Pandemic Progress: Trek into the Future — Moving the (Vax) Needle on the Space-Time-Warp Continuum
Volume: Utter silence of space
Issue: S.O.S. (Save Our Sanity!)
Star Date: 06152021.∞ Earth Years
Real Date: June 15, 2021
“I keep pressing the space bar, but I’m still on earth.”
— Anonymous
Trek into the Future:
Moving the (Vax)Needle on the
Space-Time-Warp Continuum
In the words of Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek: The Pandemic created an exploration “where no man [or woman] has ever gone before.”
Memo To: Human Resources Department on the U.S.S. Enterprise…(an HR complaint about The Star Trek crew!)
We know that Captain Kirk follows “The Prime Directive, Starfleet General Order #1” prohibiting interfering with the internal and natural development of aliens civilizations, but we needed him to follow The Primer Directive of “return from the future and help us non-alien civilizations struggling with our bodies and our souls during a pandemic.”
Covid on Earth, years 2020-2021, created a crazy time warp wherein each pandemic day dragged by like a year and yet the pandemic year Zoom-ed by in a nanosecond. We Earth Humans, especially Aging Human Males and Aging Human Females, are still bobbing and weaving and sobbing and grieving amidst the virus and the vaxxes. Our hearts are kind and our smarts are fine and every soul struggles to be whole and we sometimes smile with grace beneath our masked face. But we needed all the wisdom and help we could get. Where were your time-travel capabilities when we needed you? Couldn’t you have returned to help us—kind of a blast into the past?!
Let us explain...
Bad news, life will never be the same...good news, life will never be the same!
“Beam me up, Scottie!” or “Beam me down, Scottie!” It’s been a galaxy of ups and downs that got heads spinning the needle on the Funk-o-Meter, dialing up to happy, middlin’ down to meh, settling at sad, meandering back to maybe, and then skipping to semi-satisfied....so much to feel that it would have even been a challenge for a data-driven Vulcan like Dr. Spock!
We needed Mr. Sulu, your Head of AstroScience, to make the virus disappear into space at the press of a button.
And Lt. Uhuru, Chief Communications Officer on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, we needed her when the CDC needed a steady (well-manicured) hand to woman the helm and to womansplain what in the many circles of Hell and the Solar System was happening on the bridge—namely the Brooklyn Bridge and everywhere else on the planet.
And Deanna Troi, half-human and half-Betazoid who had the psionic ability to sense emotions, we needed her to “feel our pain” and share in our grief and anxiety and support our entire planet’s hope and faith. And then—boom—we had Zoom to connect us with our beloved friends and family, to bridge space and time with virtual hugs and funny cat-lawyer mugs. (So we did solve this one ourselves, no thanks to you!)
And Dr. McCoy, we needed his hand-held medical device with the spinning ball at the end that heals bodies and souls in seconds! We have several “Bones” to pick about not having your instant health devices! But, luckily, our researchers here are the real McCoy. They, led by our down-to-earth doctor, Dr. Fauci, fought the Klingon-like ruthless brutality of the virus and its variants and came up with vaccines at warp speed!
And, somehow, within all the challenges with pandemic space and time, we endured and kept hope alive. We could have used your help (YES!) but through our 21st century brains and hearts we created our own future. On Earth 2020-2021, the human spirit has been challenged and remains undaunted.
And we embodied the future wise words of Dr. Spock:
“There are always possibilities...Live long and prosper!”
So, U.S.S. Enterprise HR Department, thanks for letting us vent. Whining always helps us feel better—especially followed by a little wine!
And thank you for listening to the all the kvetching!
Ahhh men, ahhhh women, we can do this ahhhh-ll together!
Sending healing and hugs,
Irene