Three things I’m looking forward to

I asked my dad the other day if this was the worst time he could remember in his life. Basically, was this worse than Vietnam and the protests and the assassinations.

“Yes,” he said, without pause. “The combination of the pandemic and the riots, yes.”

OK cool. So we’re living through the worst time since probably the beginning of World War II. Silver lining? It can only get better from here, right? Right? RIGHT?

I think so, and as such, here’s three things I’m looking forward to in the near future …

1) The end of the coronavirus as a deadly threat. It certainly seems like COVID-19 isn’t just going to magically disappear, and over-the-counter drug commercials will probably start referring to this time of year as “cold, flu, and COVID season.” But the vaccine is going to work, and with it, will come markedly reduced death. And next year, we’ll probably take the vaccine again. Might be a yearly thing. Whatever. All I know (I hope, at least) is when this is over, science will come out on top.

2) The worst of America will be behind us. After the Capitol riot last week - and after whatever happens in the coming weeks - I’d like to think this terrible chapter in American history will be over. You want to protest, protest. You want to ransack the Capitol, no thanks. And while there are still many people all aboard the Trump Train, I suspect the numbers will dwindle as time marches on. Plenty of people realize the cult-ish nature of this whole thing now, and how it’s a legitimate threat to democracy. And lastly …

3) The Mets are World Series contenders, and that pleases me to no end. Hey, we all have our cults, right?