When a Global Pandemic Brings Out the Best in the American People
. . . the left begins to panic.
If you’re a political / news junkie like me, you have been inundated with coronavirus doom and gloom of late. From the media’s relentless TDS that has turned them into scruffy sandwich-board doomsday prophets to news of stay-at-home orders and various lock-downs, we can easily get caught up in the panic and despair ourselves.
That’s why I rejoice when I see news stories of businesses and individuals stepping up and showing our nation’s true compassion and virtue (as opposed to the phony, elitist virtue signalling to which we have become all too accustomed).
Despite the left’s insistence that everything about America is awful—we’re all racists, xenophobes, homophobes, misogynists, and on. And on.—,the American people know better. We know it in our hearts, and we know it in our souls. Our American spirit that has seen us through some truly dark times in the past is seeing us through this uncertain and dark time as well.
Living in Florida for much of my life, I am accustomed to seeing the American spirit come to the fore in the wake of hurricanes. People band together, help one another clear debris, find needed supplies or supply them ourselves if we can, flock to blood donation centers, and shower our religious institutions, the Red Cross, and other organizations with needed supplies and financial assistance. Honestly, though, we prefer to just pitch in, to do our part ourselves. We pull together, and we help everyone in our community, regardless of race, class, gender, or any of the other pet identity boxes and baskets the left crams us into.
Across our great nation, we remember the acts of kindness and decency we see afforded in every corner of the country to those affected by everything from a member of our community suffering a house fire to our nation being attacked by terrorists on 9/11. Americans aren’t just strong survivors, we are a compassionate and industrious people who will not hesitate to help our neighbor . . . or a stranger five states over.
And we are seeing that spirit manifest now in big ways and small, each making a huge difference to those affected.
In Florida, for example, a local distillery is creating and handing out (for free) a hand sanitizer.
So awesome to see Florida businesses stepping up to help our neighbors like this.
This is the strong spirit of community that makes America great! ?? #InItTogether https://t.co/kkWQLnkbBW
— Congressman Waltz Press (@RepWaltzPress) March 22, 2020
People who have been hunting for hand sanitizer in vain amid the coronavirus spread have another alternative: the St. Augustine Distillery.
Friday the distillery began giving away one bottle per person of hand sanitizer that the business produced itself to help with the crisis.
The distillery hopes to raise money for a park project for youth with donations from people who take a bottle of sanitizer. Those who can afford to are encouraged to donate.
Supplies are expected to be limited on Friday, but more should be available on Saturday as well, said General Manager Matt Stevens.
So far the distillery has been making the product by hand, but staff are exploring options for producing the sanitizer on a larger scale to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, Stevens said.
He said that while tours are suspended at the distillery because of the coronavirus threat, the gift shop and alcohol production are still operating.
The distillery is ripe for hand sanitizer production.
What comes out of the still early in the production process is volatile alcohol called the heads.
“Those we want to remove. We’ve been using those internally for cleaning for years now,” Stevens said. “That’s exactly the type of alcohol that you would use in a sanitizer.”
That’s why the hand sanitizer is called Heads Up.
It’s a blend of the ethanol, distilled water, aloe gel, vitamin E oil and essential oils.
Instead of trying to make money with the hand sanitizer, CEO Phil McDaniel said he wanted to “pay it forward.”
In Nebraska, schoolchildren are making get-well cards to send to those in quarantine.
The Columbus Telegram reports:
When students at Columbus’ St. Anthony’s Home and School heard about the people on a cruise ship who were stuck in a coronavirus quarantine in Omaha, their immediate reaction was to get to work.
All forty-three of Charlotte Beran’s students (fourth, fifth and sixth grades) last week busted out the paper, markers and colored pencils and crafted get-well cards for the people under quarantine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Once done, Beran reached out to UNMC officials to let them know and shipped out the cards.
“We just want them to know Nebraskans are good people,” Beran said, noting they believe those in the quarantine came from all over the country.
. . . .“This is just about the nicest thing ever! Kids at St. Anthony’s School in Columbus sent get-well cards for all of our people in the National Quarantine Unit being monitored for the coronavirus. We can’t say thanks enough!” UNMC stated in the public post.
Sports figures are often caught performing random acts of kindness, and NBA star Kevin Love is just the latest.
NBA star Kevin Love is donating $100,000 to help Cleveland Cavaliers arena workers after the growing coronavirus outbreak led the NBA to suspend games indefinitely. Love, who was expected to make about $29 million this season, made the announcement on his Instagram account on Thursday.
The league put games on pause after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. Love, a forward for the Cavaliers, said he will help Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse workers who will be negatively impacted by the suspension of the NBA season.
“Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations,” he wrote. “And the fear and anxiety resulting from the recent outbreak of COVID-19 can be extremely overwhelming. I’m concerned about the level of anxiety that everyone is feeling and that is why I’m committing $100,000 through the @KevinLoveFund in support of the @Cavs arena and support staff that had a sudden life shift due to the suspension of the NBA season. I hope that during this time of crisis, others will join me in supporting our communities.”
In New York, a cancelled bat mitzvah became an opportunity to help those in quarantine.
Young members of the Jewish community often organize charitable projects to mark their transitions into adulthood. Jordana Shmidman’s bat mitzvah turned out to be an opportunity in itself.
After two people tested positive for coronavirus at SAR Academy, a private Jewish day school in the Bronx, New York, the school closed on March 3 and sent its students and staff members into quarantine. One of those quarantined students was Shmidman, whose coming-of-age bat mitzvah celebration was supposed to take place on Monday night. It was also the Jewish holiday of Purim, which involves eating a festive meal.
The food for her event had already been prepared, but the Shmidmans didn’t want it to go to waste. They instructed Foremost Caterers to divide the food into individual boxes. Parent volunteers then coordinated deliveries across the New York metropolitan area for staff members and their families in quarantine. That way, people confined to their homes could still enjoy a Purim meal.
In Texas, neighbors are working to craft homemade masks for medical workers.
A nurse practitioner is trying to get ahead of a supply shortage by asking her neighbors to make homemade face masks. https://t.co/gUSHsdSBRZ
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) March 21, 2020
A Texas nurse is getting some neighborly help as the supply of masks begins to dwindle in the San Antonio area.
Jill Folker, a nurse at Texas Oncology, went on social media and asked people who knew how to make face masks to create some for her and her staff, KSAT reported.
“We were told yesterday to come up with inventive ways of making homemade masks in case it gets really bad,” Folkert told the television station.
In Ohio, two young musicians held a cello concert for an elderly neighbor who was self-quarantined.
Taran and Calliope Tien, 9- and 6-year-old siblings from Ohio, held a cello concert on the front porch of their 78-year-old neighbor on Monday, USA Today reported.
Helena Schlam lives alone and had not left home in five days after self-quarantining due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Washington Post.
The children’s mother, Rebecca Tien, called Schlam to see if she needed groceries, according to USA Today. When Schlam said no, Tien (knowing that Schlam loved classical music) asked her if she’d like to listen to the children play.
Tien invited Schlam to listen through her living room window, but instead she joined them on the porch at a distance, the Washington Post reported.
Watch:
As human beings, as Americans, we will all do everything we can to help each other during this time, of this I am confident.
Looking to help your community in the fight against #COVID19?
Here are a few things you can do:
?Sign up with @RedCross to give blood if you’re healthy & able
?Donate to @CTXFoodBank or local food bank
?Purchase cleaning supplies for @SalvationArmyUS— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 21, 2020
While Democrats, their media lapdogs, and NeverTrumpers hope for the worst and spew negativity at every turn, the American people will continue to ignore their pettiness and pull together as one people.
This is our true self, and it’s one Democrats, the media, and NeverTrumpers will do everything in their power to undermine. This unity of the American people as a people, after all, is the left’s biggest fear.
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Comments
the local Neighborhood Council is organizing a list of volunteers to bring food, etc, to their shut in constituents.
but, because people are people, they are now getting requests from people outside the area.
I am so tired of people telling us we suck for one reason or another. Or that we need to run and hide and be fearful of everything. What we need more than anything is strength. A will to persevere.
I love your attitude, Fuzzy. And that of so many others here. Also glad we have a president who doesn’t put up with any crap. He’s not Churchill, but I knew that going in.
Thanks for the uplifting post.
As a local Floridian, St Augustine is a favorite go to place just to hang out, walk around, enjoy a bite, a quaff a few. The St. Augustine Distillery is a definite must see if you have never been. They refurbished the over 100 year old ice factory building. It was slated.fir demolition, but the economic downturn in 2008 put that to a halt. Adaptive reuse at it’s finest.
Even liberals and really smart people can see what is happening here, and they’re petrified because they cannot control the narrative of the virus itself. The hammering of Trump is more than garden-variety TDS; the only story they have any ability to direct is the one about Trump, and they are failing to convince anyone beyond those who already hate him. It’s the End of History for them.
Our democrat NC governor demanded that all restaurants close their dining rooms. So the little diner in our town went take-out only, but set up tables and chairs in the parking lot. You can call in an order, pick it up, and sit out in the sunshine to eat it. I sent an email to all my neighbors urging them to eat their during this difficult time. Yesterday, I parked in front and the waitress ran out and took my order while I was still sitting in the car. A few minutes later she brought the food out to me. Needless to say, I gave her a generous tip.
I’m in NC too. Some buddies and I went to a favorite eatery, put the tailgates down and ate out takeout. I’ve been to other local restaurants too and they have been very appreciative. The memes have been great too.
Yay America! /wipes tear from cheek.
Tiki, I love America. I’ve loved America since before I was born.
Since we got off the boat from Italy we loved this country. Here’s the deal. Italians will fight like tigers. In fact I was born in the year of the tiger. We need something to fight for.
Thank heaven I have something to fight for.
My father served in Navajo. So I have some tug boat heritage. Also the gun boat Mendota.
I served in Carl Vinson and Dubuque. That’s all I can think of right now.
They [always they] say war is what old men like me send young men out to do. If I could I would do another 20 years.
My father was in the Army, my father-in-law the Navy in WW2. My son was Regular Army and National Guard, my son-in-law the Marines. I’m Regular Air Force and Air National guard. Every F/FB-111 and RF-4 I ever touched has been in the boneyard for at least 25 years.
I knew there was a reason I liked you. 😉
As Americans we fill the needs we see. We live that way because we were born that way.
.
Feeding America comes to our town every other Friday. We had more than the usual volunteers.
Then an unprecedented delivery of food. We had to break it down and box it into freezer category, refrigerator, and shelf stable. Lots of it. Volunteers just kept showing up.
Our church provides food to low-cost lunch qualifiers in a couple of schools around here. It’s to help the families to get through the weekend. What with the shut downs coming, the director acquired triple the usual amount, made a few calls at nine o’clock. We had it broken down and delivered by noon.
See Tocqueville. Americans have a genius for self-organizing to address an issue without regard to family, social status, money.
The mask instructions are helpful. Thank you!
“Hero of the Pacific: The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone”
I’m speaking like a Californio.
You do bow your head when you pass Basilone Road on your way past Camp Pendleton on the I-5.
Southbound.
When one group of Islamic extremists planned to publically behead an Italian POW, the man resisted every step of the way and ultimately could not be restrained sufficiently for the planned decapitation. He forced them to shoot him dead. His last words [translated], “I’ll show you how an Italian dies!”
Alas, I forget his name. It deserves to live in marble.
Fabrizio Quattrocchi.
“Vi faccio vedere come muore un Italiano!”
Here’s something you won’t find in books. A really good Italian fighting unit is the best you’ll ever face. But there aren’t many of them. Most are made up of conscripts who have never even seen an Italian flag let alone been even told why they should fight for it.
Thank god there aren’t many.
I can play that piece on my cello too! From Suzuki Cello Book #1!
“Song of the Wind,“ from Suzuki Cello book #1.
Don’t panic. “Survivorman” is on the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ifgqFQ6wQ
We need more of this.
“Do those children have a permit to play music publicly? I’m sure that what they are doing is in violation of some ordinance on the books somewhere.
“Did they get clearance from the musicians union?”
– questions on the mind of officials in more than one place in these United States.
Dammit. I always do that. My dad didn’t sail in Navajo.
http://www.cg-tugs.org/cherokee.htm
If he had I wouldn’t be here. We lost Navajo in ’43. He sailed in Cherokee. I have more Cherokee heritage than Elizabeth Warren.
“The Cherokee (AT-66) was the third ship of the Navajo class of ocean tugs built for the Navy…”
BTW, did you know there was a USCG Tug Association?