We aren’t listening.  Not even close.

If we want to get back to normalcy and get sports started again, we as a society have to pay attention to our government leaders and follow their directions on how to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

However, we aren’t doing that.

Let me give you two simple examples I experienced first-hand, just this last Saturday.

The golf course didn’t seem to care.

For the first time in months, the weather in North Carolina was finally spring.  80 degrees and sunny.  My brother and I decided to go play golf.  I have been spending a little time with him and his family off and on the last few weeks in a socially distanced acceptable manner so we figured we were safe.

He checked on the course website to make sure they were open and the course had guidelines for what they were doing to prevent the spread of the virus:

1.      One person per cart.

2.      All sand trap rakes removed

3.      No need to take the flag out

4.      No towels in the carts, no scorecards

5.      Employees using hand sanitizer regularly.

“Okay, sounds perfectly reasonable.  Let’s do it,” I thought.

I get to the course and:

• Employee walks up and says, “Let me take your bag for you.”  I notice he had just taken someone else’s bag and also pulled up in a golf cart that someone else had just been driving.  No hand sanitizer in sight.  “No thanks,” I say.  “I’ll load it myself.”  He seems put off.

• “Where is my individual cart?” I ask.  “We’re too busy.  You’ll have to share with your brother,” I’m told.  I’m sort of okay with that because I’ve already been hanging around with my brother during the week but now we’re a foot apart instead of six feet apart.  And, what about everyone else who is sharing a cart?

• I notice when I load my own bag on the cart that there are towels already on the cart that someone had put there from the club.  I have no idea who put them there and no idea if they’ve washed their hands.  Odds are no because they were so busy.  I pick up a stick and take the towels out without touching them.

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•  I go inside to pay.  “Where do you want me to stick my credit card so you don’t have to touch it?” I ask.  “Oh, don’t worry about it.  It’s no big deal,” says the 65+ year old person working the counter.  Thankfully, they had some hand sanitizer on the counter so I wipe down my card with it before handing it to her and then tell her to put it back on the counter after she’s done with it and I hand sanitize it again.  She hands me a pen to sign the receipt.  I have to ask for a tissue to pick up the pen and then throw it away as soon as I put the pen down.

• This all takes place before we even set foot on the course.  As we head to the first tee, the 70+ year old starter stops us and touches the cart in 4 or 5 different places to make sure he has the number, it’s charged etc.  Thankfully, I had already disinfectant wiped down the handles, the steering wheel, the strap and anywhere I or someone else might have touched.

• As we play, I see other groups fist-bumping, high fiving and taking out the flag on putts.  Silly.  Or, stupid!

We can still be outdoors and enjoy the beautiful weather but for goodness sake, pay attention to stop the spread.

Dog lovers don’t seem to care either.

Done with golf, I head home and take the pooch to the dog park.  When I arrive, I realize there is a latched gate and a chain link fence we have to go through to get in.

I pick up a stick to unlatch the gate and then use the stick to open the gate.  A lady behind me impatiently says, “Come on, it’s no big deal.  Hurry up.”

We get inside the dog park and like any pooch, Nina poops a few minutes in.  I pick it up and look for the garbage.  The garbage can still had a metal top on it.  Hmm, time to find another stick.

However, in a span of 3-4 minutes, I witness three other people walk over to the metal can and barehanded take the top off and drop in their dog’s poop.  I find another can in the dog park that didn’t have a top and throw away Nina’s doings in that one so I don’t have to touch the can or a top.

On our way out of the dog park, I’m looking for another stick to unlatch the gate and open it.  While I’m doing that, two other people use their hands and open and shut it.  I find a stick and use it to open the gate.  Once I’m through, I shut it and as I’m hooking Nina’s leash back up, three more people use their hands to open and shut the gate.

What does it all mean?

You can accuse me of being paranoid.  You can accuse me of being too cautious.  However, I want our economy, our society and most importantly to me and my personal success, I want sports to restart again.

If we don’t listen to the smart people battling this problem, we’re in for a long nightmare.  I urge you for the sake of our economy, your team and your jobs. 

PAY ATTENTION.  DON’T BE STUPID.  LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS.  LET’S MAKE THIS GO AWAY AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES THE CDC HAS ESTABLISHED.  DO YOUR PART.