History in the Making

In grammar school back in the 1950s

we had fire drills every now and again.

Everyone would evacuate the building

and line up in orderly rows outside on

the playground.

In the Cold War Days we also learned

to “duck and cover” beneath our desks

in the event of a Soviet A-bomb attack.

No one bothered to say, that there is

no effectiveness in that. A-bombs were

fully capable of blowing you, your desk,

and your entire city away.

In history class we learned about the

Plague in the Middle Ages. The insur-

mountable casualties didn’t actually

affect us, though. Of those who per-

ished, none of them were among the

people we know.

Kind of like the total destruction of

Pompeii—there were no volcanoes

around St. Louis, so how were we to

know? Education, my friends. History

tells us what to avoid and where is best

to go.

Back in the 50s collections were taken

for The March of Dimes. The donations

would go to help find a cure for Polio.

And, by God, over time all those dimes

did the job.

And today, with the COVID-19 viral

pandemic we are encouraged to socially

distance ourselves from one another,

and shelter in place. Epidemiologists

predict as many as 100,000 to 240,000

American lives could be lost. Citizens

of this country have yet to see that

degree of carnage in this day and age.

You may be thinking, history tells me

it’ll be someone else, neither I nor any-

one close to me. Duck and cover, all the

dimes ever minted will not protect you

and yours.

Separate and stay at home will help to

mitigate the virus for now. History,

my friends, is in the making. The Year

is 2020 and for now, there is only one

viable way to go. Actually, there are

two—currently, the alternative isn’t

very pretty.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 3-31-2020