There's No Need to Fear! - 17 December 2021 - Plague Journal Day 645

Micah 6:8
1 John 4:18-21
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Underdog Day! Yes, that classic(?) cartoon is the source of my title today.There's no need to fear - Underdog is here!

I think it's very cool that this day comes up at the time I was going to post about the good news we're getting on the COVID front these days. The omicron variety seems like it's asking us to just go ahead and declare victory. As is generally the case, this virus is mutating its way toward being more virulent and (much) less deadly. Remember - virulent means how easily it spreads, not how severe it is; don't let media hype of a more virulent strain freak you out.
Why does a virus tend to mutate this way? If it doesn't, it won't survive - that's the basic reason. If it doesn't spread quickly, it will die out. If it kills its host, it will die out. The ideal situation from the virus's perspective is to spread quickly and do less damage. That's what they tend to do because if they don't they won't be around long.
It really is time to stop being deathly afraid of something that is getting less and less deadly, don't you think? As the saying goes, fear is the mind-killer. Even better, check the link to 1 John above!
By the way, as far as newsworthy strains, it sure seems like we skipped from Delta (#4) straight to Omicron (#15). Were the other ones really that extra-wimpy? (I know we skipped Nu and Xi for linguistic and political reasons - that still leaves eight other letters we never heard.)

On an even happier note, today is also National Maple Syrup Day, so I'm glad I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast with a little dose of maple syrup on it. Jack and Roma are glad too - they get to lick out the bowl!

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.