Jo Lee Magazine - Luxury Edition 2020

THE MARVELOUS MAVERICK —————————————————————————-
Le MeRveiLLeux MaveRick | La MaRaviLLosa MaveRick | die WundeRbaRe MaveRick |
MarveLous
“Let ’s Celebrate The Old Bridge”
By H. Gail Regan
Toronto – Canada
In February 2020 I was reading
the daily news, including stories
about the quarantine in China.
Its rigor reminded me of how
we controlled scarlet fever in my
childhood. Then I began to
obsess about our long-finished
driveway project.
Ten years ago, when a bulldozer
dug up the mutual driveway we
share with three neighbors, it
uncovered not just dirt but an
antique bridge over a small
depression filled with bright,
greenish water. To my surprise,
the contractor did not ask to
expand the project by removing
the bridge and filling in the
water hole. He just bulldozed
more dirt on top and paved
everything over. There have
been no collapses, so I guess I
am glad we saved the money.
But my obsession with the
underground pond right in
front of my house continues, so
the incident must have a
symbolic meaning as well.
At first I thought I was
concerned with germs, with the
bacteria that colored the water.
Would the several days of
exposure to light and fresh air
have killed them? Or are they
still down there building their
community as in a Dr. Seuss
book?
Now I believe the obsession
refers to my tendency to react
and then move on. As humans
we are not necessarily concerned
with every detail. We do what
we think needs to be done and
then we celebrate. Paving the
driveway was expensive; it
looked nice and we stopped
there, encouraging the children
to scooter on it. There are no
problems, yet.
I have thought for years that
infectious disease is ignored as
compared to life cycle diseases
such as cancer and heart. I have
spoken publicly on the topic
and have contributed to a
scholarship at the Pasteur
Institute. So I did a little and
then shifted focus.
Others did as well. Researchers
working on SARS in 2003
destroyed a transgenic mouse
colony that would have been
helpful for developing a vaccine
for COVID-19. How much
could a mouse colony have cost?
We have an old bridge, the idea
that infectious disease is not
particularly important. Then
we behave as humans do,
nurturing other opportunities.
But this time a serious sinkhole
has developed. Let us celebrate
the basic science that is still here
and will give us the tools to
cope with this pandemic. I
hope I am still with you when it
happens.
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