For the myriad of inconveniences that have already come our way and for the ones that surely will come, we have to be aware we are being tested. Most people go through life and never face such challenges, an accident of life that zeroed right in on us, in the here and now. Aristotle’s words come to mind, words that have stayed with me and so many other people when facing sudden challenges “THE IDEAL PERSON BARES THE ACCIDENTS OF LIFE WITH DIGNITY AND GRACE, MAKING THE BEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES.

For those who are a tad cynical about some of the measures being put in place in order to prevent the spread of  Coronavirus, I offer that age-old saying by Geroge Santayana” THOSE WHO CANNOT LEARN FROM HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.” It may not be the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 50 to 100 million souls worldwide, 5% of the world’s population. It may not be (YET) the Asian Flu of 1957 which killed 70,000 Americans, or the Hong Kong Flu of 1968-69 which killed 33,000 Americans but rest assured the Coronavirus is infecting and killing people at an alarming rate. Enough so that intervention is starting to become a rather annoying inconvenience to lots of people’s lives and has disrupted so many plans and events some folks are angry. I’m not a history teacher, or the sky is falling sort of person but a little history might help those great annoyed among us.

It’s chilling to recall that back in 1918 there were no Vaccines (this is going to sound so familiar like nothing changed)” SO THE ONLY METHOD THEY HAD OF FIGHTING THE PANDEMIC WERE QUARANTINE, GOOD HYGIENE PRACTICES, DISINFECTANTS, AND LIMITING THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC GATHERINGS.” So far in Illinois, all schools have been closed, gatherings of 100 or more people have been banned, most museums and theatres have been closed down, the St. Patricks day Parades have all been canceled, no major sports are functioning, professional and College alike. All casinos and sports gambling venues are closed. O’Hare airport in Chicago right now has thousands of people in lines awaiting testing and authorities are saying it will get far worse.

As of this post, the Governor of Illinois just announced all bars and restaurants will be closed as of Monday to dine-in customers, no doubt alarmed by some people’s indifferent attitude toward an announced Pandemic and National emergency declared in the United States. Leadership no doubt is heading George Santayana’s sage advice.

The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 reached virtually every Country, it killed so many people so quickly that some cities were forced to resort to converting Streetcars into Hearses. The first cases of Spanish Flu were reported on March 4th, 1918 at Fort Reilly in Kansas, it had spread to most American cities in the U.S. and then onward to Europe following in the path of American Soldiers who crossed the Atlantic that spring in an effort to close out the first World war.

The Spanish Flu struck in 3 waves from March 1918 to the spring of 1919. The first wave of the Flu was disastrous but by mid-summer, it subsided. However, a few months later it resurfaced. It was the same Virus but it had mutated into something much more virulent and the deadly Pandemic spread quickly around the world and became a deadly killer that wiped out 5% of the human population, before running its course. Can we afford not to do everything in our power to avoid another 1918?  “History, as they say, does not repeat itself, BUT IT RHYMES.” Stay safe and smart.