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PeoriaTimes.com /PeoriaTimes His late mom’s advice rings true in trying time

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ West Valley View Columnist

My mom spent her life as a dedicated realist. When things were going horribly, she told us, “This too shall pass.”

Whenever life came up roses, you could count on her to predict a downturn in good fortune and advise “waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

To the degree I seek out a sane, balanced response to most of life’s challenges, I remain my mother’s son.

This has been on my mind a lot lately amid the coronavirus crisis.

For weeks, the news has been full of shrieking headlines and dire predictions of global apocalypse. New cases, rising death tolls, travel moratoriums, canceled events, collapsing economies, stock market meltdowns, shortages of toilet paper – everywhere you turn, the planet appears to be trending toward the End of Times.

All this over a form of respiratory illness which, as of March 12, sickened about 1,000 people in the United States, killing an estimated 29.

As I write this, the World Health Organization has just declared COVID-19 a “global pandemic,” citing more than 120,000 cases worldwide. At the same time, President Donald Trump tweeted yet again, “Our team is doing a great job with CoronaVirus!”

It’s life in our current truth-challenged age.

In an era when everything is political, when the media has sacrificed all credibility in pursuit of clicks and controversy, little can be deemed factual. In lieu of careful explanation, we have noise.

When every message seems to conflict – when it’s impossible to decide who to believe – the only sense is it feels credible is common sense.

In times like these, I think about my mom.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR READER’S VIEWPOINTS

Free market best for healthcare Dear Editor:

A recent letter to the editor oversimplified the problems with our healthcare system.

According to polls, 80% of Americans rate the quality of their health care as excellent or good. Allowing the government to get more involved in health care—whether it is through Medicare for All, Medicare buy-in, or the public option—won’t do anything to increase quality or access to doctors.

In fact, it could do just the opposite. It could lead to fewer doctors and nurses because they simply wouldn’t be entering the workforce, leading to a nationwide loss of nearly tens of thou

sands of physicians and a million or so nurses in the next few decades.

Worsening a doctor shortage that already threatens many communities hardly seems like a good way to improve health care. Instead of forcing everyone into a one-size-fits-all system that actually works for none, policymakers should focus on actually strengthening our current healthcare system to ensure more people get insured.

The best way to do that is by encouraging competition in the free market, not limiting it.

Maria Solares Peoria A registered nurse by profession, my mother passed away at the end of 2017. Even so, I can predict what she would have told me if I raised the subject of coronavirus. Given her New Yorker’s penchant for colorful language, I’ll clean it up for public consumption. But it would have gone something like this:

“Don’t be a moron. Take a few reasonable precautions, take good care of yourself. Don’t do anything crazy. You’ve got a better chance of dying from heart disease or in a car crash than you do of coronavirus killing you.”

Sage wisdom, it seems to me. And a prescription not requiring an incredibly radical change in lifestyle.

What does it entail? Staying away from sick people and large crowds when possible. Not summering in Europe or Asia this year (marking 55 summers in a row I haven’t gone to Venice or walked the Great Wall). Washing my hands with soap and water for 20 seconds multiple times a day.

Using alcohol-based hand sanitizer like it’s a new hobby. Deploying Clorox disinfectant wipes on potentially germy surfaces like desks, doorknobs, light switches and my cellphone. I’ve also stopped checking the stock market, watching the evening news and rooting for the Arizona Cardinals. This last one has nothing to do with coronavirus, but it’s definitely improved my emotional health.

Despite taking precautions, any one of us might still catch COVID-19. It’s a fear I combat with simple mathematics.

It appears the disease is not fatal in 99 percent of cases. Most people who have coronavirus are asymptomatic and don’t even realize they’re carriers.

And the vast majority of those infected develop only a mild upper respiratory infection, which they get over in a couple weeks’ time by drinking plenty of fluids, getting some rest and taking a few Advil. As my mom would’ve said, “Take care of yourself and you’ll be fine.”

Sage wisdom for times like these. Try not to freak out. Buy a few extra rolls of toilet paper. And we’ll all be just fine.

David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Contact david@leibowitzsolo.com

SHELTON’S OPINION — cartoons.com

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