Below is a copy of one of my most important blog posts on the two pandemics, 1918-1921 and 2020-2022. As I think you'll see, the gap of time means nothing but the nature of time means everything. ******************************************************************************* A People And Two Lifes. Regardless of where you are with the pandemic today, one point we can agree on is the difficulty … [Read more...]
From The Pandemic And The Turning Of The Earth–Point Three of Eight
March 15, 2021 by
I missed writing the entry yesterday, Sunday. Actually, I wrote part of today's entry sitting in my car and finished the rest on the following morning in a coffee shop. To refresh, I talked briefly about the past year of pandemic during my most recent show of "Today In Leadership History" (seen on Facebook Live). Eight points or thoughts seemed significant to me. We're almost half-way through more … [Read more...]
From The Pandemic And The Turning Of The Earth–Point Two of Eight
March 13, 2021 by
Yesterday I began an eight-part series on my main thoughts looking back on a year of pandemic. To remind, the previous twelve months were my primary theme in my most recent edition of my weekly show "Today In Leadership History" (seen on Facebook Live). I won't repeat the list of six items that made March 11, 2020 such a historic day. You'll find them on this blog, the prior entry. Let's get … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: December 3
December 3, 2020 by
The ship awaits, 1918 Now And Today, December 3, 2020 The risings. That's what we've got. Going up across the board. The spread of the virus—rising. The extent of anger over actions taken and not taken—rising. The level of frustration with those who don't agree with you—rising. The chances of vaccines—rising. The probability that Christmas and the holidays look nothing like previous … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: November 25
November 25, 2020 by
Wilson Tout, later in life, birding Now And Today, November 25, 2020 Three clumps of life today. One is the numbers counted. One is the people known. One is the stuff in between. Life shakes out into three clumps on the day before Thanksgiving. The numbers counted are everywhere. Of cases. Of tests. Of the hospitalized. Of the dead. Of hospitals under stress. And also of potential … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 26
October 26, 2020 by
POTUS Now And Today, October 26, 2020 You want to know something that is nearly impossible? Separating politics and the pandemic on this day. The truth is that we'll get a cure, a vaccine, a 3-D digitized image of the virus and every treatment known to humankind, a winning lottery ticket with free steak knives thrown in before we'll ever figure out how to pull apart the election … [Read more...]
Clouds And Seeds–The Difference
October 22, 2020 by
A cloud and a seed don't sound like the same thing. I wonder if we sometimes act like they're the same thing, assume they're the same thing, pass them by as if they're the same thing. I offer a gentle reminder to you that they are not the same thing. Especially now as we live out the rhyming of our 2020 pandemic with the 1918-1920 pandemic. I had a wonderful private meeting with a client of … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 20
October 20, 2020 by
Now And Today, October 20, 2020 Promised Land. Promised Time. Outside the gate the fog is gone and the fields are clear. Time for you to run through. Away from rules and strictures, from fences. The air freshens, the light brightens, and the sounds ring just a little bit truer. How great it is. You've gone somewhere or you are somewhere and the pandemic didn't follow in full. Vacation, a … [Read more...]
A Year Ahead
October 2, 2020 by
The fog of the future A pandemic afflicted Americans in 1918. The worst of it was in the fall, especially October. By year's end, the worst was behind them. They looked forward to a new year, the next year, the future in its first frame. We do the same thing in 2020. Ready and eager to leave this year behind us, we anticipate 2021. In a recent speech delivered online, POTUS 45 Donald J. … [Read more...]
Wave Two: From 2020 To 1918: Tending Haystacks
September 29, 2020 by
With thanks to Claude Monet The date of September 28, 1918 has been rolling around in my mind for the past several hours. I think a follow-up to yesterday's entry is in order (that entry is here https://historicalsolutions.com/1918-pandemic/wave-two-from-2020-to-1918-september-28/). That this follow-up is so untypical in my Wave Two series ought to give a you a glimpse into my thinking about … [Read more...]
If History Rhymes: The Poem Of Warren Biden
September 10, 2020 by
Don't freak out. Just give me a minute or two. How it happened no one really knows. Somewhere along the line Mark Twain scooped up the credit as writer and speaker of one of the best quotes ever uttered about the past and history. History may not repeat—Twain is supposed to have said—but it sure does rhyme. Great stuff. And so very true when you think about the passage of time on a scale … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 8
September 8, 2020 by
W.E.B. Du Bois Now and Today, September 8, 2020 The numbers of coronavirus are sobering but not awful. They're far more than we'd ever want but slowly going downward, the absolute right direction. Those of us with anyone of a school age—from pre-school to graduate school—can describe the disruptions to daily life and near-term future of a pandemic in Wave Two. That's a feeling and a fact of … [Read more...]
The Tough October Of 2020
August 31, 2020 by
October 2020 will be a bad month. It may be the toughest yet of our pandemic. I say that not because of numbers of cases or counts of the dead. I say that because of our social body, our body politic, and our civic condition. October will be traumatic. Permit me to lay out my reasoning. My approach is different, unconventional. It's not everyone's first way of looking at things. I understand … [Read more...]
Working Paper: Already In Your Home–Wave Two And K-16 Schools
August 25, 2020 by
For millions of Americans, Wave Two of the coronavirus pandemic is already here. It's in their homes. I'm referring to education, kindergarten through college-age, and the reality of students Zooming to their craft tables, classrooms, and lecture halls. Wave Two is already here for them and the adults who are part of their lives. Millions and millions of them. Wave Two is now and Zoom is the … [Read more...]
Side-By-Side: Putting The Past Of Wave Two To Work
August 24, 2020 by
If you haven't read my post on Wave Two, 2020 and 1918, you'll find it here: https://historicalsolutions.com/1918-pandemic/wave-two-in-2020-a-thought-from-1918/?fbclid=IwAR0kTC3pG_X45WS-T9PS7sXpOZUBJpw0LRrOm7QsK_8mTkLLqk-f1tvJ9NA. I'm emphasizing it because of a point I made near the end of the 4-minute essay. My statement was that Wave Two 2020 will appear in a variety of ways. It was true in … [Read more...]
A Lot Into A Little: Your Likely Experience In The First Wave
July 27, 2020 by
2 years into 2 months. 12 months into 2 weeks. The fear of being "too unknown to try" becomes the challenge of "too much of a crisis not to try." These are the realities of millions of leaders and followers dealing with change thus far in the pandemic of 2020. For a long time—months or quarters or years—they had argued and debated over changes that were important and controversial. Stalemate, … [Read more...]
The Lost Holidays Of 1918 And 2020
July 7, 2020 by
Erased, wiped out, altered to a great extent. Our tradition and celebration of two holidays have been deeply affected by the pandemic. It's a shame. These words describe the influenza pandemic of 1918 and the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Let's take a closer look at the two pairs of days that usually help track our year. The holidays 1918: Halloween and Thanksgiving 2020: Memorial Day … [Read more...]
