Getting older is a two-edged sword. On the good side, you gain experience. Experience is a great thing and it helps you to look at life in a far more optimistic view. On the bad side, younger people do not want to hear what you have to say. No matter what your experience has been, their experience is worse and more intense.

         I was in my 20s when Jimmy Carter was elected president of the United States. What followed was one alarming crisis after another. Runaway inflation, the first gas shortages, the Iran hostage situation, the Panama Canal give back…..the list goes on. One day at church I was lamenting to one of our older gentlemen about how close we were getting to the breaking point in the country. He laughed and said, “Sonny, I remember the boys coming home from WWI, I remember the great flu epidemic, I remember the Great Depression. Boy, I served in WWII and my little brother did Korea. We had all that rioting in the streets and at colleges and Vietnam. I’ve seen booms and busts and polio and you name it. This is nothing.” I was sure the old guy had no clue. But I was wrong.

         It was also in the late 1970s that people started to mysteriously die in Miami, Florida. At first the country at large wasn’t aware of it. But we lived in Miami. So many people started dying suddenly that one of the local hospitals, Jackson Memorial, (where the morgue was located) began to line up refrigerated trucks to accommodate the corpses waiting autopsy. When you live in a city like that, it is very unsettling. No one knew what was causing these people to die like that. Then, they discovered a virus. It had a long name but it was shortened to its initials. HIV. It had been coming into Miami for a decade or more from Haiti, where it had apparently originated, with Haitian refugees. I remember hearing that at the rate it was spreading, everyone in te nation would be infected by the year 2000. Scary stuff.

         Then there was the SARS epidemic and the MERS epidemic and the swine flu epidemic just a decade ago. All of these things, according to the media, were going to take us all out. It was obvious and you couldn’t argue with the thinking. We also have climate change and bad water and great white sharks and alien (the outer space kind) abductions and so on and so on. And now it is the coronavirus.

         Experience gained by being older says that we will weather this storm. There is a thing called the case fatality rate, which is the percentage of people who will get the virus and who will die from the virus as opposed to those who will recover. (Remember, not everyone will get the virus, so the case fatality rate doesn’t even apply for the majority of people.) For the coronavirus, after they have had time to study it and run the numbers, the case fatality rate is 1% of those who contract the virus will die from it. These numbers are brand new. Earlier guesses by the media set it as high as 8%, but that was media, not the Center for Disease Control. To compare, the swine flu outbreak of 2009-2010, also classified as a pandemic (a disease that is worldwide), had a case fatality rate of .8%, practically the same, with the coronavirus slightly higher. In other words, “been there, done that, still kicking.”

         The reaction this time, though, is probably more correct than in 2009-2010. “WHAT!??!” you say. “THE NCAA TOURNAMENT ISN’T ALLOWING FANS AT THE GAMES AND THE NBA HAS CANCELED THEIR SEASON! IT IS OVERREACTING!” The odds of any particular person dying from the coronavirus are pretty slim, but people will still get sick. It is passed from personal contact. I cannot believe that I am saying this, but I am impressed that the NBA has canceled the remainder of the season considering the money that will be lost. I am thinking, though, that the cancelation is more out of fear of lawsuits that might be filed against the league if someone does die from the virus. However, people need to be careful and take precautions. It is the wise thing to do.

         Another wise thing to do is don’t listen to the media reports. The Center for Disease Control has a website that will give you real updates. The media should be your last resort for any news.

         So, what should people do? Use common sense. Assume other people are sick. They may be and not know it yet. You may be and not know it yet. Limit your contact with people. You have to go to the drug store and you have to go to the grocery and you have to live your lives. But there are things you can stay away from. You probably don’t have to worry about church since most Sunday services around the country do not constitute a crowd. On the other hand, sporting events with fans yelling and bumping into each other and all the rest might be something to avoid.

         At a particular extended care facility this week they are examining visitors at the information desk as you walk in. They take your temperature and ask some questions about your health. I have allergies and at the moment I was sniffling. I sniffle a lot because I have allergies and by 2:00 if has been eight hours since my nasal spray. I wasn’t allowed in. That is OK. Two other facilities were not allowing anyone in. And that is OK. Care is being taken to protect our family and friends. It is not the end of the world; it is just caution.

         I read something this week and I think it is the best way to approach this whole thing. Be concerned about it, but don’t worry about it. As Christians, it is in God’s hands, anyway. I am going to be concerned for a new born baby who might contract the virus. I will be concerned for an elderly person who has other issues, as well. I am concerned for those with autoimmune problems. But trust in the Lord and allow Him to take care of you.

         Blessings.