Dear Gabby,

My wife and I wake up every morning and still find it hard to believe that Covid-19 pandemic has enveloped the entire world. I never in my lifetime thought I would witness anything of its kind. So much illness, so much isolation, frustration and fear, let alone all the thousands of deaths, and daily we find ourselves asking the same question over and over again: “What’s a person to do?”

Joe and Katie

Dear Joe and Katie,

We must admit that we live in a world that has been for the most part, fairly predictable, nothing really changing until we witness a huge interruption that will ultimately define who we are in this great big world. Our emotions and thoughts begin to run rampant looking for answers; solutions and hope as we are all wearing dark-colored glasses. Take a moment each day and breath! It sounds absurd perhaps, but the truth remains that we all need to take minutes throughout each day to simply get alone in a quiet space and take really deep breaths and simply BREATHE.

I often contemplate the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, when President Franklin Roosevelt declared Dec. 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” An estimated 2,400 Americans died suddenly on this early morning and once again the devastation brought our country to its knees along with the words, “I did not see it coming.” But, the world over time picked itself up by the boot strings, wiped away the tears and moved forward, pressing towards a better tomorrow, yet remembering the past.

Let’s not forget the 1918 pandemic flu (H1N1 virus). The deadliest in history, infecting over 500 million people worldwide and killing an estimated 50 million people, including 675,000 Americans. Citizens were ordered to do much of the same as to what we are doing in today’s COVID-19: wearing masks, gloves and social distancing; schools, businesses, theaters and various travels were closed to curtail this deadly flu. I’m sure the people of that time must have felt hopeless, helpless, frustrated and frightened. Once again, a huge interruption stepped in and defined each individual and they must have said, “I did not see it coming.”

9/11 … we will never forget. Over 3,000 people killed and 6,000 injured in a matter of minutes. The devastation of this most tragic terrorist attack still wreaks havoc today as more than 16,000 Ground Zero responders have gotten sick or died. And once again, “We did not see it coming.”

What’s a person to do? There is plenty to do now. We may be practicing social distancing, but we can telephone our family and friends, provide a hot meal for an elderly neighbor, make a donation to our local food bank, extend a listening ear to the hurting and a simple smile passed on to every person you encounter throughout this ordeal will go a long way. In short…reach out, be a giver and remember to take the time to simply BREATHE! It’ll all be over soon.

Gabby
 

THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE April 10 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.