"In like a lion, out like a lamb,,,"

Today is March 1st!  If you are like me, you were probably thrown off a little by the fact that yesterday was February 29th (it just felt like it should have been March 1).  The year 2020 was a "Leap Year" when we have to adjust the calendar to make sure that everything stays consistent with the rotation of the Earth around the sun and all (it takes 365 and 1/4 days!).  Well, as the saying goes (by the way, I have no idea where the saying comes from and neither does the Internet), the month of March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.


When you think about the saying, it makes sense.  We are finishing up winter (Spring doesn't officially begin until later in the month), so the weather can still be cold and snowy, at least if you live in that kind of climate (which, I do).  By the time March 31st rolls around, Spring is here and the weather generally is much milder, like a lamb. 


March came in like a lion in more ways than one.  We are dealing with a worldwide coronavirus outbreak (it's not officially a pandemic yet, but it's basically a pandemic).  Stock markets worldwide are in turmoil, largely as a result of fears about the coronavirus epidemic.  Worldwide supply chains have been disrupted.  Hospitals have drug and equipment shortages to deal with as they prepare for increasing numbers of individuals infected with the coronavirus (the infection is officially called COVID-19).  Fear and anxiety is getting worse every day, especially following the announcement that a second individual in the U.S. has died of COVID-19.  Travel restrictions are in place.  There is talk about canceling the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 


The U.S. Presidential election cycle is off to its usual craziness.  There are still more Democratic candidates than there are fingers on my left hand (or my right hand too, I guess).  People are talking about the current frontrunner, Senator Bernie Sanders, in a similar way to how people talked about then candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries ("Anyone but Trump!").


Will March go out like a lamb?  Well, that remains to be seen, but I can tell you how to increase the chances that the end of March will be like a lamb, and not like a lion.  One word.  Leadership.  Now is the time for our nation's leaders - really, our world leaders - to do what they can to "Tame the Chaos".  Now is the time for our leaders to step forward and "be like Musgrave and not like Dalgarno.  Now is the time for leadership.  Whether we get it or not, remains to be seen.  But if we don't, you can almost be 100% sure March will still be roaring like a lion. 


I can't finish without one final literary reference, as I think it will certainly apply to our present situation if our leaders don't step forward.  "Beware the Ides of March..."