FREEDOM

Thank God!  I can finally get a tattoo.  All I have to do is fly to Georgia.  Now to decide what tattoo I want and where to put it.  I thought I’d tattoo instructions on how to intubate me so that when I get a Covid infection, the ER doc would know how hard it is to intubate me and what he should do in order to get it done before I stroke.

Welcome to a world taken over by madness.  Keep us at home, watching bad TV, worrying about the future and we will go mad.  I’ve lost it.  I’ve started surfing between CNN, MSNBC and FOX.  My mood shifts with each channel change. Who do I believe?  I’m really not sure.  What I do know is that there is not a right answer.

If I were about to lose everything (my business, my savings and my home), I would want to open up for business and depend on my customers to be responsible enough to stay 6 feet apart, wear mask and self-quarantine if they were sick.

I’m glad I don’t own a business.  As I am old and frail, I’ll choose to shelter in place until this is over.  As a doctor, I know that opening up business will prolong the misery and lead to a spike in deaths.  I know that many will not take this seriously and will spread the virus.  As a doctor, I am furious that nothing my colleagues need to do their jobs is made in this country.  I’m pissed that supplies of critical protective gear are so deficient that our frontline doc’s are dying in the field.  We knew this was coming.  Knowing and believing are two different things.

As a retiree, I need the economy to grow and flourish.  I need a healthy stock market.  If we stay closed, that will not happen.  The longer we stay closed the longer it will take for the stock market to recover. 

As a human, I need to eat.  I need to be sure our food chain is strong.  I need the government to invest in securing the food chain by encouraging innovative ways to allow workers to safely return to the fields and factories.  Securing the food chain is critical and no one seems to be talking about it.  I need human touch, hugs and kisses.  I need to be with family and friends.

As a parent, I worry about the effects of social isolation, economic distress, home schooling and a host of other problems facing my children and their children.  As a parent, I worry about everything.  Most of all, I worry about how I’m going to get to the east coast and see them.

I’m actually in good enough shape that, barring getting infected. I can weather the storm.  I can’t imagine how my patients, some of whom were living on the edge to begin with, are going to make it through this.  

So, I’m not going to criticize those who push to get back to work.  I’m not going to call them names.  Instead, I’m going to support them.  I’m also going to support those who choose to shelter in place.  As free men and women, it’s time to exercise that freedom.  It also time to become innovative.  If you are going back to work, figure out how to stay safe and keep your customers safe.  If you are going to be a customer/client, don’t let your guard down.  Be responsible whatever your choice.

If you’re going to get a tattoo in the midst of a pandemic, I have nothing more to say.