Back Off Ya Varmint! 'Face to Face' with COVID-19

       If you were assigned the task of creating a caricature of COVID (no laughing matter, this) what essential features would it include? Would it have wings from a bat from a wet market? What would the 'face of COVID' have to include? Our worse nightmare depictions probably come to mind (the face of the clown from Stephen King's "It" which was initially benign but becomes lethal?). And how would you incorporate those COVID cell projections, the illustrations we have been inundated with since early in the pandemic? You know, those cellular structures that from a distance resemble a toy a toddler would enjoy tossing around, but turn out to have a highly insidious nature, potentially lethal to those who unwittingly absorb them, leaving internal scars to many who survive.

       Now, if you were to choose a character/spokesperson (or hybrid) to represent the 'anti-COVID' position, who would it be? The obvious choice of my generation, of course, is Yosemite Sam, for one of his many signature quotes. A close second might be Popeye, given his initial precarious positions he finds himself in against the ever present antagonist, rallying to the cause after eating spinach (how many of you have started a backyard garden for the first time this spring?). Or maybe Tweety Bird, given the vigilance and attempts to 'distance' from Sylvester the Cat. In the nonanimated and sardonic category, one might nominate The Three Stooges of Keystone Cops to depict at least a portion of the various local and national approaches to ridding us of this 'viral varmint'

       Finally, to be fair, what thing, person, or group would you recruit to represent the 'pro-COVID' position? It would, of course, have to include a dimension of arrogance and/or denial of the reality of the virus ("It's a hoax!"). One nominee would have to include Wily the Coyote, who repeatedly anticipates with great confidence he finally has the Road Runner in his clutches, only to have his plan comically backfire (no laughing matter, this). The menu of choices for those readily willing to nominate themselves is unfortunately immense. One quick glance at the internet provides a panorama of people refusing to wear face masks and simultaneously refusing to physically distance (locally, June 26th 'Jobbie Nooner' or June 27th the line of patrons from an East Lansing bar, eventuating in an overnight viral spread). Does this sound eerily reminiscent of the scene from the South Korean nightclub, where an asymptomatic and unwitting(?) patron was responsible for the transmission of _____ cases of COVID?

        Here we go again, 'face to face' with COVID. Cast your vote.