COMMENTARY
a year with COVID
(Mike Allen)

We have had a year with COVID, huh?

I can hardly wrap my head around it, frankly, and if you were to ask me what I’ve been up to in the past 12 months, I don’t know what I would say. The answer would land somewhere between “nothing” and “trying to keep myself occupied as best I can.”

This winter has fallen particularly in the category of the former, and let me tell you, I have discovered new depths of boredom. I never knew I needed such a balance of human interaction and alone time prior to cold weather setting in.

I feel like there are a lot of people in this same boat. The disruptions to schools, offices, and the service industry that began in March 2020 are still ongoing to this day, and a year with COVID has touched all of us in some way. Truly, the effects of the past year will be far-reaching, and we likely won’t see a full recovery until well into 2022.

However, we are at a much different place in our knowledge of the virus now, so we possess something we didn’t a year ago: hope. Vaccines are here and rolling out quicker in Oklahoma than anyone thought. (Seriously, it’s been impressive.) We know how the virus spreads and how it doesn’t. And of course, we figured out a great use for all that toilet paper people panic-purchased in March of last year. Oh wait, we didn’t.

Past Sundaze comics

Demolishing OU housing towers should be a breeze
Happy tastes good: Oklahoma wants to be Texas?
Rolling blackouts: Storm saga so confusing
You’re on your own: It’s too cold for Cupid this year
COVID vaccine: Never doubt what nobody is sure about
Oklahoma Legislature: A mask for thee, but not for me
Quite the quandary: Q followers feel let down
Pop quiz: What is jeopardizing the state of Oklahoma?
Imagine the day-to-day life of the Q Shaman
The year that was: 2020 blew up the bathroom
All we want for Christmas is more COVID-19 vaccine
The coronavirus turns into a pumpkin at 11 p.m.
Day of fasting a brief end for endless breadsticks?
Farewell Steven Adams, OKC’s second Mr. Thunder
Thanksgiving 2020 should be all about perspective
Mixed messaging on masks still makes no sense
Power problems lead to weird rituals after 2020 storm
Halloween 2020 more of a trick than a treat?
No ICU beds: The spooky movie of the season
Students surely making most of extra screen time
Epic fail? Audit yields more questions on public money
Rough Saturday for Sooners fans
Budget blockbusters from the Cox Convention Center?
College football fun dampened by COVID-19 risks
It wasn’t Neese: An allegory for owning your audio
You’re doing fine in the red zone, Oklahoma
Snail mail: Slugging it out at the U.S. Postal Service
Norman elections always cause a flood of headlines
School 2020: Arts and crafts more like arts and masks
Ready for basketball from the Disney bubble
Kevin Stitt quarantine: Rest up, governor
PPP helps keep the proverbial pizza cooking
Imagine masks: Stitt starts fashion fad to emphasize eyebrows
Mike Gundy has shirt problems
Coronavirus spike: There’s still a pandemic out there

  • Mike Allen

    Mike Allen is a graphic designer, painter, printer and tailor. He has a fine art degree from the University of Oklahoma.

  • Mike Allen

    Mike Allen is a graphic designer, painter, printer and tailor. He has a fine art degree from the University of Oklahoma.