A Dripping Springs Day of Remembrance?
Today at 10:30 a.m., my family laid to rest another innocent victim of COVID-19. In early January, a close family friend will be buried in his West Texas hometown. He, too, was a sudden victim of COVID-19.
As of today, 12/19/2020, Texas has recorded 1,569,544 cases of COVID since February. Of those cases, 25,522 Texas have said “final goodbyes” to their loved ones. These victims didn’t have the comfort of a family member sitting at their bedside, holding their hand. They died alone. Perhaps a nurse or technician realized they were dying and sat with them until life left them. Nobody hopes to die this way, but it’s the new normal.
It hasn’t always been this way.
About 296 days ago, on February 27, Texas was averaging one case of COVID-19. Yesterday (December 18th), the state was averaging 201 new cases per day. Sadly, 345 Texans died on the 18th as well.
Nationally, as of December 19th, 17,684,935 cases of coronavirus had been diagnosed. That same day, the number of Americans who died of COVID-19 reached 316,492. Every day in the month of December, thus far, another 200,000 new cases have been identified in the U.S.
I know. The numbers are overwhelming!
Like you, I feel so helpless. When a friend calls, saying they’ve tested positive for COVID-19, I say a prayer, asking God to help them survive. I see doctors and nurses on newscasts, working long shifts, often without much rest, much time with their loved ones and often, without popular Personal Protective Equipment.
I also speak with funeral directors around the state. Some say they’ve rented refrigerated vans to supplement their refrigerated storage because of so many deaths in their communities. Others tell me they’ve had to call on other directors in their region for help with the number of funerals they must direct.
Yes, COVID-19 has generated more stress and worry...required longer workdays. It’s taken more very sick people away from their households and more lives than any type of disaster you can think of. It has virtually decimated our economy and, in some cases, bulldozed too many businesses in every community.
However, thanks to the brilliant work and collaboration of scientists around the globe -- China, the UK, Germany, to name a few, and in labs across this country, some as close as UT-Austin -- we now have two vaccines in our war against the coronavirus, and from all reports, the distribution and delivery to the first-tier recipients has gone well.
Still, I struggle to find ways to lessen COVID’s impact for our community, to bring comfort to families that include front-line caregivers or where someone has tested positive, a family member has been hospitalized or a loved one has died.
Finally, I came upon an idea.
In tragedy or catastrophe, community prayer binds people together -- for help, sympathy, resources and moral support…and while we as a nation observe a National Day of Prayer in May, not a moment of remembrance has been held in our Congress, at our White House, our state capitol or from the Governor’s Mansion.
Flags haven’t been lowered to half-staff nor have wreaths been laid in a single cemetery. So why can’t we have a Dripping Springs Day of Remembrance for all the people whose lives have been touched by the virus? This could be an ecumenical project involving congregations, Boy and Girl Scouts, VFW, American Legion, schools and other organizations.
It could be as simple as a specified time during a specific day for everyone to pray. Drivers could drive with their headlights on and flags lowered to pay tribute to COVID-19 victims. Prayer services could be held and schools could offer students an opportunity to participate.
As it has been pointed out many times, COVID-19 has no boundaries. There are no differences in the grief among families, rich or poor, who have lost loved ones, no favored gender, ethnicity, educational level or neighborhood. COVID plays no favorites.
Please consider designating a day for Dripping Springs, communitywide, to remember the innocent victims of this raging pandemic. It’s long overdue.