2020, Too?

With apologies to Whitesnake, here I go again. The first issue of the first volume of the second half of the first century for Applied Radiology. I should be energized and enthusiastic, brimming with ideas for articles and columns and new features and new board members. But nearly two years of this global pandemic have taken their toll.

Now we are surging again. What is this, the fifth? It feels almost worse this time. Our family, probably like so many of yours, was waiting with bated breath for when our kids could finally be vaccinated and life could resume again. It feels especially cruel to be facing another surge as we head into winter here in the United States. I hope that by the time this reaches your mailbox — digital or otherwise — we are not suffering the aftermath of holiday gatherings.

Enough doom and gloom.

For me, RSNA 2021 was a glimmer of the old normal and a much-needed breath of fresh air. As I walked from my hotel into the adjacent McCormick Place, I am not ashamed to admit that I welled up a little. I felt like my old self again, for the first time in far too long. After being grounded since February 2020, getting back to a meeting in person was joyful, especially seeing old friends and colleagues, even if they were much more difficult to recognize behind their masks. Either I need new glasses or the font on those name tags needs to be a lot bigger when everyone is masked. Probably both are true.

In Chicago, we celebrated our 50th anniversary with an amazing party, organized by our publisher, Kieran Anderson. If you were not able to attend, or did not get to stop by the booth, I encourage you to watch the video Kieran put together to commemorate this milestone. You may view it here and well worth your time.

Our editorial board got to meet in person at RSNA. Seeing so many engaged, passionate members of our board was inspiring. You will see the fruits of our robust discussions in our print and online content, in our webinars, and in our social media postings. The different perspectives that each person brought to that table will help carry us through our next 50 years.

But our immediate focus is on 2022 and bringing you six terrific issues. As we transition to a new editorial management system and software that can meet our needs for on-demand publishing, we are looking forward to lifting our moratorium on radiological case submissions and adding more expert reviewers to our ranks, hopefully in the first half of the year. I find myself reluctant to affix a firm date to most anything anymore. As with so many other things, to paraphrase the old Yiddish, we make plans and COVID laughs.

Laugh all you want, COVID. We were here long before you and we will be here long after you. We are radiologists, technologists, administrators, nurses, assistants, and students. We are strong, we are resilient, and we are vaccinated.

You may tough, but we are tougher.