Friends for Life (An Essay)
This departs from my usual blog posts about my books, or the thrilling life of an author with cats. This is one of two personal essays related to current events that are profoundly affecting our world. In the other, I talk about racism and the need to be allies for life. This essay talks about community. The prospect of dying from an infectious, incurable disease has raised the stress level across the planet. It's exposed weaknesses in all our various governments and healthcare systems, and in the way we treat each other. Now, more than ever, we need to be friends for life.
No Country Is Perfect
Nothing like a global pandemic to expose the inadequacies in our leaders, our governments, and our healthcare systems. I recently read an interview with former government foreign affairs specialist Dr. Fiona Hill. In her opinion, populist leaders—those elected primarily on the power of their public persona—are the least well-equipped to meet challenges to government process and procedure.
Here in the U.S., we had a close call about 17 years ago with a SARS epidemic. Nasty infectious disease, but not easily transmitted. Our government took effective action and contained the outbreak. National healthcare specialists wisely recognized their success owed a large debt to luck, and set about improving their response capability. Leaders funded studies, staff positions, and programs to give us a fighting chance against the next global epidemic.
However, in our imperfect system of government, all it takes is one president who is bored by history and doesn't believe in science to sweep away a decade's worth of preparedness. And in this particular case, a president who is actively irritated by the successes of his predecessors because they make him look bad. Not to mention, a president who lies about everything.
The entirely predictable result? The largest outbreak in the world, and we're just getting started.
Friends for Life vs. a Global Pandemic
Our best hope is to treat each other like friends we care about. Stay home if you can, wear masks and wash hands when you can't, and avoid large gatherings where the virus can more easily spread to new victims. Being friends for life saves lives.
By the way, if you think being “forced” to wear a mask encroaches on your freedom, please feel free to take your freedom to another store, or buy online, or grow your own. The Coronavirus doesn't care about you one whit; all it wants is another warm body to infect.
I suspect it might be news to you, but other people who choose to wear masks and stand 6 feet or 2 meters away are not doing it to make you feel guilty or look bad. They're doing it to keep you safe from them.
They are treating you like you're a friend they care about, even when you callously choose not to do the same.
Thank you so much for your amazing mind full of stories and your beautiful words and thoughts. I’m writing you a short note because I’m scared For the last 3 1/2 months I’ve been essential services not like a hero or brave because I work in escrow ( financial services 🙄) I sent my staff home in March to remote in and volunteered to be the person to come in to the office . It was supposed to be for 2 weeks but that didn’t work out 🤣😂🤣😂 so now after more than 90 days of doing everyone’s wires and docs one person in our building even though they were sick 😷 came in. He was sure it wasn’t a big deal……. I mean the lock down was just BS from the snowflakes according to him ….just overly dramatic people reacting hysterically. Unfortunately he tested positive for
COVID 19 And he exposed the 10 people in his office as well as 4 in mine ,5 people have already comeback positive . As one of the last notified I was only tested last Thursday but I won’t get my results until Tuesday at the earliest. I haven’t told my family what’s happening my mom would loose her mind, so I’m just waiting and worrying by myself ,the ice age series kept my mind occupied Saturday and Sunday . So I wanted to thank you and then I read your essays and I sat in bed and cried in a good way and a bad way but more good than bad. Anyways I appreciate your efforts and wanted you to know that took 2 days of worry from me and I am so thankful for that. Hope you stay safe And keep up the amazing stories
Dear Kasey,
I admire the hell out of you for caring for your staff and shouldering such a heavy workload. It’s very tough when you have to be the strong one to keep others from going off the deep end, because it would be nice to take a break from that role every once in awhile. So, virtual hugs to you from me, and I’m glad my books can give you stories to enjoy besides your own.
Please take care of yourself whether the test is positive or negative. We need people like you in our world to make up for the assholes. Speaking of which, tell me a bit more about the one in your building so that I may give him richly deserved justice in an upcoming story. So much more satisfying than killing off random assholes. 🙂
My test came back positive 😢😢😢well at least I get to work from home With my 19 yr old mini beagle 🐶 my rockstar assistant remains to defend the keep alone . As an writer you will appreciate the fact that my office is well all female and errrr sensitive in that we absolutely cry at Commercials and you tube videos that tug at the heartstrings. The other office is Lender’s and mostly male and errr conservative to boot and ALL of the pep in my office was paid for from my own pocket as the owner said he wouldn’t and my gals have been scared ( I’ve got elderly , diabetic, hypertensive immunodeficient warriors that are mothers and part time mothers and Grandmothers that care for their families like Warriors) our patient zero is the brother-in-law of the owner And super entitled he and the rest of the loan officers have chuckled at the crazy gals in escrow remoting in and their hysterical manager that demanded that it be allowed. Life is unfair ( I’m the only one in escrow who got it ) but karma is a beast ( of the 10 loan officers on the
other side 7 of them have been positive) and while they tend to forget I was hired because my specialty is litigation my entire family is lawyers or judges say it with me ……..worker’s compensation 😂🤣😂😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Thank you again for your kind wishes and words I’m moving on to the next series That you have because it looks like I’ll have a bit of time on my hands while in
quarantine
Oh my dear, please take extra care of yourself and elderly mini-beagle. And though your assistant doesn’t know me from Eve, please give her my regards and tell her I’m pulling for her. All the escrow officers I’ve ever met are fabulous, meticulous people who want to do things right. 💛 💚 💙
Meanwhile, you’ve given me plenty of inspiration for a whole rotten crew that might need to die a spectacular death. 💀 ☠ 💣
I wanted to thank you again for your wishes and let you know I made it out to the other side🥳 68 days of 103+ fever and I lost half my hair but I made it. I hope you and yours have stayed safe and healthy can’t wait for your next read. You have a amazing talent
Awww 😊 we are precise thanks again for your good wishes . Also whew guuurl you have talent in spades the Space Opera stories were as good as the shifters your talent is breathtaking. Thanks again for the much needed reality break I added you to my list to check for new releases on 😂