State of Affairs

I don’t know how to feel. I know so many people that died as a result of COVID-19, friends, family. There was so much hate at the beginning of the COVID era and I just don’t know how to feel now that we are at the end of the health emergency.

I guess, congratulations to us for surviving. I wish I could smile and be happy about it but honestly, I just feel empty inside. This is a weird feeling and I’m confused by it – you think I would be happy about the end. But, its not really the end. COVID-19 still exists and is actively killing our neighbors, there was a long pause in COVID deaths – confirmed COVID deaths – in Cibola but after this most recent spike in cases, we’ve seen a slow but significant rise in deaths.

I guess this is to say that just because the virus is not as serious as it was in the early days of COVID, it’s still deadly and I am frankly upset that we’re giving up the fight against this virus. It’s been a personal mission to provide all the statistics about COVID to the community because I’m worried about it, too. So long as I am able, I will continue to follow the crisis in Cibola, because it is still a crisis that impacted Cibola at such an unfair level compared to the way it hit Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

I need to point out Dustin Middleton and the team in the Cibola County government. Everything was so dark in those early days, but despite this Middleton led our county through the worst of the crisis. He didn’t let politics step in the way of listening to science and getting the materials necessary where they needed to be – a logistics success! Was everything perfect? No. Did Dustin have all the answers? No. Did he do his best, protect the people of Cibola, ensure the hospital had everything needed within his power, and focus on the wellbeing of this community? Yes.

Dustin didn’t work alone, and I don’t know all the names of the heroes who worked by his side to address COVID19 in Cibola, but I extend my great thanks to all of you.

I like to pretend that 2020 didn’t happen. It did though. I can’t think of a single person I know who looks back on the pandemic fondly. Some will say that they “hate people” and were happy to be closed in to prevent the spread, but other than quiet from social engagements, I can’t seem to find the silver lining in the crisis. If you can find that silver lining, please let me know what you found peace in, email me at editor@ ciboalcitizen.com.

There was chaos and anger all around in the political spectrum. I think we need to forgive ourselves for this anger. If we are holding onto this anger still, we need to let it go. We have all come a long way, the world has changed and we need to do better all around. 2020 was a terrible year, so was 2021. Let’s all do better.

I still get angry when people mock the COVID19 emergency. Former Congresswoman Yvette Herrell didn’t take COVID-19 seriously and she was in office for the crisis. Yet, she has the audacity to say “Will 108,000 dead Americans get your attention” on a fundraising email. How about the 1,125,209 Americans that died of COVID-19 while she was in a leadership position? It makes me angry when politicans are so hypocritical, especially when they didn’t take the greatest challenge of our century so far seriously. Because COVID-19 was the greatest challenge we have faced in this century. And our elected leaders did not take it seriously. Everyone deserves forgiveness for what happened back during the worst of it, but only if we take responsibility for our actions. This email from Herrell just goes to show hypocrisy and a wonton disregard for facts, and that she only cares about politics.

So now that the COVID-19 emergency is over, I want everyone to take care of themselves. I’ve heard that some people don’t like the mental health pieces published in the newspaper but honestly, we should all do a little more work to take care of our mental health. No one deserves to be overstressed or struggling with internal issues. Let’s focus on being healthy, mentally rested, and ready to take charge of the next year.

Look, I know there are issues across Grants, Milan, and greater Cibola County, but I think that the teams in place today are serious about their care and commitment to this community. The future can be very bright for Cibola if we all work towards making the community better. Think about school choice, a flourishing restaurant ecosystem, a healthy and competitive economy. Grants, Milan, and greater Cibola County are on their way to modernization, and a lot of work still needs to be done, but I think the future looks bright for Cibola.