BEING ABLE TO ADAPT- 01.05.2022
January 5, 2022
Good Wednesday evening. I'm author Richard V. Rupp, writing from Burbank, California. Welcome to RUPP'S NOTES/FBI SPECIAL AGENT HARTMANN SERIES posts.
Yes, I'm back. Hopefully, your New Year's Eve was a better one than mine. I was all dressed up in my tux with black studs and cumberbund, ready to enjoy a New Years Casino night at the Urban Press Winery, which is walking distance from my Burbank pad. But, shortly after arriving, I was advised that the owner would not be the life of the party this year as he had contracted the C-virus. The evening turned out to be bizarre, sad, and disturbing. Some of the staff were crying, and the few of us that remained for a while hoped this experience was not an indicator of what 2022 will be like.
The Urban Press owner was just one of a reported 1,082,549 new COVID cases reported in the United States Monday. There were also over 1,000 Los Angeles City firefighters and police officers out because of the virus. Today's LA TIMES indicates that "Hospital workers and other healthcare employees have been getting infected with the coronavirus in rising numbers as cases skyrocket in Los Angeles County, compounding staff shortages at medical centers. LA County has halted jury trials. And, Chicago Public Schools have canceled classes after the Chicago Teachers Union voted not to show up for in-person work.
Then I read about - 'flurona," which is a co-infection of the Omicron variant and the flu. This combo can turn the Omicron variant deadly.
Enough of the bad stuff. I have my fingers crossed that the indication that the omicron variant's infection will peak soon is true. South Africa, where omicron originated and surged in late November, saw a peak and a rapid decline in infections after three weeks. It has been almost three weeks since the omicron surge began in the US.
When I was a researcher in the insurance industry, I was basically in the business of figuring out how the industry needed to adapt to change. Since my retirement twelve years ago, the world has totally changed. Concepts such as today's domestic and international tribalism, metaverse, biometric data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain were not even in my mind. The last thing I was concerned about was the impact of autonomous vehicles on the industry.
There is no question that all of our lifestyles will change because of what's happening in the world today, just as they did to those before us. Things are not going back to the way they were. We will all just have to adapt to it.
What the media companies are currently producing here in Burbank says something about this. Just about everything being shot at the moment is based on comic book characters and superheroes. Or cooking. Really Chef Ramsay a culinary gauntlet? Man, that's quite a set you have had constructed for 'Next Level Chef.'
I suspect audiences at the moment don't want to think about what's happening in the real world. Now that I think about it, I don't want to think about the real world either. But, instead of going to the movies or, more likely, watching what streaming services are offering, my mind is going toward my novel writing.
I watched the LA Rams and LA Chargers play during a break in my writing. During the games, I exchanged text messages with my sons. Both teams won, and my son Matt pointed out that Super Bowl LVI to be played at the new $5 billion SoFi Stadium here in the LA area could be between the RAMS and the CHARGERS.
As we start the new year, I set new goals like many others. The first one is to complete my novel SKYWARD. I'm cutting back from sending three newsletters out a week to just one on Wednesday to accomplish this goal.
I can only hope yesterday's Horoscope for me is correct – It reads – "Accept what happens and build on it. Out of the graceful handling of mistakes will come your masterpiece."
I hope and pray that 2022 will be a better year for everyone!
Cheers,
Richard V. Rupp, Author
Website – www.richardvrupp.com
Email – rupprisk@gmail.com
Copyright©2021 by Richard V. Rupp