The Biggest Day

DEAR GEORGE: Around noon today we watched Joe Biden take the oath of office and deliver a stirring inauguration speech. Then an hour later we drove over to the UC Med Center and got our first Moderna vaccinations. Two life-changing events in the course of an hour. I can’t remember such a time in my life. Watching the inauguration I felt my whole body suddenly relax, and I realized I’ve probably been in a constant state of muscle tension for the last four years. My main aim has been to live long enough to see the end of the Trump presidency, and I can’t express how satisfying that was (though I know that many have the exact same feeling). I realize that the damage that Trump caused will last for years and even decades, but there’s that reassuring sense that the country’s course as been righted, at least to the extent that that’s possible. I also think it’s remarkable that we got our anti-Covid vaccine on the same day as the inauguration. That’s also a great relief and a concrete sign of hope for the future. Frankly, I was amazed that it came as quickly as it did. For me it means a return to the fitness center and my aerobic exercise classes by early March and many more public events that I’ve been missing by the autumn. Like Trump, the country’s recovery from the pandemic will likely take years, but the growing availability of the vaccine is an occasion for optimism and rejoicing. I think we’ll just sit back and enjoy this happy time. LOVE, DAVE