By Angry Old American, Copyright March 20^th, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

CAUTION: This letter contains offensive language directed toward more than a few local knuckleheads. Angry Old American is a self-described unrepentant Hater who eschews Political Correctness. By continuing to subject your frail and sensitive eyes and mind to these materials you agree not to hunt down, torture and kill Angry Old American or sue the Publisher.

DANGER! Turn back while you still can.

As of today, March 20^th, 2020, the entire State of California is on “Stay at Home” orders. Since my first letter on March 10^th, the Wuhan Flu, Novel Coronavirus, Covid-19 was declared a Pandemic and has spread to every State of the Union. The Pandemic has caused a stock market loss of 30% and near halt of the world economy. A lot has happened in ten days.

A few of you may use some of your free time at home to read this letter. With so many other options available, I am honored by your choice. The average working stiff seldom has such a luxury.

Today, I will address the topic of Denial. Like many who served in the military, wore a badge, fought fires or worked in emergency medicine, I have seen the faces of death more than once. If the victim was conscious, the most common expression on their faces was shock and disbelief. They simply could not accept that the mortal event had happened.

The same has happened to all of us on a smaller scale. I remember being blindsided and suddenly finding myself laying on the ground in extreme pain. Looking down at my leg, it had been shortened by nearly twelve inches, my boot was pointing backward and a swollen, mangled clump between my knee and ankle dangled off to the side. The first thought that came to mind was disbelief. Life was going along quite nicely and now out-of-the-blue it was not.

Because of the pain, I did not even care how it happened, but let go of a loud flurry of angry curses. When faced with unexpected life-altering events, we follow the same course of thinking that the dying tread.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote a book titled “On Death and Dying” where she relayed the results of her lengthy research with the terminally ill. She found a series of emotional states that all patients manifested. First came Denial, followed by Anger, Depression, Bargaining and finally Acceptance.

It is my belief that we mortals go through these emotional states during all life-altering events. When my leg was injured, my life was interrupted in a big way. I wanted to go about life as usual. Then I got angry because my life was changed.

Later, at a hospital, when the haze of morphine cleared, I became depressed. All of my short-term plans and many of my long-term dreams, hopes, ambitions and aspirations were quashed. Bargaining followed… “Gee doc, is there anything I can do to save my leg and get back on my feet fast? ANYTHING?” Then, when the answer became crystal clear, I learned to abandon some of my hopes and dreams for the stark reality that fate had dealt me. I finally reached Acceptance.

Many of us are facing the same situation today with this Wuhan Flu Pandemic and the subsequent list of consequences that accompany it. Some are actually stricken with the virus right now and are literally going through Kubler-Ross’ stages of death. Others among us face a slower and less emotionally harried fate.

On March 11^th, the day after my first letter, a Pandemic was finally announced by the World Health Organization. Those who were waiting for official confirmation of the outbreak made a hasty dash to the market for provisions. They encountered a huge crowd of others doing exactly the same thing. Unfortunately, this large concentration of people in close proximity was exactly the situation that health officials warned against and had hoped to avoid.

Lots of folks are angry that their lives have been disrupted. They want to continue to live life as though this had never happened. They want the global stock markets to soar to new heights and to go about a “normal” life. How long will it be; a few days, weeks, months, years? They just want it all to stop; and the sooner the better.

There are even some folks who deny that the Pandemic even exists, or that it can touch their lives. We hear of kids on Spring Break partying as though the Pandemic could never impact them. Such is the power of Denial.

For those who are forced to “Stay at Home,” you have several options available to you. Those in denial will try to maintain as many of their daily habits as possible. Some might spend their day caring for kids, relaxing, watching movies and keeping their minds off the subject of Pandemics and economic collapse. Others might travel about despite restrictions, getting as many kicks as they can.

Those who have progressed beyond denial might watch TV and become informed about what governments are doing to battle the spread of the virus. They can write angry letters to those in control. They can worry about the impacts that the Pandemic will have upon their life. They can try to minimize the impact on themselves and their family by bargaining for resources.

Those who accept the situation can research and gather their own information about the Wuhan Flu, past pandemics, and how governments are responding. They can even take this time to sit, reflect on what they learn and develop their own plan of action.

My advice is to use your noggin and start playing a game of chess. A good Chess Player thinks several moves ahead and uses strategy to overcome their opponent. You will not fare well with a Checkers-Mentality in a game of Chess, much less a situation as lethal as this Pandemic. Checkers is reactionary and far too shortsighted. Chess players made their preparations before the Pandemic was declared. They avoided the panicked crowds, shortages, inconvenience and risks of infection. They were able to see the writing on the wall and take independent action.

I have little advice for those who cling to denial. For the children who believe they are impervious to this disease, they will ultimately pay the wages of ignorance through divine justice. There is no such thing as immunity to a mutant virus because it constantly changes into something else. We all can get this virus MULTIPLE TIMES! Sure, the “immortal” children may escape with a bad flu the first time and suffer only slight respiratory damage. If the first go-around doesn’t kill them, then the next time around just might seal their fate.

In the days of our ancestors, fate was not kind to the slow or unwary. For them to be “Ancestors” they were able to survive at least long enough to breed. If not, then none of us would be here today. The young and dumb always had the highest mortality rate. This assured that the foolish and dim-witted would not breed. Nature assures that their careless and weak-minded genes would not pollute future generations. “Survival of the Fittest” has been Nature’s law for all species from the beginning of time. Only we Humans believe we are exempt from that law.

I encourage all of you to accept the reality that confronts you. By some estimates, the 1918 Spanish Flu killed more Americans than soldier suffered in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish American War, World War One, World War Two, Korean War, Vietnam War, and every other undeclared war or military intervention combined. Our President has declared war on this Flu Pandemic and will need all clear-minded and able-bodied Americans to join in with this fight. You can be a spectator, a soldier or a collaborator. The choice is yours.

God bless the Republic, or what is left.

It is time to wake up!

Respectfully,

Angry Old American