Hit the road, 2020! But remember, we’ve survived tough times before

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to send 2020 out the back door with the following comment: “Don’t let it hit you in the %#($& on the way out!” I think this has been one of the craziest years to date for me -- and I’ve had some crazy years, most of which I won’t talk about -- but come on, this is getting old!

Stay Safe

Steve Rose is a retired Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton County police officer and freelance writer. He is the author the book “Why Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle House?” and the column “View from a Cop.”

This column is supposed to focus on crime prevention but, well, nothing is normal now, so, for the sake of the integrity of the column, let’s review. Don’t click on e-mails from unknown sources. Don’t provide your personal information to any unsolicited source, and, if you have forgotten anything said in my earlier columns, then refer to the archives of Atlanta Senior Life or email me and I’ll gladly send them to you.

That said, what in the Wide, Wide, World of Sports is a goin’ on here?

I’m choosing masks as if they are part of my personal fashion selection. “I love what you’ve done with your hair—and mask!” And: “Who does your mask?”

Speaking of masks, wearing one under your nose does not help. Sure, it fogs your glasses up making it difficult to see. I understand. I mistakenly had a long political conversation with a mailbox the other day. Embarrassing? Yes, although the mailbox had some good points. The rule on the mask is: “Over the nose, under the chin,” okay?

Meanwhile, fanny packs are coming back in fashion so you will have a place to put those 10 bars of antiseptic soap you need to carry with you. “Soap for the Road,” I call it.

I have to admit that I am completely okay with avoiding people who are sick. Don’t we already do that? I took that one step further and upgraded it to, “Avoid those sick and those who you don’t particularly care for.

And I have a list.

Wash your hands! 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizers are recommended, with plenty available at the store. Disinfect spaces that you frequent. If there is anything good that comes from Covid-19, then it must be that we will address our personal hygiene a great deal more seriously than before, like burning your clothes after wearing them two or three times or maybe just realizing that simple steps can prevent the spread of germs and bacteria.

Covid-19 is only a part of the craziness of 2020. The political “atmosphere”—yeah, the Holy Grail of dysfunction right now, is off the rails.

Regardless of which candidate your vote is for, the debate was less of a reasoned

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JUST AHEAD: PEACE OF MIND.

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Also, please Lord, deliver us from the television ads! I never knew the candidates had so many skeletons in the closet, and I’m sure it is all true because I read it on the internet.

Social unrest, yep, it is a thing and a serious problem. Let me say this, no one hates bad cops more than the good ones. Still, they are few. I have 44 active years in law enforcement and as someone who has a seat at the table of those who, in my case, walked the walk, I will say this: facts are objective, they play no favorites.

So, what in the world do we do with all this craziness that is 2020 and how do we get back on the path to a reasonably normal life, or retirement in many of our cases?

Maybe it is up to us to set an example. After all, we made it through the sixties, and for me, fond memories—I think.

In the seventies, disco tried to ruin us by creating tight pants that no normal man should have to wear and Travolta set the dance bar so high that we were doomed from the beginning. Sure, I tried it but the result was not pretty. The large medallion almost killed me. I danced so badly that as a collective group, the club participants asked me to leave.

Still, we survived difficult times before. Maybe we should lend a little advice to those whose only life-experience is friending a celebrity on Twitter. I have always thought that when “things” go south -- and believe me, this is one of those “things” -- it will not last forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel— although a teeny-weeny one.

Find your normal, even if for a short time, something that takes your mind to a happy place. Music, or movies, (can we go to those yet?) And, when that 20-something “expert” tries to lecture you on the state of the world today, tell them, “This is nothing. I survived disco.”

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