While I generally avoid dragging my family into this space, occasional milestones make their way in, and such is the case this week. If you run into my wife, please congratulate her on putting up with a nomad newspaper man for 40 years. We will likely forego the usual modest celebration until such time as that is more doable.

Yes, we likely have been more cautious than some, ordering groceries strictly online and having only the occasional take out meal. My Kiwanis brothers and sisters probably think I have abandoned them.

But we are in a position where we just really can’t afford for anyone to be ill, so we reduce the chances as much as possible.

We have managed to remain open for business and put out a weekly newspaper during this crisis for almost six months in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

Covering public meetings via Zoom and other online platforms is less than ideal, and I’m sure we’ve missed a few things (whispered comments, for example). But we have continued to follow local governments to keep you informed.

We finally have high school sports to cover again after a hiatus that has been a real grind for all. Here’s hoping that will last.

I will be interested to see most especially how Friday football plays out. That and whether schools can continue to operate with some degree of normalcy.

We have followed the medical statistics as one of the best and really one of the only ways to try to put this unprecedented situation into some perspective.

As Mark Twain is famously quoted, there are lies, damned lies and statistics, and that is surely the case with COVID-19 numbers. We just don’t know enough about what goes into the numbers to truly understand what they are telling us. What qualifies, what is the lag time, who’s checking all this, etc.

I sympathize with the medical professionals trying to make sense of it all and then share details with us that we can understand.

It has spawned a rumor mill of gigantic proportion.

But there is enough information there to draw some pretty safe conclusions.

Here are a few that I have drawn.

This disease is all over the charts. Some people have few or non-existent symptoms while others die. And for Wood County, that largely means our most vulnerable, those who live in nursing homes.

There are definite steps individuals can take to slow the spread, and I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would do any less. Nobody is asking you to do anything but show compassion for your fellow man. That’s it. Period. No freedoms infringed, no government overreach, just common sense.

And for those keeping score, my battle with our internet and phone provider has now extended to over a month, without the service I thought I would be getting. And the book has a couple more chapters.