There are so many questions, comments, politicizations, fears, anxieties, misunderstandings, selfishness, incompetence, and mishandling surrounding our current pandemic. A microscopic virus ravaging humanity. Not just us or them, but everyone. There is nothing I can say that has not already been expressed by the myriad of talking heads, millions of FaceBook comments, tweets, or TikTok creations. What I can do is introduce you to a human. No he has not contracted the virus, though he is greatly effected by it. I am not talking lockdown or fear of going to the grocery store but living through a fundamental human nightmare. Facing mortality alone. 

When he saw that his neighbors house was on fire, he signed up for a war. The war in question? World War II. He wanted to help fellow humans, and it was the least he could do. He found his wife, whom he buried a mere two months ago. They were married seventy-five years, birthing three sons who produced three grandchildren. Their marriage had good times and bad. They buried one of their sons as a result of another pandemic. They opened their home to anyone who needed it. College students littered their house when I was a child. High divers filled their swimming pool in the backyard. 

Growing up he introduced me to photography, I would later graduate from a prestigious photography school. He introduced me to documentaries. I would later become an advocate for the animals I was introduced to in hastily recorded BBC or PBS VHS tapes. We are who we are partly because of those who helped raise us. 

Now this man, sits alone in a hospital where no visitors are allowed because of the current swelling of Covid-19 numbers. He does not have Covid, just an old man struggling through failing health. He is alone. Sure technology can bring a persons likeness into the room for a minute, but there is no warmth in a FaceTime video. 

We live in a time where we understand basic viral behavior. We understand how to prevent massive infections, yet we are failing to do so. We are placing our personal wishes, beliefs, and wants above others. We see the numbers and say, “no big deal, I am not likely to die from it.” “It is only killing .5-1% of the population, why should my life be altered?” Why? Because 258,000 dead is a lot. Because hospitals are overwhelmed; so if you are in a car accident, have a heart attack, or have pneumonia it is suddenly life or death because the hospital does not have room or people to take care of you. Because, that 1% of people are mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, grandfathers, grandmothers, EMT’s, nurses, doctors, firemen, police officers, teachers, in home healthcare workers, etc… Because those 258,000 are humans. That is just the number of people who died of Covid-19, not included are the numbers who have passed away because of the ambient effect that Covid-19 has had on the medical system. 

So I Introduce you to a human directly effected by Covid-19 without actually having Covid-19. We can only be responsible for our actions. However, my actions effect others, and your actions effect me. To be responsible is to be compassionate. How many more will have to share this story before we get it?