Everyone is wondering what will happen in the next few months. Will things get back to normal? Will we still be in quarantine? Will there be a second wave of infection? Literally, nobody knows for sure, but I have my own opinion. I think there will be some breakthroughs in the next month or two on testing and treatment. I also think we will have a vaccine in the fall that will be ready for distribution by the end of the year. Testing is key. As soon as we have five-minute tests that are readily available, only the sick will be quarantined and life will resemble normalcy. I say “resemble” because I think it will take years to fully recover from the trauma we are all experiencing.
I am not a supporter of the current wave of protests taking place around the country. I understand people are suffering. We all want to go back to work. We all want to get back to our lives, but when we disrespect the current protocols, we put more than ourselves at risk: we risk the lives of others – and we risk extending the quarantine another year. If you have any questions about the true severity of the Coronavirus, ask a health care worker. Nearly sixty thousand Americans died of COVID-19 in April alone. That is more than died in the entire Vietnam War. Respect others and follow social distancing rules. America won’t die if we close the economy for three months. We will get past this soon.
The usual solutions will not solve the current housing affordability crisis. Any solution that does not begin and end with a sustainable plan to radically increase housing supply is just noise. The barriers to increasing housing supply are complex and require the crucial cooperation of both public and private sectors, and more education.
“Boomerang” was a different kind of film. It was a movie about friendship, loyalty, and romance set in NYC at a medium-sized Black-led company that sold beauty products. Boomerang had an all-black cast and a plot that had nothing to do with being Black. While that was unheard of at the time, Murphy was such a big star that it didn’t seem like a big deal.
Terms like “great, genius,” and “world-class” are overused, perhaps because they mean something different to everyone. Greatness is subjective. Some might say you must be great just to be employed in the film business or to play professional sports, but I don’t think Will Smith or LeBron James think that way. The concept of being great also requires context. You could be a great high school athlete but only an average college player.