In my younger days, I used to love to waterski. I was not bad. I could get up out of the water fairly easily. I could maintain my balance quite well until maybe the errant wave from a nearby boat got too close. I really hated the cold lake waters so I tried to remain upright for as long as I could. All you needed to waterski was a bit of timing (you had to push up with your legs when the motor boat revved it's engine) and the ability to maintain your balance when waves bounced against the skis.
I have never tried surfing. It seems to be a bit more difficult. The timing is much more crucial. You have to be able to stand just at the right time. Balance is much more important. When you are waterskiing, you rely on the near constant speed of the boat to keep you standing. In surfing, you rely on the speed of the waves hitting the shore and they are much less consistent. I think surfing is much more difficult.
Right now with COVID we seem to be riding the waves that are unsteady, just like they are for a surfer. At first we did not know how fast the virus would hit. It was a problem over there. Then cases arrived in Canada, and then in Alberta. We watched how the numbers seemed to rise so dramatically in April. Then the number of cases fell back to much lower numbers. We had ridden out our first wave.
But there has always been talk of a second and maybe third wave. Other pandemics like the Spanish flu, seemed to be waning and then came back with a vengeance. Might COVID be the same? In the US, where cries have been quite loud to open up the economy, many states are seeing increasingly huge jumps in the number of COVID patients (states such as California, Florida, Texas and Arizona have all seen dramatic jumps in the number of cases). In these same states many pictures have been shown of bars, restaurants, beaches, churches, and shopping centres filled with people not social distancing. In Canada and Alberta, we have been a bit slower to open up the economy, but now that school is out and warmer weather is here, one does see people ignoring social distancing rules and free for all in some stores. Our numbers have yet to go up, but it is a concern. People want to connect with one another, the past three months have been hard, and if neighbouring regions see an increase in cases, maybe a second wave might hit here and it might be worse than the first. The wave of this virus is not like the controlled speed of a motor boat pulling a water skier. It is like the waves on the ocean, some fast, some slow, always unpredictable. All of us might end up like surfers into the tumult. Blessings.
