Unhappy Anniversary
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History March 10 - 16.
I began to notice more and more people on the train to work were wearing masks. When I tried to schedule a doctor’s appointment, the woman on the other line asked if I had been to China recently.
The Washington Post was delivered to my place, and I read about the developing concerns about a virus spreading across Asia and Europe and the response from the president of the United States.
I associate the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with March 13, 2020. It was a Friday. We were told not to come into the office that day after having a conference call meeting with the team that Wednesday, during which we were briefed on what the company was thinking as we learned more.
Two days before the college basketball tournament was cancelled, President Trump spoke to the country and instilled even more fear. We would learn a few days later that on March 13, Louisville Police Department executed a no-knock search warrant on the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, and was murdered. This tragedy and others led to massive protests and riots over the coming months.
This week is a weird anniversary to recognize. Much like 9/11, the innovation of the internet machine, or the development and use of nuclear weapons, to name a few, we are living in the post-COVID-19 era.
Which means we will be inundated with anniversaries. None of them will be as mediocre as this one, I promise.
We all lived it. Unfortunately, about 1.2 million Americans have died due to COVID-related sicknesses, which includes this year. There are reports that we have undercounted this statistic. Either way, 1.2 million people is more than 9/11, and 100% more than a nuclear bomb. Despite the large number of people who lost their lives, for the most part, we have managed to push this period away.
I’m not here to say if this is a good or bad thing. I will say there are disadvantages to being blissfully naïve during a pandemic. I don’t know a thing about viruses other than the flu, and like others, I hate being sick. But I’ve never experienced the fear of being sick or the fear of my loved ones being sick.
I didn’t think COVID would last, because I thought there was no way we could “cancel summer.” Since we couldn’t go out due to lockdowns, I enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day with Blue and Anonymous. Here’s a picture that when I took it I thought I had other meanings than it does today.
When I look back five years ago, there are many things to take inventory about my life then. I read a lot during COVID. I exercised more and ate better. By the 4th of July I was at the weight of my senior year of college – which felt great. I started a regular happy hour with a friend, and we will celebrate this friendship later this month.
Since March 13, 2020, much in my life has changed. I got married, bought a house, left a job I had enjoyed and gained another one I love. I’ve traveled to Ireland, St. Martin, and Portugal. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD and counseling has become a more consistent medical treatment. I passed a kidney stone, which was the worst pain ever. Unfortunately, I’m not even close to what I weighed back in July 2020.
Oh, I started and have been writing Okay History. Can’t forget that.
I don’t claim to be an expert about the effects of COVID and the pandemic has had and will have. I am grateful for the vaccines I received, the medical professionals who guided us, and especially our elected leaders who made excellent and absurd decisions. My favorite was the one in Ohio where they had a curfew. COVID goes to bed early like I do.
Unhappy Anniversary.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on March 11, 1930. The 27th and Second Tier president is the only person to serve as president and chief justice of the United States. His funeral featured a few poems I probably have never read and there was no eulogy. Famous sculptor James Earle Fraser was commissioned to create the memorial. His sculptures are all over Washington. When you are here and you see one, there is a strong likelihood Fraser made it.
2. The FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list debuted on March 14, 1950. Director J. Edgar Hoover signed off on a list that would engage and leverage the public to help what was termed “the toughest guys to catch.” Since its inception, the US has apprehended almost 500 fugitives, about 150 with direct help from citizens. Only ten women have ever been put on the list, and you generally can’t get off it unless you die or are caught.
3. The world's first internet domain name is registered on March 16, 1985. Symbolics Computer Corporation of Massachusetts was a computer software company sprung from MIT to build computers to assist President Reagan’s Star Wars initiative. The company went out of business in 1996, but held onto the domain name and sold it in 2009 to napkin.com, which apparently only holds onto weird domain names. I wonder if he will buy okayhistory.com. It’s weird. Interesting note: IBM secured their domain almost exactly a year later. There are over 1 billion domains today.
We are still getting back into the groove, but I’m happy to say that the next volume of Words, Words, Words will come out on Wednesday, after a long hiatus. My book review edition is for subscribers who financially support OKH, so thank you. I’ll also be back on Friday, ranking the scandals.
Lots to do as we lead up to the important holiday next Monday! Thanks for reading! Slainte!
Okay,
Chris
