LET'S NOT JUMP THE GUN

Dear Friends, NOT SO FAST! With everyone getting progressively hepped up regarding resuming normal activities, I'm a bit concerned that we may be jumping the gun. For the past couple of weeks, there has been more and more talk about "getting the economy going" again and about how the government is infringing upon people's rights. I get it. Now that there's a little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, everyone's getting antsy and wants everything to get back to normal . . . NOW! But I read a pithy analogy the other day that sums up my personal apprehension:   "Now that the parachute has slowed us down, it's safe to take it off." We definitely don't want to jump right back into the thick of this. Let's not forget the lessons of 1918 - the Spanish flu pandemic.   Infamous September 28, 1918 parade in Philadelphia at which thousands were infected and later died from the 2nd wave of the Spanish flu virus. This virus first appeared in March of 1918 as a nasty flu bug. The outbreak seemingly had subsided by late summer; however a second, more-virulent version started up in late August - killing nearly 200,000 Americans in just one month. It's now believed that the rapid spread and subsequent mutation of this 2nd wave of the virus was in part due to an unwillingness of public health officials to impose adequate quarantines (see picture above.) In total between 50 and 100 million people died from this flu - including 675,000 in the United States alone. Just a caveat: That 1918 second wave occurred five months after the initial outbreak. Now in 2020 we are approximately five months into the coronavirus initial appearance. * * * A small room with 60 or 70 people in it (i.e. a dance hall) is a perfect environment for propagating a virus - even if only one person harbors the bug. So considering the confined environments in which we play, I'm not jumping on any grand-opening bandwagon. And I'll be erring on the side of caution in not resuming any Memory Brothers' dances until the all clear has definitively been sounded - whenever that may be. I'm eager to hear any and all views. Please leave a comment below. DOUG KOEMPEL | MEMORY BROTHERS Thursday, April 23, 2020