosswalk to let me pass. I love living in Arizona, and I realize that not everyone thinks just like I do, and my attitude has always been "live and let live".

And I'm also someone who supports allowing people to decide for themselves about their life. I would never wish death on anyone, but I've always like the idea of a tombstone saying, "This man died from living too much". And I know that there will be people who want to "go out with their boots on". COVID-19, especially the Delta variant, sounds like a horrible way to die, but it's not my choice, it's theirs.

Speaking for myself, when my time comes I have chosen DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), have written down my wishes for the end of my life, had them notarized, and set it aside. I'm very healthy, and eat a lot of veggies, but I realize that even I won't live forever.

If you have made a mature decision about how you want to face COVID-19, including the Delta variant, rest assured that you have my full support. If all of this is coming as news to you, and you'd rather not get it, go get the vaccine. Either way, you know that I'll be there for you.

These are interesting times.

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