Winners and Losers
I sat down at our usual spot since restaurants and pubs are open once again to serve indoors. Without much ado I handed Camp my arbitrary list of winners and losers during the reign of Covid-19. He glanced at it and took a long swig from his pint. ‘I don’t see personal freedom, mobility, social interaction, hugs and kisses on your losers list,’ he said.
‘Well, you just added them,’ I said. ‘And I invite anyone to amend or add to the list. I’m sure there are more on both sides of the ledger.’
‘And what’s going to happen to the vaccine providers like Moderna and AstraZeneca after we all had our 2nd shots? Are they going to close shop and go home?’ Camp asked. I knew it was a rhetorical question and he provided the answer: ‘They will recommend 3rd and 4th booster shots and then another one every year or so. Keep the ball rolling. But go and get the vaccine. It’s free, it’s safe and it’s not just for you but the people around you.’
‘And the world keeps turning. Cheers!’
WINNERS:
On-line streaming services:
Zoom
Netflix
Amazon-Prime
Disney
Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp
Banks and stock traders
City Group
PayPal
JP Morgan
Gaming, Nvidia (chip maker)
On-line casinos
Real Estate Brokers
Building Suppliers
Coast Books
Amazon
Walmart
Apple/Microsoft/Samsung
Garden Centres
Construction Companies
Pfeizer
Moderna
Johnson&Johnson
AstraZeneca
Liquor Stores
Breweries
LOSERS:
Chain Stores gone away and thousands of employees laid off
Pier 21
J.C. Penney
Neiman Lucas
J. Crew
Lord & Taylor
Brooks Brothers
Le Château
SwimCo
83 Microsoft Stores
200 Starbuck’s in Canada
13 Victoria Secret Stores in Canada
Army & Navy
Aldo (Footwear)
Carlton Cards & Papyrus (closing all stores incl. 73 Canadian locations)
Bose Audio Equipment (all 24 stores in Canada, 119 worldwide)
Ten Thousand Villages
The Children’s Place (over 200 stores)
Restaurants in Vancouver:
Milestones Cambie
The Pear Tree
Blossom Dim Sum
The Charles Bar
Glowbal on Georgia
Hapa Izakaya
100’s more and growing
Gold’s Gym along with 1 in 4 gyms and fitness centres closed for good
Hertz Car Rental
Greyhound (Canada)
Sonja’s Esthetics and Nail Salon and dozens of others
Ronson’s Shoes, Vancouver
Recreation Centres and Ice Rinks
Amateur Sports
Youth Centres
minor soccer and hockey
catering, janitorial and booking services for stadiums and arenas
Musicians, bands
actors, stage hands, technicians
theatres and play houses
hotels
tourist attractions
convention centres
arts and craft shops
galleries
1000’s of servers, cooks, chefs, bar tenders
The Vancouver Christmas Fair
Markets
Festivals
Coffee and Food Trucks
Airlines
Travel Agents and Agencies
Cruise Ships
fishing lodges and charters
Students
Proms and Graduation Ceremonies
Playgrounds
Tour Guides
Thousands of children – filmed, traded, sold and abused in the exponential growth of child porn sites (source: NZZ Sonntag’s Magazin, Switzerland)
(child porn is a misnomer since every sexual act with a minor is a crime)
Volunteers Driver’s Service at the Cancer Agency and all hospitals
Childcare providers: Over 1 in 4 nationwide still closed (CBC)
3’500’000 and counting, dead and mourned by their families and friends
Bruno's point of view 