By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Photo by Carolyn Bahm Because of the COVID-19 precautions, wistful children have to wait for next year to experience the fun of an outdoors community Easter egg hunt.
As mid-April has finally arrived, it’s still the world vs. the virus.
I’m sure even non-sports fans would love to sea Lakers vs. Bucks in the NBA or Cubs vs. Cardinals in Major League Baseball right about now. The pandemic of COVID-19 has stolen lives, ripped away our innocence and damaged our economy.
When the calendar turned to April, the economic emergency was in full bloom during our health crisis. The first week of April figures released showed that the number of people in the United States filing for unemployment benefits surged to a record high for the second straight week.
Jobless claims rose to 6.65 million, an increase that doubled from the previous 3.3 million, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The latest figures mean that more Americans have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks than filed in the last six months.
From the U.S. to Spain to Italy, unemployment is a devastating side effect from the coronavirus. Many U.S. Americans are waiting on stimulus checks to help keep their heads above water.
Right now our major concerns are staying COVID-free and making sure we can pay our bills for this month. The normal spring thoughts have taken a back seat. Coronavirus has whipped out the usual April joys.
I’m about to rank those 10 things we’ve taken for granted that are April traditions. For 2020, we have to endure these April showers to get May flowers and stronger hope for the rest of the year.
Spring break trips
If classes are canceled, it only makes sense for spring break trips to get an axe this year. Since late March college students across the nation have had to stay home and waste those tickets to Florida, California and Mexico.
For thousands of students, spring break is a much anticipated fun in the sun and a rite of passage. Then when April rolls around, it’s time for families to take the first warm trip of the year heading to Europe or Asia.
Not happening this year. Back home in the States, the city of Miami Beach officially canceled spring break in March when it declared a state of emergency. Just like a wave heading to the shore in Panama City, a ripple effect of closures swept the coast and are still in effect.
NCAA National championship game
Since 1939 the NCAA Men’s Basketball championship game has been played in spring. Since the first champion of Oregon up to the 2019 winners, the Virginia Cavaliers, nothing has stopped the tournament from being played.
For 80 years we could count on the title game on Monday night either in late March or, in recent years, April. The first Monday in April is time for the National title game.
COVID-19 ended that on March 12. The 2020 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament was a planned single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball national champion for the 2019–20 season in Atlanta. Now that is just a footnote in this coronavirus book.
Outdoor festivals
Unstable weather is another Southern tradition this time of the year. But we still schedule and plan festivals hoping for sunny days.
Whether it’s music, food or cherry blossom related, we’re looking for a reason to go outside in a large group to have some fun.
Look at a world calendar, events have been canceled in European countries and lands in Asia because of COVID-19.
Boston Marathon
Speaking of a tradition that brings thousands together, the Boston Marathon was originally scheduled for April 20. The Patriot Day staple usually accompanies a Boston Red Sox baseball game. That won’t happen this year with the event being moved to Sept. 14 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Back in 2013, the Boston Marathon made worldwide news with the bombing. The 117th running of the race would be remembered by the finish line explosion taking three lives.
The 124th Boston Marathon will hopefully have a wonderful day and display the world’s triumph over COVID-19.
April Fool’s Day
I’m sure there were a few people wanting to do some coughing and sneezing jokes in public. But that might have resulted in a beat down or possible jail time.
COVID-19 is not a joking matter.
Actually it has killed our sense of humor as the death toll and the number infected increased daily.
Our government on all levels has been consistently warning us and giving us new policies. So about the time April 1 rolled around, we were just simply tired. As a nation we wanted signs of hope and a sincere reason to smile.
Full day at the park
Our city and state governments have been nice enough to allow us to walk and run in the park these past few days. But I’ve seen playgrounds roped off and rims taken down from the basketball courts locally.
There have been some ideal, beautiful spring days to enjoy. But social distancing has been the rule of the moment to keep us safe. In order to limit this disease’s range, we have to keep some range between us.
Cookouts, barbecues and romantic picnic have been deemed selfish by our local leaders. I have to agree with them. We need to sacrifice these in April in order to have safer fourth months of the year in the future.
I pray Memorial Day will be the return of a day at the park as usual.
Baseball season
opener
Play ball, was supposed to be yelled across our TV screens and nation on March 26. But the coronavirus pandemic cancelled those plans and the American pastime will try to get things rolling in May.
When the sports world was rocked by the pandemic, on March 12 Major League Baseball announced that the remainder of spring training games were cancelled and that the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks. It’s been pushed back further in hopes to help get COVID-19 under control.
I can’t wait until we can boo the Houston Astros for the cheaters they are, watch Mike Trout crush home runs and see a four-hour game end 3-2.
Earth Day
Normally Earth Day is a chance for the world to come together to focus on the well-being of the physical planet.
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.
This year most of those countries are concentrating on physical well-being. This pandemic has forced us to be friendlier to the Earth by staying home, doing less driving and us not wearing down our natural resources.
The Masters
The first major of the Professional Golf Association takes place in April every year in Augusta, Ga. The 84th edition of the Masters has been postponed because of the coronavirus.
The spring beauty that accompanies Augusta National Golf Club won’t be a part of our viewing pleasure.
I’ll just have to settle for the sweet memory of the last champion for the moment. Tiger Woods’ great return to the top at the 2019 event are those precious moments that help us escape realities like COVID-19.
Easter egg hunts
Our children are enduring a world right now totally different from what they’ve known. No school, no playgrounds and the adults in their lives are wearing masks.
As most adults take Easter as a time to remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the younger humans look forward to a large bunny rabbit carrying eggs. The Easter egg hunt dates back to the 1700s in Pennsylvania and has grown into a tradition for children to grow closer to the church, community and their peers.
A moment of innocence was taken away from our children in 2020 because of the coronavirus.
An Easter egg hunt is one of the childhood rites of passage that put an emphasis on socializing. That matures in athletic events, festivals and even spring break.
One day soon, we’ll be hunting for tickets again online like Easter eggs to go to South Beach.
THOMAS SELLERS JR. is the editor of The Millington Star and both the sports editor and a weekly personal columnist for West 10 Media/Magic Valley Publishing. Contact him by phone at (901) 433-9138, by fax to (901) 529-7687 and by email to [email protected].
