To the Editor:
When the pandemic really started taking off in the spring of this year, I wrote, as if prescient, for this site about Village officials not doing enough if anything at all, particularly when it came to limiting skin contact for those participating on athletic fields or courts. Many days later, we saw them take action.
And while it was too little too late for the time, so, now, do we see history repeating itself, with town squares being reopened in light of a virus raging across the Sunshine State, as it is throughout the country, with nearly or over 1,000 Villagers infected across three counties.
But there is a “silver lining” having nothing whatsoever to do with state government or officials running The Villages. While not highlighted in Village publications, Village softballers have not been immune from being infected with the virus. That is the bad news. The good news is that through the leadership for each division of rec softball thinking independently of any government official, responsible steps have been undertaken in an attempt to curb the spread among its players, even canceling games and postponing season’s play for days.
True, there are hand sanitizers and socially distance measures inside dugouts at the fields, but vigilance remains the watchword. Hats off to these Village athlete-administrators in their attempt to protect their own, their fans and all the volunteers that make games possible.
We can no longer count on the likes of our governor who thinks along the lines of our outgoing president that believes the pandemic is a pipe dream, or the developer that would rather open up the town squares for all to gather – despite over 11 million infected and a quarter million dead from COVID-19, and where gatherings and without it being mandatory to use face coverings in public become the petri dish for the virus to spread, certainly among the seniors crowd. The Sunshine State has been no exception.
Again, a tip of the hat to the leadership of those playing softball for the steps they have taken, and will continue to take, if the spread of the virus worsens among those playing the sport.
Miles Zaremski
Village of Dunedin
