This is not the apocalypse I’ve been hoping for.
In fact, this is no apocalypse at all. This is just people freaking out because this is a NEW way to die, one that nobody has previously experienced. There are still dozens of much more probable ways to die, but we don’t care about those, we know all about those.
It’s the devil we don’t know that instills panic.
Will this devil be worse than suicide? Drug overdoses? Septicemia? Influenza? What about diabetes or auto accidents? Where’s our perspective?
Vanished with the specter of this new addition to our panoply of mortality.
How many apocalyptic authors got that run-on-toilet-paper meme right? None that I’ve read. “Betty, that apocalisp thing they keep talkin’ ’bout on the news is gettin’ mean. Best you go down to the Wal-wart and buy as much damn shit-sheets you can get your hands on.” “Yeah, paper towels’ll do in a pinch.”
With work shut down, with schools closed, with all the banal, mindless pastimes cancelled, how many more of the lower 80% of wage-earners are going to stick a barrel in their mouth, or pop a dozen fentanyl? What will be the fallout from all this draconian “individual distancing” (social distancing — that’s a bloody oxymoron)? Twice as many deaths from the cure than from the cold?
This apocalypse sucks, but it’s all we got. So, I’m enjoying the work-from-home policy—passed down from on high, the extra lunch time, the peaceful time on the toilet (with my hoard of TP), and the new 4:00 PM happy-hour (who’s to know?). I’m no fool though, and so I’m boosting my vitamin-D intake, lots of fluids, and praying that someone will whizz by and breathe me a solid dose of coronavirus cuz’, let’s face it, gotta get busy dying fast or get bored dying slow.
Top 15 Major Causes of Death in the U.S. 2017
Rank |
Cause of death |
Number of deaths |
1 |
Heart disease |
647,457 |
2 |
Malignant neoplasms (tumors) |
599,108 |
3 |
Accidents (unintentional injuries) |
169,936 |
4 |
Chronic lower respiratory diseases |
160,201 |
5 |
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke) |
146,383 |
6 |
Alzheimer’s disease |
121,404 |
7 |
Diabetes |
83,564 |
8 |
Influenza and pneumonia |
55,672 |
9 |
Kidney disease |
50,633 |
10 |
Intentional self-harm (suicide) |
47,173 |
11 |
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis |
41,743 |
12 |
Septicemia |
40,922 |
13 |
Hypertension (2) |
35,316 |
14 |
Parkinson’s disease |
31,963 |
15 |
Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids |
20,108 |
|
All other causes |
561,920 |
|
All deaths |
2,813,503 |