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Isn’t everyone glad the primary is over?

No more having to see those candidate yard signs until a few months from now.

Joking aside, it takes guts to run for office. It takes courage to put yourself out there for public scrutiny and increased attention.

People question your criminal history and look into your family’s background. And sometimes they even ask your views on the problems facing the county or country.

I applaud those who ran and thank the incumbents for their service.

I once had an editor who thought reporters should not vote because their vote could impact the boards and councils they cover.

Whether there’s truth to it, that’s uncertain.

I am registered as unaffiliated. I have friends registered to both main parties, unaffiliated and possibly some of the smaller parties.

We definitely do not agree on every topic, but we usually can talk civilly.

One issue I hope everyone can talk sensibly about is the coronavirus.

Some people do not believe it is bigger than a flu, and that’s a nice way of trying to keep people from panicking.

But it is something we should be mindful of, especially if you like to stay away from germs as much as possible.

I admit I have turned into Howard Stern or Howie Mandel. I do feel I have a nice voice like Howard and my hairline is going to be more like Howie, yet the main thing we have in common is certainly not our bank accounts.

We all deeply hate germs.

We do not like shaking hands and try to avoid it as much as possible.

Why can’t we get into a greeting of bowing or use the yoga greeting?

I realize the origins of shaking hands came from showing that you were unarmed to your competitor, but is a handshake really worth all the germs that transmit from person to person?

If you do find germs offensive, you may want to locate hand sanitizer while you can. One report showed a bottle available on Amazon for $1. Just pay $500 shipping.

They must use lots of bubble wrap for that package.

Even the queen was spotted using gloves to protect her this week during one of her royal ceremonies.

So I guess if you don’t like to bow when greeting someone, you can always curtsy like the royals do.

B.J. Drye is editor of The Stanly News & Press. Call 704-982-2123, email bj.drye@stanlynewspress.com or follow bjdrye1 on Twitter.