4 months into the Coronavirus nightmare. 15 days since the murder of George Floyd. Our slated blog post for June seems trivial and irrelevant at the moment.

Our world has changed in ways we never dreamt possible. None of the sci-fi disaster films could’ve prepared us for life in America in the summer of 2020.

As we slowly come out of quarantines and gingerly move outside again, most of us aren’t the same people we were back in January. I know I’m certainly not. I’m sad and worried about the people I love and hurting for people I don’t even know.

Stores are either opening slowly or, in the case of my city, still boarded up since the rioting and looting of a few weeks ago. Many are going out of business. For good.

Some people are going back to work. Lots more are still working from home. Others are furloughed and trying to figure out how they’ll get by going forward.

I’m saddened that the world had to come to this for change to happen…..to HOPEFULLY happen.

The inequities of wealth vs. poverty. Healthcare workers putting their lives on the line daily to save thousands of people. Jobs lost. Lives lost. Bread lines for proud people who never thought they’d have to take from the government.

And then a video of a black man murdered, not by thugs but by an elitist cop. Probably not an unusual incident as we’re now becoming aware of.

Open your eyes, America! And shame on us for allowing racism and inequality to thrive in “the greatest country in the world”.

This time we saw it.

We watched for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as George Floyd pleaded for his life. Unarmed and handcuffed and slowly suffocating. If you saw that footage, it will be hard to ever forget.

A sad, sordid picture of what was the most powerful country in the world. Our collective hearts are breaking.

As a child, I said the pledge of allegiance every morning at school. They’ve been running through my mind for the past week. “….with liberty and justice for all.” Words…. just words. ‘Til now.

It’s time to turn those words into reality and make them ring true. George Floyd’s name and story will go down in the history archives as a turning point in the story of America. And #blacklivesmatter will be the change our country has needed for a very long time.

We hope that the world will look better in July and that our next blog post will reflect a happier state of mind.

In the meantime, stay safe. Don’t be cavalier about your health and that of those around you. Take some time each day to be grateful for the good things in your life. Care for one another.

It’s time.