July 20, 2021

For the last several months, I have felt like each time we take two or three steps forward with COVID, every so often we had to take a step back. With the news at the end of last week that LA County’s Department of Public Health was going to reinstitute the mask mandate for everyone, no matter their vaccination status, effective this past Sunday, it felt to me more like a huge…giant leap backwards… possibly even three leaps. While I was disappointed by this news, it also was sort of inevitable and a very responsible approach.

Look, I get that those of us who have already been vaccinated were really enjoying being able to leave our masks in our cars or at home while we went out and about. However, as the infection rates began to significantly increase, what did you expect public health officials to do? It is their job to protect all of us and the only way to minimize the spread is to institute the latest mask mandate. And we just need to do our part. Because if we don’t, we could be in store for a much more intrusive alternative. I don’t think any of us want to return back to the almost entire lockdown we experienced last spring.

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Now onto a somewhat related topic… the 2020 Summer Olympics that are set to kick off on Friday with the Opening Ceremonies.

I love the Olympics… I love the idea of the world coming together to compete and celebrate. As an avid sports fan, I am excited to watch the coverage of sports I don’t normally get to see some of the best athletes in the world compete in, like swimming, gymnastics, diving, and even a few new ones like sport climbing and surfing. Plus… I love the human-interest stories that are always included in the coverage. These stories always provide a different perspective of the athletes – whether it is about the hardships or obstacles they have overcome, or something entirely different… they humanize the athletes. I feel that this is typically lost in the coverage we see in professional sports here in the US.

But my absolute favorite part of the entire Olympics is the parade of nations. Seeing representatives from 95% of the entire world, walking behind their flag is incredible. You can sense the pride they have in representing their nation to the world.

Take time during these next three weeks to watch and celebrate these incredible athletes and what they have accomplished, during the middle of a worldwide pandemic. The Olympics can and will remind us that even though athletes are competing against one another in a variety of different events, we are all a part of one world and we are all interconnected to one another.  

Remember that it is not always who wins or loses, but rather the journey one takes that makes one a champion.

Let the games begin.

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