MORONEY
Social distancing wasn’t exactly a thing at Sturgis 2020...
TIME TO RALLY AROUND?
Words: Roger Moroney
S
he’s a tad tough in the US of A at this odd
time in history... now there’s an
understatement. This wicked virus thing
has made more than just a nuisance of itself. It’s
taken a world holiday and taken darkness with it.
We’ve been rattled of course, but not to the
extent of some lands far away. Where statistics
for catching it and succumbing to it are six and
seven figure jobs.
I have to admit at this point that I have not
spent too many hours of my now retirement
contemplating its evils and effects. I never
dwell on such things and I guess it would be
fair to describe me as a committed optimist...
optimistic that the day will come when the word
‘covid’ will not strike the news pages and screens.
These vile things have visited before of course.
Back in the early ‘50s a monstrous flu’ virus
descended and stuck around for a couple of
years before dissolving. And it took about 4
million lives around the globe. That’s what
generally happens I guess. They spread and
dilute and eventually run out of steam.
I take the stance that if I can still buy half a kilo
of blue cod and a six-pack of lager then all is
tolerable. And it doesn’t stop the sun shining.
I take the precautions of distancing and
washing well and follow whatever instructions
the bloke at the door of the supermarket
passes on. And I occasionally go -a-Googling
in search of a chirpy ‘80s song called ‘Things
Can Only Get Better.’
So yeah, in the US it’s not too flash... and a lot of
that can be put down to basic mismanagement.
And while I am what you’d describe as carefully
optimistic, a great water of Americans across a
great swather of states are more carelessly
optimistic. They shunned the rules.
While brings me to the Sturgis Rally. That
gathering of about a quarter of a million
motorcyclists in South Dakota every year.
Unlike many other planned, but abandoned
events, this thing went ahead. The hard-nosed
bikers didn’t care, and some even wore T-shirts
which effectively gave the finger to the whole
Covid 19 situation.
78 KIWI RIDER