Once, my dad hooked our collapsible camper to the back of our 1980 Datsun hatchback. Needless to say, when we drove through that puddle the camper whipped our Datsun around like they were in a do-si-do. 

Seatbelt laws didn’t exist, so us kids were snuggled in sleeping bags in the aforementioned hatchback. The accident concussed my brother. The Datsun was totaled.  

We were out of state, so we spent three days crashing with my dad’s ex-fiancé’s brother while my parents sorted out my brother and the car.  

Honestly, so many jokes are running through my head I’d just like to put them in a list. But there’s a point to my story, and if I start listing jokes, I won’t have room for anything else.  

In the wake of our accident, my mom banished the camper. She also mandated we all wear seatbelts.  

This was a monumental shift in its day. Many cars didn’t even have seatbelts, just like most people don’t have a father with an ex-fiancé’s brother who lets him crash at his place with three preschoolers and a wife who isn’t his sister. 

Much like my mom’s seatbelt edict, many business owners are appraising the value of mandating coronavirus vaccines. For some employers, this, too, would be a monumental shift. How many job applications have asked you for a list of your vaccinations? 

Gene Marks of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggests business owners speak with their lawyers and insurance companies before requiring staff to get vaccinated. Liability may be involved, so you’ll want to know what’s covered. 

I’d love to hold my parents liable for buying that camper. And the Datsun.  

Determine who pays for the vaccine and if you’re willing to allow any exemptions. I was once exempt from wearing a seatbelt, but only because we were on an airplane and my mom couldn’t see me. 

It’s easy to look back on my 1980 Datsun and think of how careless we were to forego seatbelts. In 2060, will we feel the same about the coronavirus vaccine? It’s a difficult question, in a year of difficult questions. 

Another difficult question is why anyone would hook a collapsible camper to a 1980 Datsun hatchback. 

Marks’ article can be found here.