A Challenge to Teens and Young Adults Everywhere

This my true story:

With the push from the Novato Unified School District here in Marin County, California, as well as many other school districts across the country, to physically send kids back to school amid the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, I decided to talk to my high schooler about the importance of wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing, etc. No surprise, that conversation was met with rolled eyes.

Discouraged, I set off to figure out what I could have done differently to get the message across. So, I open a nice Chardonnay (a Schug 2018, if you need to know), kick back and begin to jot down my thoughts…for me that works best going “old school” with paper and pen rather than laptop or tablet.

Over the course of several hours, that single sheet of paper filled with words, wisdom, redlines and revisions. All the while, I’m having my own flashback of high school and start humming hits from the early 1980s.

At some point, not sure when, my words transformed from narrative to lyrical which is ironic since I don’t play an instrument and, as my family will attest, can’t carry a tune. Still, I can see that my prose flows quite well when set to the tune of WRAP IT UP by The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Was Kim Wilson my hidden muse?

Now, my son (who plays a bit of guitar) and his friends are into 80s music…go figure, right? So, on a lark, I do a bit of digging and end up shooting off a note to the agent for The Fabulous Thunderbirds saying “hey, wouldn’t this make a great PSA?” He gets back to me a few days later saying, “I’m sharing this with the band”. That’s where my story ends or, just maybe, where it begins…

Who knows what’ll become of my lyrics? Will Kim Wilson decide to belt out the vocals for a PSA? Will Jimmie Vaughan feel the need to rejoin the band to lend some guitar riffs to this one-time public service effort? Don’t know. But what I do know is this…

New COVID-19 cases are rising at an alarming rate across the U.S. and schools are anything but prepared for re-entry come fall. As panic ensues among parents and teachers, I take solace knowing that my message is now out there for teens and young adults alike, who dare I say, are not the best with following CDC guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

So, I challenge those teens and young adults to read these words and take heed. I further challenge the musically-oriented ones, especially those in garage bands, to put these words to the music they deserve and make a PSA of their own. Just be sure to social distance when you do so.

STOP THE SPREAD (of COVID-19)
[set to the tune of WRAP IT UP by The Fabulous Thunderbirds]

I go out with my friends a lot, and party
Don’t wear no mask or wash my hands, not sorry
Social distance ain’t my thing, it’s stupid
But now my stomach’s feeling tight, and putrid

Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it

Well, chills and coughing followed soon, and sneezing
Learned my lesson I’m not immune, tough breathing
Worst of all I’ve exposed those I know, plus others
Friends and family, people in public, oh brother

Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it

Now I’m here to tell you it’s all up to us
COVID-19 is some serious stuff
CDC guidelines, they are in place
To keep, to keep us all, well informed and safe.

Let’s be smart and do our part to, reduce risk
Wear a mask, wash our hands and, social dis
If not for you then think about, the others
To flatten that curve we must help, one another

Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,
Stop the spread, let’s do it

Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it
Stop the spread, let’s do it