… Fate has its virtue. When I completed the manuscript for Quotes from the Edge of Nowhere the unedited copy resided on a table in my living room for months – awaiting a purpose. I finally summoned the courage to ask Ann Spicer, executive vice president at the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP), to do me the favor of editing the draft. Ann completed the final edits just prior to our nation and the world officially plunging into the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic began a sequence of events that has taken the citizens of our planet to a shared catastrophic experience of historical proportion.
The pandemic was followed by a global economic emergency, unprecedented unemployment, and most recently by social unrest ignited by the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. The latter event was a social reawakening of the fact that although America has transitioned into the 21st century, civil rights are not an asset shared equally by those residing in a nation founded on the inalienable premise that all are created equal (Chapter 3). A chorus of voices have risen up to pledge that their spirits and bodies cannot rest in a land where injustice continues to be given justification.
Sometime in the midst of my daily routine of sheltering in place at home after work, Ann sent me a follow up message asking me what I intended to do with the manuscript. I told her that I had no idea. However, her inquiry mentally nudged me to send it to a publisher. To my surprise, I received a notification from a publisher indicating that my manuscript had been accepted for print in the fall of 2020.
This seemingly random sequence of events caused me to pick up and examine the original printed manuscript that had patiently been resting on my table for more than a year. Years of my most closely guarded thoughts would soon be shared in a book for others to view. Despite an author’s wish, the overwhelming majority of books are never read by the masses. Thus, in the quiet hours when I and my manuscript were alone, I decided to capitalize on this moment of social darkness to share a chapter of the – soon to be – book each week.
The OAFP, funded by a grant provided by the AAFP Foundation Philanthropic Consortium, agreed to publish a weekly chapter of the pending book until the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration was officially terminated. From the beginning of this project I had hoped those of you reading this book would only get through the initial chapters. Unfortunately, we have arrived at the 11th and final installment with no clear end of the pandemic emergency in sight.
The 10th chapter of this book is entitled “Fate Has Its Virtue.” About 100 years ago in the 20th century, the United States’ third decade was bookended by a recovery from a flu pandemic that killed 675,000 Americans and concluded with the start of The Great Depression. It was the decade dubbed “The Roaring 20s.” Ironically, we have begun the corresponding decade with both a viral pandemic, a global economic crisis, and civil unrest. Perhaps this will be dubbed by historians as “The 20s that Roared so loudly it changed the world as we once knew it – for good.”
Let us hope fate will cause our world and its inhabitants to lean more toward justice, good health, and opportunities for all. “Destiny and fate will always offer us opportunities to change the status quo.” I hope we each will take a moment before rushing back to our busy lives to learn the art of recognizing the unnoticed wisdom of valuing all lives.
Enjoy the Epilogue.
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