I was born in the last century, 1993, and was blessed with twins in 2018.

If my children have kids when they are twenty-five, in 2043, my message to those babies will be a warning for their grandchildren. They will be born around 2093 and they will be in a similar position I currently am in during the next global pandemic.

History repeats itself, I’ll say. In 1720, it was the bubonic plague. Between 1817 and 1824, cholera ravaged the world. At the end of the Great War, 1918, influenza took its toll. Yet even with these precedents, my generation was still side swiped by the disease which came out of China.

To my great-great-grandchildren, I will pass on the lessons I have learned: that in the second decade of each century, a new malady strikes out at humankind and puts us in our place. Mother Nature will always strive to cull the herd and, all too often, the stupidity of people will aid her.

I will implore them to learn humility and empathy, to be weary of the coming threat and to keep their loved ones safe. I will advise they study biology or pathology to ensure they are best placed to understand the new infection.

But above all else I will stress these three words:

‘Buy toilet paper.’

What to tell my grandchildren? Maybe that would more accurately be my great grandchildren who are 6, and 7 this year. And one grandchild who is going to be 5.

When they are faced with getting their yearly COVID shot along with the annual Flu vaccine, they may ask questions as to how that came to be. I’ll have to tell them the story, and point out all the mistakes and misinformation leading to where we ended up.

There are lessons to be learned about social media, news sources, and political pandering for votes, which need to be recognized. Recognized for the disastrous results for both civil rights and health outcomes.

The biggest lesson is how to make ethical decisions when faced with a dangerous balancing act. A virus which spreads as quickly as COVID did, versus the rights of the people to maintain their lively hood and their freedom to continue interacting with each other in a manner that bolsters mental health in a time of stress.

I’ll have to tell them, it wasn’t an easy time and values which had been deemed so inherent as to be rights, were re-thought as we fought to keep this assault on our most vulnerable citizens from killing more and more of them.

I’ll have to tell them of trust issues because of misinformation caused suspicion and bad decisions.

In the end, the coronovirus isn’t that much different as far as mortality than the various influenzas which proliferate each year, but it is a totally unique virus which no one had ever encountered before. Our bodies had to find a way to fight this from scratch. And no one in the medical community had any idea what would work to help.

Recovery always happens faster then you think.

I remembered when Mount St. Helens blew in 1980

people predicted the wasteland

would last for centuries

now it is lush with trees.

So it is with all things.

So many events

where it was said

our lives will never be the same

but they go back to the same

and we forget and get on with life.

No one remembers 9-11

much less the assassination of JFK

or that AIDS has stolen 37.5 million

the best actors, artists, designers, musicians, writers.

We recover

and with recovery comes forgetting

how it was

as our lives grow busy

back to the everyday.

50 years from now

the year of covid will be

like our grandfathers memories of WWII

not so interesting or relevant.

Nothing to do with life in 2071.

Many years ago, when I was a young adult, there was a spontaneous outbreak of a virus. It was called the Corona Viruse - COVID19. The virus changed everything as we know it...

Breathing fresh air was no longer allowed, you had to walk around with your mouth and nose covered by a mask - making it hard for you to breath, almost as though you were in other atmostphere.

Not to mention we could not leave our homes without a permit or to go but basic needs, and only two people were aloud in a car.

We all had curfews, this included all ages. those who wieghed a lot suddenly weighed less and those who weighed less weighed more after we were allowed out again.

Everything we bought had to be sanetized, be it; food items, clothing, toys and so on.

Not to memtion you had to jump straight into a both or shower after visiting the shops because the virus could cling to your clothing.

As the year went on it only got worse. There was a second wave, stronger then the first and then a third wave stronger then the second. Some people even thought this was the start of a zombie outbreak or what would lead to it.

Seeing family and friends was more difficult and often forbbiden.

Schools and jobs had clossed down and people were expected to work and study remotely.

I new thought that a mask would ever be co-operated into the fashion industry - Yet here it was. You could find masks of all brand names and all designs.

I would tell them: When covid-19 struck the world, it was when everything fell apart. Everyone wanted what they couldn't have and they all wanted their way. Masks were required almost everywhere, stores, parks, and if you didn't wear one they could kick you out. It was like an apocalypse, only instead of zombies it was greedy people and sick people. When you got a cold, you have the coronavirus. It was the year that the Flu, Colds, and other minor illnesses disappeared and were replaced. A vaccine was being worked on, people like my dad, you would have loved him, were working to get the vaccine to everyone who wanted it. A few months after the vaccine was made, the mask mandate went away, as long as you had the vaccine. It was the time my mom and I started pretending we had got the vaccine. We were sick of masks, and no one would know. The virus to us, was just another sickness that was oh so much worse because of the way the world was, different skin and races to races and skin. Rulers to rulers. Everyone had an opinion and was making it worse. Statues of history being torn down, after all if we forget history it will repeat. I would joke that we should move to somewhere, where the government wasn't falling apart, but I half meant it. There were other things too, at one point an oil factory was attacked, most of the east coast suffered, people were hoarding it, just like they had hoarded cleaning supplies and toilet paper. They were idotic enough to not know that they were just making it worse, if they had continued like normal the gas and toilet paper wouldn't have disappeared. The world was dying.

In the past, there was a time when we feared. Not the dark; oh, no! Well, we feared that, too. But that was normal. Normal fear is what’s instinctual. It’s bred into our genes, so you’d say. Your genes are blueprints, half of which you got from your da. And before that, he got half of his right from me.

So you see, we feared not (whispered) ‘just’ the dark. We feared a new virus that’d hatched. It brought more than usual ferocity. Think of a kitten with LIONSIZE maw.

At this time, we did ALL that we could. We took every care imaginable! We didn’t want to die at that time. You know why! We wanted to stick around for YOU to see. You can tell how much we wanted you to see us; AND we wanted to see YOU, too.

Regretfully, some people lost their way; lost their mind, their head. They lost it … ALL. Reasons this occurred are too many to name, perhaps. Mostly, I think they wanted not to let people boss them. This was DUMB, and I know, that’s a BAD word. But it’s DUMB not to listen to wise advice! If you don’t want people telling you what to do, you can pick where you’ll kick up a fuss. You can decide on some things to pitch a fit about. But when it comes to life and death and possibly harming other fellows, boss yourself, if you must. But make yourself do the right thing! Just find some way to go along with it, to oblige.

Now, there may be things in life you’ll challenge. Fine, suit yourself. But science and deadliness aren’t the best adversaries. We got through. Some might say we were lucky. We weren’t lucky. We were smart little duckies!

A deadly viral pandemic called Coronavirus disease started in December 2019 in China. Since it was caused by a new kind of virus called SARS CoV2, none of the countries had any cure for it. The infection could be spread from one person to the other in just about five minutes. The symptoms of the infection were also tricky. Some people showed running nose, cough and fever, others had only conjunctivitis or dysentery. Many showed no symptoms but all of a sudden their lungs would collapse. Some countries didn’t have enough life-saving equipment, hospital beds, or medical staff. Millions lost their lives and loved ones.

To date, no one knows about the origin of the virus. Some news reports said the virus spread from the meat market in Wuhan which also sold the bat meat. Bats are considered to harbour Coronavirus. The other reports claimed that the infection may have accidentally escaped from the virology lab in Wuhan.

People in their wildest dreams wouldn’t have locked themselves up in their house for the fear of catching a disease. Marketplaces, cinema halls, offices were shut. Schools and colleges had switched to online learning. Children couldn’t step out of their houses. They yearned to be with their friends. Even when lockdowns became lenient, it became normal for everyone to frequently sanitise their hands, and wear a mask to cover their nose and mouth before stepping out of their houses.

As cities and villages were totally devoid of all kind of human activity, the wildlife from the nearby jungles began enjoying their freedom and started exploring emptied streets and waterways around human habitations. Eventually vaccines for the disease were developed and countries succeeded in breaking the chain of infection. The Coronavirus was defeated.

#COVID-19 #Coronavirus #Pandemic #WuhanVirus #SARSCoV2 #CovidImpact

When good things happened, we came together to celebrate. When bad things happened, we came together to mourn. When frightening things happened, we came together to reassure each other. We found our strength and comfort in each other, and our togetherness was as natural as breathing. We didn't know any other way to be, to live.

Then, in December of 2019, something changed, though we didn't know it quite yet. There were news stories of a new illness, a virus, spreading through Wuhan, China. It was making many people very ill, and no one knew what it was, or how to stop it. Many people payed it little mind, until it began spreading rapidly and uncontrollably. People in America entered a state of full blown panic as it started spreading here, quickly making its way to every state. It was a frightening illness, and it was deadly.

Suddenly, life as we knew it changed all at once. For the first time, we could not come together for comfort. When our friends and family began to die, we could not come together to mourn. People died alone, or with nurses beside them in place of their families.

It was in this time that we had to learn to come together in other ways. Because, alone, we could not survive this. And so, from our own separate homes, we came together. Many people lost their lives, and even more had to pick up the pieces of what they previously had. Many of us got through it, some with scarred lungs from surviving the virus, and even more with battered hearts and bruised souls. Everything around us had changed forever.

All we had was each other. One way or another, we came together, and for that, we are strong.