Three and a half years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID had become a public health emergency.
Six weeks later, it grew into a pandemic — from which many of us are still recovering…
However, the WHO recently announced that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency.
This is good news.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
Apparently deaths from COVID are at their lowest point since the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.
This is also good news.
However, a lot of people are still continuing to die here in our Not-So-United States of America.
Last night I ordered a pizza and salad from a nearby restaurant, and after I picked it up, a woman waiting outside congratulated me on wearing a face mask.
She, too, was wearing a mask and told me in no uncertain terms that our COVID challenges are not over yet.
In fact, the 40-year-old son of one of her friends had just died from COVID.
Another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
In 2023, the USA COVID death toll has averaged 150 people per day
Although this is a decline from a peak death toll of 2,500 human beings per day in early 2022, 150 per day still feels like a lot of people dying to me!
And all around the world, people continue to die — one every three minutes — “and that’s just the deaths we know about,” says WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “COVID-19 is (not) over as a global health threat.”
Yet another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
I wrote the song in the player at the beginning of this blog post during the first year of the pandemic.
I was inspired — in part — by the months-long hospitalization of a fellow singer who was on a ventilator for a very, very long time.
Amazingly enough he has managed to recover — and resume singing!
He was cared for by a team of truly courageous nurses, doctors, and support staff who came to work day-in and day-out while most of us were sheltering in place at home.
I bore witness to the dedication and patience of many nurses, doctors and support staff during this time because — exactly as COVID was entering our lives — I was diagnosed with an obscure medical condition called PGNMID.
As the COVID epidemic grew worse and worse, I met with specialists at several hospitals, underwent kidney and bone marrow biopsies. and ended up being given three rounds of six-month-long-treatments — chemotherapy+immunotherapy+steroids the first time, a new immunotherapy drug the second time, and an even newer experimental immunotherapy drug the third time.
I appear to be responding well to the latest round of treatments — and may write more about this experience in a future blog post.
I mention it now because I saw firsthand — on a weekly basis — the brave and loving response of the medical community during that horrible time.
Recently another musical acquaintance shared with me that she stopped working as a nurse a year ago so that she could begin to recover from the stress and trauma of being a nurse during the COVID pandemic.
I know she is not alone…
Another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
It’s easy to forget — or ignore — the reality that most of the people who have died due to COVID were connected to a web of caregivers, family and friends who are now grieving their loss.
Deep sigh…
Millions of human beings around our planet — myself included — are now struggling to regain their hopefulness, their sense of connectedness with others, their equilibrium, their sense of purpose, and their mental health after being in survival mode for the past few years.
And some folks are also struggling with mysterious, lingering health challenges after being infected with COVID.
A recent interview on Fresh Air with a neuropsychologist named James Jackson reminded me that there are millions of people here on planet earth who continue to experience a wide variety of debilitating symptoms due to their COVID infection — the “long-haulers.”
As the Fresh Air webpage explains, these folks “struggle to remember things, perform basic tasks and solve problems” — which can lead “to a loss of employment, income, and important relationships.”
Yet another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
Jackson has written a book called Clearing The Fog — From Surviving to Thriving with Long COVID.
I am rooting for all of the COVID long haulers!
I have so many thoughts and feelings about COVID — as I am sure you do, too.
Maybe you will be moved to share a little of what you are feeling and thinking these days about the impact of COVID on our lives in a comment at the end of this blog post.
Part of me was tempted when writing this blog post to share a list of the high-profile folks — such as former presidential candidate Herman Cain — who downplayed or actively denied the significance of the COVID virus… and then ended up dying from it.
However, that seemed too disrespectful and schadenfreudey.
I did stumble across an interview earlier this year with a former Republican senator from Oklahoma — Jim Inhofe — in the Tulsa World, in which he explains that one of the reasons he retired was long-term COVID-19 complications.
At the time of his retirement, he said that he had tested positive for “a very mild case” of COVID-19.
But in this interview he admits that it has been much more serious.
And according to Inhofe, “Five or six others have (long COVID), but I’m the only one who admits it.”
Yikes!
I think he is referring to other US senators… but maybe he means members of Congress overall?
He also says: “I try to be careful, but I have to be reminded to do things like wash my hands. I have to do things I’m not used to and that’s difficult sometimes.”
I agree.
It can be VERY difficult for us to change our longtime habits and mindsets and patterns of behavior.
Apparently Inhofe has also been an outspoken climate science denier for decades — and we shall see how that ends up affecting him…and his family…and his former constituents…and all of the rest of the web of life here on planet earth in the upcoming days and weeks and months and years!
I think it’s been pretty hot in Oklahoma in recent weeks…
One final deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
Thank YOU for reading and listening to another one of my blog posts.
I am always surprised and heartened to check my WordPress stats and see that people continue to visit my blog even when I haven’t posted anything new in many weeks.
Thank you to all of my visitors!
And thank you to Pixabay for their wonderful and generous photographers.
And thank you to Doug Hammer for playing his Schimmel grand piano so poignantly AND for helping me to mix/master “Waltzing With COVID-19” via many Zoom sessions during the past two years.
If you are curious to hear more music, you can find me singing — with Doug Hammer playing piano — on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, YouTube and other streaming platforms.
And you can listen to “Waltzing With COVID-19” on your favorite streaming platform by clicking here.
Any song you “like” or “heart” or add to a playlist will improve the algorithmic activity of my music there!
I am going to continue to wear a mask whenever I am inside a movie theater or a bus or a subway or a friend’s car (if the windows are rolled up) or a friend’s home or an office or a hospital or a retirement community.
This is a simple way we can continue to respect and care for each other.
One more deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
We still need to be vigilant
That’s my sense, Sheree. So far this spring and summer we’ve been very fortunate in the Boston area to have had lots of days when we can work/read/stretch/dine/socialize outside and/or keep our windows open without it becoming too hot!
We live a very outdoor lifestyle too
Hurrah for the open air!
Exactly
I’m with you, Will. And we’re not alone. I had such a nice chat with a young woman working behind the register at Nashoba Bakery who was wearing a mask. I told her it raised my spirits to see that and I was going to keep doing it too. She said her family gives her a hard time, but she doesn’t care. She is going to stick with it.
That’s similar to how I felt when the woman praised me for wearing a mask when I went inside our favorite local pizza place (Olympic on Mass. Ave. across from the Fox Library). It made me feel less alone/crazy in my resolve to continue to wear a mask when I am inside. And yum for the Nashoba Bakery!
I still wear my mask when I am in public places or within a group of people as do many here when we travelled through Sinapore a few months ago cases were on the rise and masks were mandatory even in homes…I think wearing my mask in public places will stay with me for a long time yet as covid still lurks and as we are older I do not wish to contract it when I could avoid it by wearing a mask 🙂
You are a blessed voice of prudence chiming in from the other side of the planet! I am not happy to hear that cases are rising in Singapore…or anywhere! I remember that I used to think it was odd/excessive when I would see someone — almost always of Asian descent — wearing a face mask in public on the subway, for example. Now I understand that they were not only being careful for themselves, they (in the event that they had some sort of sniffle/cold/cough/flu themselves) were also were being careful for the folks around them.
Absolutely, Will we don’t know who we brush shoulders with or what their health is like they could have a low immune system like my daughters did when they were having chemo.. so we should be mindful and not just for ourselves..
Yes, yes and yes!
Dear Will,
Thank you for your love and empathy.
You are very welcome, Adriana! Let’s keep making making art and music — and help shift the conversations and behaviors of ourselves and others — even though, as the former senator from Oklahoma explains in his interview, it can be very challenging to create new, healthier habits.
Excellent heartfelt and honest article, Will. Thank you. I also continue to wear a mask indoors, for myself and others.
You are welcome, Peggy. It’s a reassuring pleasure to hear from folks who continue to “mask up” indoors. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Blessings to you on your healing journey. 💕
Thank you, Peggy! I have been following YOUR healing journey with great curiosity and empathy…
So glad you are sharing your journey with the serious medical challenges you are facing, Will. This wonderful blog community that you’ve built can be one of many supports as you navigate, meet challenges, and heal. much love.
Thank you, Molly. It’s interesting that I waited (I had written most of this blog post weeks ago…) until the night before my next check-in with my specialist at DF to share this post…
Hi Will! What a heartfelt and important voice in this blog post. First, my best to you as you battle a rare disease. Are you still able to do Music Together? Your thoughts on caregivers was wonderful, especially during COVID. I need to read more about Long COVID. As a preschool teacher, keeping children in school via Zoom was a near-impossible task. Children didn’t thrive, but they did survive school. Hats off to the many teachers across the country who revamped their teaching and did wonders (as best they could) for children. And, hats off the nurses and doctors everywhere who continue to care for all of us.
Yes. Teachers experienced huge challenges during the COVID pandemic as did all of their/our students! Regarding my health situation, one the most puzzling parts of this obscure diagnosis is that I don’t actually feel ill. But western medicine has told me that I need to take all of these amazing drugs to prevent my kidneys from being damaged. The first round of treatment (when they thought I had an early case of multiple myeloma) did knock me out quite a bit because it included a chemotherapy drug and a steroid. But that was when everyone on planet earth was reeling from how COVID was turning everyone’s lives upside down; so I decided not to share the news of my specific health situation very widely. Who in my network of friends and acquaintances needed to have one more thing to feel upset/concerned/anxious/unhappy about? Perhaps part of what has made this process a bit gentler is that I have been able to continue to see a beloved acupuncturist every couple of weeks (except during my first round of treatments when COVID fears/cautions were at their peak — and even my acupuncturist stopped seeing people for many months!) I remain grateful that I am getting excellent medical care — even if I also remain somewhat skeptical of allopathic medicine and the allopathic medical mindset… And I am fully able to lead my Music Together classes (during which I and the other adults — except for one mom who, for reasons she didn’t want to share with me, chose NOT to — wear face masks). And when it’s not too hot or too cold outside, I can leave one door at the karate studio where I lead classes open (with a child-safe gate in place…) Onward — with gratitude whenever possible! And THANK YOU for reading this blog post and leaving a comment, Jennie!
Thank you, Will. Your health situation is certainly curious, as you feel okay. Still, modern medicine is keeping you healthy. That’s a good thing. Going through what you went through during COVID certainly left an imprint on you, and your perspective is better because of that. I’m glad you’re still doing your classes! Yes, onward with gratitude whenever possible. Best to you, Will. Reading and commenting on your blog is a pleasure!
I am glad to hear that you are responding well to your treatments, but I’m so sorry that you’re having to go through them. Bless you, my friend and all of those who so selflessly work hard to care for others.
Thank you, Mike and Kellye! I understand that it can be a very valuable coping mechanism for some people to move on and forget about unhappy events in their past. But I also want to make sure that we remember and acknowledge the folks — like my nurse acquaintance who has taken a year off to recover from the stress/trauma of working through the pandemic or folks with long-term side effects from COVD or folks whose loved ones died from COIVD — who are still reeling from the impact of COVID on their lives… Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Will, I had plans to attend a dinner this evening. It was cancelled due to covid-19 issues! So, this waltz continues…
Rats. I am sorry to hear that COVID has waltzed into your dinner plans for this evening! I totally understand why all/most of us want to acti like COVID is over and done and behind us… but (as your comment demonstrates) it’s not. THANK YOU, dear Don, for reading and listening to this blog post!
Covid is not gone. One of my co-workers has her kids signed up for summer day camp and several of the counsellors, and students, have just contracted Covid.
I’m heading into our head office in Toronto tomorrow for the first time since 2019. I will be masking on the train, and the subway, and in the train station. I also still mask on planes and in airports. We let our guard down when we went to Las Vegas last fall, and my whole family ended up with Covid after our return.
I forgot about the Las Vegas trip which led to COVID for your entire family last year… Argh! Your plan to mask en route to Toronto sounds prudent. And I think prudence is one of our human virtues, right? I just looked up a definition for “prudent” and found this: “acting with or showing care and thought for the future.” I like the sound of that. It reminds me immediately of the indigenous/aboriginal practice of weighing the pros and cons of how a particular action might ripple into the future for many generations to come (a practice which is often lacking in our contemporary, desire-driven, consumerist society/economy… but which your blog is helping us reclaim!) May you have a safe and satisfying trip to your company’s head office, Michelle!
Yes “care and thought for the future” seems to be lost with our current mentality, Will. Along with its cousin “care and thought for each other”. Your “Not-So-United-States-of-America” thought struck me. Sadly, that “us vs them” mentality is alive and well here in Canada, too. Sigh. Have a wonderful day, Will!
I just read a description in Ari Shapiro’s new memoir which explained how Russian agitprop agents/trolls used Facebook during our 2016 election to create fake groups on both sides of the political spectrum to rile up voters against each other and destabilize our country. And it was done using tiny amounts (low hundreds) of money! And it continues to be done by various foreign governments/billionaires as well as people and organizations funded by USA billionaires… All of our magical technology is proving to be an excruciatingly-two-sided blessing/curse. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Let us continue to live our lives as respectfully as we can!
You are going to have ahard time taking a deep breath in while wearing that mask..but that is all I will say at this time. Prayers for you and your friends..
I am grateful that — so far at least — wearing a mask hasn’t affected my ability to take deep breaths in and out!
Surely by now you know this whole situation is straight out of hell. Don’t let evil win.
I agree. We must summon the forces of love and respect and goodness and courage.
it is a tall order but the only way to end this.
I love your song, Will! Such a creative way to share what is happening around Covid-19. Your words zero in and hit every issue. I love the Waltz flow. You are right, we dance while in denial hoping we will somehow make it through! Very well done!!
Thanks for listening to my song AND for your kind words about it. I appreciate your positive feedback very much!!!
You are welcome. Covid is not joke I had it twice in succession! No fun at all. Thankfully I am doing fine now and have no side effects from it.
Hurrah that you have had no side effects from your two bouts of COVID infection!
:>)
Oh, wow, Will. It’s taken me a couple of weeks to catch up on your post. I have tears in my eyes as I listen to this beautiful song and as I read your post. My great friend and mentor passed away three weeks ago because he couldn’t shake of the impact of COVID on him in the end. Thank you 😊
I am very sorry to read about the loss of your friend and mentor, Sean. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. We human beings are (understandably) eager to put COVID behind us and return to a more “normal,” mask-free life. But that mindset often means that we deny/ignore all of the folks who are still being affected by COVID — either as long-haulers, or the folks living with (and helping to take care of) long-haulers, or as the surviving friends/family of people who have died from COVID. We can’t sweep all of that under a rug! I am glad that listening to this song helps in some tiny way for you to connect with your feelings — even though they are very sad feelings. Please feel free to share it with anyone else whom you think might appreciate it. Another deep breath in. And deep breath out. Peace be with you!
Thank you for your condolences and great generosity regarding your beautiful song, Will. It means a lot. I am forever vigilant re COVID and make sure the organisation I run is protected as much as possible from its ongoing impacts. Yes, deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Let’s keep being cautious, hopeful and grateful!
What a sensitive, elegant and eloquent piece, Will. Most of us are no longer wearing masks over here, but people’s memories are short. They were dark days and they could come again – if not with COVID variants, then something else. Let’s face it, we know that some people didn’t need to die. And, yes, many are still suffering the effects. I speak from a little personal experience. What I puzzle over is not the love and care that many showed – not least medical professionals, of course – but the lack of compassion, the disrespect and selfishness that others demonstrated. Something that should have brought people together against a common threat actually showed schisms in society that I find so sad. Everything seems to be so polarised these days.
My thoughts are with you, Old Chap, with your condition: do as you are told, take the pills, stay safe and get well!
I shall keep taking my pills and getting my shots, dear fellow blogger! And let’s see if we can continue to find ways (including blogging) to bring people together…
Such a good reminder that covid may no longer be classified as a pandemic but it’s very much still a serious public health disease.
Love your song. It took me to Broadway. Very stage worthy.
THANK YOU for taking time to read and also listen to my blog post, Dawn! COVID numbers (according to the folks who track the virus in our wastewater…) are indeed going back up again. Thankfully we have a new vaccine on the horizon for fall, but I will continue to wear a mask — especially in health care settings. The last thing we need to do is infect or re-infect our health care providers and their support staff!
Indeed. I still wear my mask in closed spaces.
Thank you, Will. So very glad you are here. The world needs a billion more people like you.
Thanks for checking out my blog, Frank, and for leaving such an affirmative comment!