Giant June Flea Market in Ocean Grove. Pre-Covid. Blogfinger photo. ©
By Paul Goldfinger, MD Editor Blogfinger.net
The Hippocratic Oath. The opening line in my native Greek: ὄμνυμι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάσας, ἵστορας ποιεύμενος, ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶ συγγραφὴν τήνδε:
I took the Oath with 99 of my classmates at the George Washington University School of Medicine—in English. Among the promises was: “Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm.”
I guess entering your Ocean Grove houses to organize a Town Wide Yard Sale in the midst of a burgeoning pandemic in New Jersey will, in my mind, fall under the heading of making a medical decision for the community. I am still licensed as a physician so I believe I have a responsibility to do the right thing medically even though I am mostly a blogger these days. We doctors never stop being physicians. And we are trained to practice “evidence based medicine..” These days even politicians claim to “follow the science.”
So, late last year, I announced the 10th Annual Ocean Grove/Blogfinger Yard Sale, assuming that by May we could all get back to a semblance of life as usual with appropriate precautions. I was thinking of small curbside sales as a perfect way for our residents to enjoy a safe small event in town.
But, about a month ago it was evident that New Jersey was spiking, and it continues to do so being one of 5 states to currently be peaking in a worrisome way. So I had no choice but to reluctantly cancel.
Hippocrates would say, “First, do no harm.” I didn’t want to be responsible for an event that might pose a health risk.
Along with that decision I stated that all large events such as the giant Flea Market should be cancelled since the massive crowds prevent distancing and fully avoiding droplets in the air.
The Chamber of Commercials is, with blinders on, planning a Giant Spring Flea Market on June 5 in addition to other events where close contact cannot be avoided such as the Spring Fling Arts and Crafts Show on May 1. You can go to oceangrovenj.com for details.
And, we don’t know for sure, but the CMA will probably be going ahead with large events. And the tents are being prepared for occupants as we speak.
The Township has a responsibility to not grant permits for events that pose a risk to the public health.
Last season tent life was subdued, to say the least. Life in Tent Village can’t help but be close.
It seems that individuals in the Grove should be able to make decisions for themselves, but they need to think about whether their decisions may enhance the risk for others.
We have heard from some Grovers who wanted us to go ahead with the TWYC while others agreed with our decision.
So, getting back to yard sales in general and with a small focus, I do believe that individual sales could safely proceed. There is no specific research to tell us what to do. But we can use opinions, science, good judgement and common sense rolled into one.
Eileen and I will probably do one—-curbside. We are thinking of the Flea Market date June 5, but we are not sure.
If any of you want to plan a yard sale with a bunch of neighbors or on your own, just let us know and we will promote it on Blogfinger. Lately we have been averaging about 500 hits each day, so many locals will find out about your event. Send us your name, address, date, items for sale–email Blogfinger@verizon.net.
And let’s all of us take good care of each other. “Prevention” is the way to go.
BOBBY VEE: