A Time For Reflection

We are certainly living in unprecedented times, and with everything that is going on in the world, many people are worried about what will happen next.

Viruses and plagues have been around as long as humans have inhabited Earth, but for most people (myself included), the Covid19 outbreak is the first pandemic that has touched them personally.

At the end of World War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic swept the globe and caused devastation, but society survived, and we learned a significant amount about infectious diseases and infections. This new knowledge proved valuable in allowing medical practices to improve, thus decreasing the mortality rate in future decades.

As a family historian, I have come across dozens of instances of ancestors who survived plagues, including the "Black Death", which repeatedly Europe and Asia over the course of hundreds of years. Some of my ancestors died, but most survived. Other diseases, such as cholera, typhoid fever and polio used to be rampant, but with the help of doctors, nurses and scientists, we have managed to overcome these diseases and today they are rare and very treatable.

Having studied my paternal lineage back over 1,000 years (luckily I can go back this far due to the noble bloodlines in my family), there is a clear pattern of challenges that each generation must face and overcome. War, famine and disease are all obstacles that seem to repeat their visits with every generation. For most of us, this is our first time that a disaster has touched our everyday lives, but it is something that we can, and will, overcome. We are not being asked to take up arms against a warring army, nor are we fleeing our country to escape persecution or famine; we are simply being asked to stay calm, keep a safe social distance from others, and allow time and researchers the ability to control and eventually defeat this new threat.

Staying in one's home, spending time with your family or pets, watching TV, reading, listening to music or helping those in need whether it be through a friendly call on the phone, a message on the computer or helping high-risk friends, family members or neighbors is something we can all easily do.

For my part, I have allowed my 3 novels to be given away for free in ebook format this coming week, and after that my prices for the ebooks will remain at $0.99 until this pandemic ends. I am fortunate in that I can afford to do this and hopefully my stories will help some people escape the harsh reality of today's world, and find a reason to laugh.

I am also going to try to update this website and provide some additional information about my many fascinating relatives, both living and dead. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but when you do something that you truly love to do, can it really be called "work"?

Stay safe everyone!