New York Guard Sentinel Fall 2020

New York Guard Sentinel
Soldier Survival
The Covid-19 monster is a sneaky, dastardly foe .
Story by: Specialist Dena Williams
Somewhere between March 15 and March
18, my nose began to run. I’m sitting at my
desk, sharing an office with my former boss,
thinking: “man, I don’t have any time for
any sinus infection… I have things to do.
And why am I itching all day? And what is
up with this sore throat…” In the first week
of March, I’d received a compliment from
my Doctor, on having stellar blood work. So
I brushed it off, and kept it moving; so to
speak.
I’d commuted to and from work via car. I
thought I had outsmarted that dastardly foe.
I avoided Public Transportation and I kept
my work station spotless. I didn’t go anywhere
except to work and home. I was living like a gerbil at home, drinking water
and eating tuna fish stashed in my cabinets. I didn’t want to go near a supermarket.
I’d ordered stuff for my elderly, disabled parent who agreed to shelter in
place. I had the daily newspapers delivered to her and checked on her studiously.
I stayed on top of current events; I advised my former employer that I could be
called to SAD (I wasn’t sure, but I am nothing, if not prepared). I thought about
disaster recovery contingency plans at work; all that ‘stuff’. I felt pretty good
about myself. I was healthy and was not going to get some crazy Covid. Not me,
nope. Why? Because I’m stealthy, like Yogi Bear chasing picnic baskets, I’m
smarter than the average Bear.
Meanwhile, the nose is running, the eyes are itching and tearing, the skin is itching
and I’m nauseous. Things are starting to taste funny and I can’t smell things.
I’m a coffee lover, so I dismissed the upset stomach and digestive issues to drinking
coffee that was too strong for my system to handle. Because a good, strong
cup of coffee with some heavy cream is life.
37 Fall 2020