One year ago today ...
On March 11, 2020, I drove 110 miles east from my house to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, to a softball game. It was the annual "Border Rivalry" game between the Missouri Tigers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, played at a neutral site about halfway between the campuses of the two universities. It was, in fact, the last game this big college softball fan got to see live, although tomorrow afternoon I will finally get to go to a doubleheader here in Columbia.
At that game one year ago today, the Fighting Illini defeated my Tigers, 2-1. Boo. Hiss.
I wish that had been the worst thing that happened on that day.
After the game I drove back to Columbia and, back at the computer in my house, there was an e-mail in my inbox from the University of Missouri department of athletics. The e-mail said the Southeastern Conference and NCAA had decided that because of the spreading coronavirus, all remaining games in spring sports were going to be played in empty stadiums with no fans in attendance. (It was the next day that all spring sports were canceled for the rest of the season.)
Reading that e-mail was the moment when the realization suddenly hit me, like the proverbial ton of bricks, that this situation is SERIOUS. That was the moment when the world changed for me, in the blink of an eye. And now, one full year later, I am still wondering if it ever will return completely to normal. I do have hopes for the vaccines, though. I have had my first Moderna jab and will have my second one two weeks from today.
-- Ron