Celebrating a special day in special times

We are living in strange, unprecedented times.

It has been a strange week, to say the least.

Typically, there is Spring Break for college students, often coinciding with or leading school-age children and teens having the week off as the Lenten season draws near its end.

Excitement is in the air as Easter approaches.

Regardless of one’s background, it is always a good week as the young have vacation from the rigors of the classroom while adults prepare to spend time with loved ones and extended family, often cooking up delicacies reserved for special occasions.

It is a solemn time as Good Friday arrives and there is deep reflection of what took place over 2,000 years ago for those of Christian faith.

That thought leads to prayer and the realization of the brutal nature of what took place, the suffering and ultimate brutal death of one who was reviled by many at the time and ultimately was revered by many, many more.

Today, we find ourselves in the midst of pondering an enormous challenge.

Already, I know four people personally who have lost their lives due to the latest malaise to plague mankind in the last 2,000 plus years, which we know as the coronavirus.

There are several others of my casual or close acquaintance who have contracted the virus as well.

There is my niece, along with three other female friends who are on the front lines working in hospitals daily with the afflicted.

There is my good friend and surgeon, Dr. Stephen Choate, who has gone from being perhaps the best orthopedic surgeon to willingly submitting to turning to medicine, working in the Intensive Care Unit at Ochsner Hospital with those most seriously affected, witnessing pain, suffering, even death.

May our most sincere, most fervent prayer be for those who serve and for those who are afflicted.

It is almost surreal to walk the neighborhood daily and to see so many people walking, riding bicycles, sitting on their front porches, children playing in the street or in front yards or backyards.

For those of us old enough to remember, it is eerily reminiscent of the 1960’s, even the 1970’s.

Then, there was only network television (no cable, no Netflix). There was no such thing as the Internet, no e-mail, no social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or others. There were no websites like CrescentCitySports.com. Google was a foreign term. We were still about dictionaries in the bookcases of our homes, libraries and offices.

Heck, there were no cell phones and beepers were only the figment of one’s imagination.

Life was simpler.

In a way, it was better as it resulted in people getting to get to know each other by interacting more.

We find ourselves saying hello to everyone we encounter now, including those we would have previously ignored by simply walking on by, if we are honest with ourselves. There is a sense of needing to reach out, seeking to belong, finding purpose in meaning in what we are all experiencing.

Along with the loss of life, there has been the loss of jobs. It has been difficult, painful to watch.

Much of it is unavoidable with the tremendous hit businesses, big and small, have absorbed and suffered through.

We are all hopeful, prayerful that we will see this condition of avoiding others at all cost end sooner, rather than later. It runs contrary to the natural, daily expression of human emotion.

It has been unusual and difficult for those of us in the world of sports, with far fewer stories to tell and games to watch and enjoy. Whether you love or loathe athletics, the existence of sports provides genuine entertainment in daily lives, an escape from the often challenging issues we are faced with regularly.

May the Lord truly bless our senior students and our student-athletes, who have been deprived of finishing seasons and school years. May graduations take place and may the memories be as enjoyable and lasting as those we were fortunate to experience.

We salute and celebrate our friends celebrating Passover through this coming Wednesday.

We encourage all children to enjoy the thrill of waking up and locating their Easter baskets to enjoy various candy treats.

We thank our vast community giving, feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, providing shelter for the homeless.

For those of us who celebrate the resurrection of the Savior, let us take comfort in knowing that regardless of the darkness of disease, illness, fading health and the prospect of death, there is hope in the knowledge of a longer, deeper, more meaningful purpose and existence.

In that vein, today is a home run, a touchdown, a 3-pointer, a hat trick for so many of us. It is a day of true hope and celebration.

Out of the darkness of Good Friday came a great Sunday.

That was the love of one who was willing to give it all for everyone.

Out of the darkness of COVID-19 ravaging the world we live in will come a great recovery.

That is our hope we must have.

That is the faith we must hold on firmly to.

Remain resolved to emerge victorious on the other side of this. Remain steadfast in your determination to overcome this adversity. Live your life with faith, not fear.

Let us all celebrate a special day in the unusual, special times we are immersed in.

Happy Easter and blessed Passover, one and all.