My kindly and long-suffering editor (Ed: you forgot “good looking”) has an unenviable task. He must sift the wheat from the chaff in my biweekly offerings to see if I am actually making a point about Colorado politics, or if I’m off on some seemingly random path toward a haphazard word salad. Which reminds me, did you know that “biweekly” can mean twice weekly or once every two weeks? 

But I digress…

And as I type these words on New Year’s Eve, the last day on the wrong side of 2021, I am reminded of the ancient Babylonian festival of Akitu. This 12-day event took place about 4,000 years ago, when the Babs, as I call them, planted crops, made promises to return stuff they borrowed, and (seemingly appropriate for January of 2021) vowed to support the king, or to crown a new one. In other words, they made resolutions on what they would be doing in the coming year. 

Fast forward a millennium or two, and if you found yourself meandering through the streets of a colonial America town on the occasion of the new year, you might well run across groups of fellow tri-corner hat wearers out mumming. Mumming, which I can almost hear you Googling, was great fun, and was often followed by a nice time wassailing (again, Google is your friend). 

But I digress…

Anyway, I had some thoughts about using this column to offer a few resolutions for the coming year, but that’s already been done better than I would do, so I won’t promise to loose weight, eat more veggies, or to be more coherent in my columns (Ed: dang).

Instead, I’d like to draw your attention to a Colorado Politics story that may have missed your attention, especially if you were out for a good mumming with a bit of wassailing after. I have made no secret of my admiration for our state’s very impressive governor, whom I know a bit and to whom I have donated a bit. But I found the article noted above to be vexing when it argues that restaurant workers should have rated a higher mention on the COVID vaccine list. The article notes that such workers make up fully 10% of our state’s workforce and they are, as are so many, really hurting these days.

Now, I support the gov’s plan and I really do not think we should be letting restaurants open for indoor dining right now, especially as we await the inevitable, avoidable, and terrifying post-Christmas COVID spike. But lots of people, myself included, try to buy takeout and such from local dining facilities in hopes of helping to keep such businesses and their workers afloat in this crisis. 

I would hope that few, if any, rational people would object to prioritizing health care workers first in line for the vaccine. And getting that vital medicine into the arms of those at greatest risk of death also makes sense. But after the most obvious folks, the decision on who gets the scarce vaccine becomes far more subjective and challenging (and it is in the face of such challenges that true leaders step up, as opposed, say, to a president who spends his time golfing while Americans still await a national vaccination plan, but I digress…).

Back when I was teaching political science at the AF Academy, we had an ostensibly simple definition of “power.” In a society, power, we told the cadets, was the “authoritative allocation of values in a society.” Now, those words are fancy and a bit confusing, but they really do sum up what power really is in our culture. More plainly said, it means that the person or persons who have the authority to decide who gets what (like a vaccine), and when, are the people with the true power. And when it comes down to the COVID vaccine, Polis and the Colorado health people are the authoritative allocators.

Few would wish for such a power, and Polis is to be commended for at least coming up with a plan (unlike, well, you know who). Having such a plan in place at least gives us a starting point and – most importantly – starts getting vaccine into people’s arms.

And it is quite reasonable for good people to argue about his priorities, especially if you are a person deemed essential but not in line for a shot anytime soon. As noted, the medical people and those at greatest risk are the obvious first choice for medication, but who comes next? First responders, for sure, but what about grocery store workers, as we need food? Check. Air traffic controllers? Biweekly column writers (Ed: not so much).

Well, the CDC guidelines actually recommend restaurant workers be vaccinated ahead of those with chronic health concerns, so at least here, Colorado is not quite following the CDC’s recommendations. That may be smarter for Colorado or it may not be, and Polis is making a challenging decision on an issue where no decision is without problems. With the supply of vaccine limited, at least for now, any decision to inoculate one group means not inoculating someone else.

As a retired 62-year-old I am content to wait my turn, likely in the Spring. I don’t envy Gov. Polis and his team as they ration health care and reasonable people can disagree on the best way forward. I hope the new year finds us defeating this vile plague, with science leading the way. Until then, my thoughts will be with the restaurant workers, but also with the many, many other essential workers in our state.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go grab a big glass of wassail, it’s going to be a tough year ahead.