“As Daddy showed me wrong from right
He said this hurts me more than it does you
There’s just some things son, that you just don’t do
Is anything I’m sayin’ getting through?”
“Lessons Learned” — Tracy Lawrence

Lawrence co-wrote this song and released it in November 1999 as the title track to his album released in 2000.

It was the only song of Lawrence’s that ever charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 40 on that chart while hitting No. 3 on the Billboard country charts.

The song speaks of learning from life experiences, but also references lessons passed down from those we respect.

I was able to bear witness to the effect of lesson-focused leadership this past week while covering baseball in the community.

After a disappointing called strike three that he felt was below his knees (I may or may not have picture evidence to support his claim), a member of one of the Huron teams stormed into the dugout, removed his helmet with frustration and uttered a comment that included choice words for the umpire.

The Huron coach in the dugout quickly responded, “Hey (insert player name here), I don’t want to hear that again! Understand?”

Sheepishly, the young man nodded and that was that.

Both teams were frustrated with what they felt was inconsistent umpiring in the game, and this boiled out when the coach of the other team returned to the dugout after a call, speaking loudly against the umpire. He continued to berate the umpire from the dugout until the umpire paused the game to give the coach a verbal warning.

However, the example had been set.

Throughout the rest of the game, players from the opposing team were vocal from the dugout about what they perceived to be incorrect calls by the umpire.

Meanwhile, when going near the Huron dugout, the rumble was subdued and discussed among players and coaches, not in a way to “show up” the umpire, despite what I, as an outside observer, felt was pretty balanced reason for frustration on both sides of the field.

Mind you, I’d not rip the umpire either. He is out there on a hot day, wearing layers of padding to protect himself underneath warm clothing.

I’m more than happy and very grateful that there are people who willingly subject themselves to the abuse of officiating!

The difference in the response of the two coaches won’t simply last that one night, however.

The players on one side of that field learned that a gripe about the umpire should not be aired loudly from their coach, while the other side was led into public berating by their coach and never reined in once they began to carry on after he was warned.

The results of the game 30 years from now? No one will remember.

Treating someone with respect, even if you disagree with their words or actions? That’s a lesson that one dugout’s worth of players will still (hopefully) be using as middle-aged adults.

The recent news from the World Health Organization (WHO) that COVID-19 is no longer deemed a global public health emergency led many to point and say, “See?! I told you it was really nothing all along!”

Those sentiments were fueled by responses from leaders who berated Dr. Anthony Fauci, who President Donald Trump was more than willing to put into the firing line for governmental decisions during the pandemic. Many blame Fauci for executing what the WHO or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had decided at an organizational level.

Was Dr. Fauci choosing suggested actions based on his own personal opinion? Certainly not, and he’s expressed that multiple times in interviews since leaving his position with the CDC.

In the midst of a public health emergency for a developing virus, he was attempting to make the best choice he could in that moment.

Would the umpire of that game perhaps have made different calls with the assistance of an automatic ball/strike mechanism at the ballpark? Likely so, but he was making decisions based on the best possible information that he had at his disposal.

That’s really all we can ask.

Hindsight is absolutely 20/20, and we’re still learning more about COVID-19 and its long-lasting health effects, nevermind digging out of the financial mess that the virus created across the world.

With the recent news, I felt it timely to look back on what had happened across the state in COVID numbers since the last report.

The last time we reported COVID-19 numbers was in February of this year, when the state’s Department of Health drastically changed its reporting structure and website so to no longer be a trustworthy source.

Based on numbers that the New York Times sources from the CDC, the state of South Dakota, from February 1 to June 1, added 13,180 new positive cases and 73 new deaths. By percentage, that is an increase of 42% in cases and an increase of 2% in deaths across the state in four months.

For reference, the total number of cases recorded in the state is now 280,525 and the total COVID-related fatalities is 3,222.

Beadle County saw its pandemic totals rise to 5,613 cases and 65 deaths. That was after an increase of 6% in cases and 2% in deaths over four months.

Throughout the pandemic, many lessons were learned. Many others were not.

The true need of having employees in the office for eight hours a day, five days a week was put to test and has changed the work schedule for many in the country. The importance of self-care became highlighted as the virus attacked those with particular co-morbidities, which were often related to dietary choices and/or age.

Many picked up a new hobby or began a new career entirely. Cooking at home and spending more time with loved ones was emphasized.

Some of those things are now altered forever…others we hope remain changed in a positive direction.

On the flip side, standing on the side and blaming the one who has to be the mouthpiece for a tough decision that certainly is going to impact many — that hasn’t gone out of style in the public sphere.

Heck, just look at the discourse around the drug-out debt ceiling negotiations…no one apparently was wrong ... except the guy on the other side of the table from your particular point of view.

Rather than standing on the sidelines and blaming others for the missteps or changes that happened during the pandemic, we can do some self-reflection, remembering the ways we were able to stay healthy through COVID, and make changes based on that.

Obviously, based on the numbers presented above, even though it’s been downgraded, COVID isn’t gone and neither are the effects of the pandemic.

Umpires and referees take classes, practice their craft, but they still miss a call now and again.

We can publicly call out those who made mistakes along the way or live our lives in such a way that a pandemic or a missed call doesn’t completely derail who we are.

That is a lesson we can definitely utilize moving forward…