Flupocolypse, day 17

And here we see our societies NEW hero's, in action.   In this case, the facilities and support staff at Lancaster General hospital.  They may not be direct hands-on with every patient, but the place simply could not exist without them.  They are the epitome of 'Necessary'. 

Please notice.... they need PPE as much as the nurses and doctors do.  Not to the same level, but they still need it when they often didn't before.   My few visits to hospitals (I'm allergic to them) leaves me with the impression I've almost never seen cleaning and facilities staff wearing masks, and seldom gloves. 

Today is a whole different universe.   Just walking down the hall in a busy hospital today is to defy death. Providing staff with a couple bucks worth of protection.... this is not a hard decision.

Internally, I'll admit to being a dark and vengeful creature. I've just spent a lifetime keeping that part of me chained up.  I don't keep it muzzled, though, so it speaks it's mind.

This morning, it's telling me that De Blasio, who didn't order extra PPE till weeks after demanding Feds supply it for free, should be chained naked to a chair in the middle of any NYC Emergency Room, to be spit on by passers by.  

Now, there's another part of me, and this one I don't keep locked down.  That's the part of me that notices, and appreciates, what people do.

That's the part of me which sees folks like this, and recharges my belief in the goodness of the average human being.

Our definition of 'Hero' is changing, as we see everyday people knowingly walking into situations that raise their risk of deadly illness exponentially.  They do it because they matter, and are needed by their fellow human beings.   

The cynical part of me also recognizes they do it because they need the meager paycheck they get for what they do.

You see, we as a people do not recognize the REAL indispensable folks who keep our society working.  The truck drivers, shelf stockers, janitors, mechanics, cooks, and all those other people who suddenly are on the front line.  They are there because everyone else fled, leaving the new hero's lined up with the police, firefighters, EMT's, doctors, nurses.... all between us and deadly chaos.

I wonder... will our attitudes revert when it comes back to whatever our new 'normal' will be?

I've always said thank you to people who *work*, to my benefit. The waitress.  The trash guys. The store clerk. The facilities crew at school.  The unsung and unseen folks who support our society like Hercules. 

I'll do it more often now.

How about you?