As we rapidly approach the start of a new school year, the term back-to-school anxiety takes on a whole new meaning. With the pandemic still in full swing, navigating the practicalities of returning to school has become an enormously complicated balancing act, and while we can all agree that the right way to proceed is the one that’s in our kids’ best interests, there’s understandably much debate over how those interests are best served.

With our newsfeeds filled to the brim with the pandemic and all of its related issues these days, I’ve picked a different topic for this week’s KellyGram, and that’s crazy driving! Usually, I spend about 75% of my time in Columbia and 25% in Myrtle Beach, but I have leaned more toward staying in Columbia during COVID-19. Every day, I leave my parking garage around 5:30 or so and get out onto Huger Street and into the left turn lane to Hampton Street (just past my old office). And every day, my car is nearly blown off the road by cars racing down Huger—it’s downright scary! I know that it’s only a matter of time before one of those cars veers into my lane, and it’s truly very nerve-wracking to sit and wait on my green arrow, praying today’s not the day.

My long-time friend and fellow practitioner, Bob Erwin of Greenwood, SC, was one of the founders of the mediation movement in the legal profession here in South Carolina. Being one of the pioneers, he was definitely the leading force in making mediation a commonplace practice in our state’s civil litigation system, which theretofore had been all about legal combat. Mediation is a very powerful tool for case resolution through negotiation, and as far as mediators are concerned, Bob is the best of the best.

In my 42+ years of being a lawyer here in Columbia, I’ve only lived in 2 houses—my starter home at 1801 Belmont Drive and, after 19 years, my current residence. I was a baby lawyer and excited about my future, and moving to Belmont Drive was the perfect way to start my career! The neighborhood had a small mix of young professionals and a whole bunch of mature Columbians who mentored me and guided me throughout my early adult years. At night we would just mingle around the neighborhood and visit.

I had many awesome neighbors, but I was particularly fond of Mr. David Ray Hubbard and his wife, Ann. David and I have maintained our friendship over the many years, and I had the privilege on Wednesday of attending a special ceremony at which the leadership brass of Fort Gordon honored and thanked David for his donation of 500 handcrafted wooden crosses to be distributed to service members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The officers praised David for inspiring hundreds of men and women and recounted his unbelievable story for the 30 people (who were socially distanced and appropriately masked!) under his carport. David was a young intern at the FBI when WWII started, and he quickly enlisted in the US Army, where he eventually found himself working the back-end of the Normandy D-Day Invasion. The commanding officers of Fort Gordon reminded the attendees that without the back office, the frontlines—or the “tip of the sword” as they called it—would never have been successful.

Saturday is the Fourth of July, and even though I’ve been blessed to live through quite a few Independence Day celebrations, this year’s will undoubtedly be a unique experience in light of the growing COVID-19 pandemic. However, in both good times and bad, I could not be prouder to have been raised in the good ol’ USA!

I know that I’ve written about this in several recent KellyGrams, but COVID-19 continues to occupy many of my thoughts, particularly in light of the growing number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths that are occurring across the country and especially here in South Carolina. As our state begins to operate more freely, we continue to be proactive in the precautionary measures we take at Mike Kelly Law Group to protect our firm and our clients from the risk of infection. Richland County, where our HQ is located, has been hard hit, and I applaud Mayor Benjamin and Columbia City Council for taking measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 by passing an ordinance on Tuesday that will substantially increase the use of protective face coverings in public.

Meanwhile, Myrtle Beach—another MKLG home base—has been labeled one of the state’s top “hot spots” for COVID-19 outbreaks. I travel there almost every week, and the visitors flocking to our beautiful beaches on the Grand Strand appear to have zero concern for the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic. Bars and restaurants are crowded, there’s little to no social distancing, and face masks are a rare sighting.

Events over the past several weeks have sent shockwaves through our nation. They have also sparked a long-overdue dialogue about the systemic racism that has plagued this country since its inception, which is very much alive today. America should represent the land of the free where all men are created equal. Systemic racism has been a glaring blight on the landscape of America perpetuated by the silence and inaction of the majority. For the future of our nation and generations to come, we must put an end to this injustice. The status quo will not change until we change. The time to change is now. The time to break the silence is now. The time to stand up and speak up for what is right is now.

Last Saturday, for the first time in nearly a decade, NASA astronauts launched into orbit from American soil. The mission made history as the first-ever manned space flight on a commercially owned and operated spacecraft—the SpaceX Dragon Crew. The Dragon Crew successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday and paved the way for SpaceX, a private company, to become certified to make regular crew flights to the station.

There is a special place in my heart for the 2020 graduating seniors across the country and especially here in South Carolina. This pandemic has altered one of the most fun and formative times of their lives—their senior year—as well as that joyous moment of walking across the stage at graduation. (Believe it or not, I can still remember my own high school graduation! LOL!) Their “new normal” is not what the Class of 2020 ever dreamed of or expected, but I hope that graduation day can still be as meaningful as possible for our seniors, whether it’s through a virtual or physically-distanced ceremony.