sorryless

Heroes Of The Week

Sorryless78 Comments

Yeah . . . I know.

That’s why we have heroes . . . .

Image result for Kevin Love and arena workers

Kevin Love has made our Friday list a time or two, so it’s no surprise to see him back for another win this week. He recently donated $100,000 through the Kevin Love Fund to arena and support staff employees of the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the NBA season on hold and the future uncertain, Love is doing his part to ease some of the burden on the folks who make game nights happen. His gesture has inspired some of his baller compadres as well as several team owners to do the same. K Love says it’s all about “paying it forward”. I say he’s a champion on and off the court.

Image result for Anthony Fauci

With the COVID-19 virus affecting the way all of us go about our daily lives, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a much needed voice of reason and calm. He’s a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and unlike Mr Trump, Fauci has had both of his boots on the ground since this virus came to light. Fauci has been making the rounds- from morning talk shows to blogger podcasts. Calm, informative and insightful, he’s been a genuine voice of reason inside these uncertain times and it’s nice to know we have the good doctor on our side.

Image result for Handoko Gunawan

Be afraid and be very afraid if you’re a person of a certain age, because COVID-19 is coming for you and (fill in the horrible blanks from there). Thing is, Handoko Gunawan has never been daunted by this virus, not for one minute. The eighty year old lung specialist remained on the front lines in West Jakarta, Indonesia; treating patients at risk as well as those affected. He recently became ill and reports coming out of West Jakarta are sketchy at best. But remember what I was saying this past week about saying a prayer for people who really need it right now? Let’s do that.

Right about now, Coaches Bar and Grill in Columbus Ohio should be raising the roof thanks to a sports slate that was supposed to include March Madness, NFL free agency and the start of the baseball season. And then everything changed; sports went away and people were told to stay out of public venues, and Coaches had to close up shop for the foreseeable future as a result. But on their way out, a regular at the sports bar decided to leave the workers a tip to ease the financial crunch in the form of a $2,500 tip.

Patrick “Benny” Leonard is the owner of Coaches, and he said it would be nice if people stopped fighting over toilet paper and adopted the mindset of this anonymous tipper. In other words, let’s remember the biggest team sport of them all. Humanity.

The capper on my Heroes isn’t about a hero at all. It’s about where us humans go from here. The photograph you’re looking at is one of the many canals in Venice and the story grab is courtesy of the lovely Dale over at A Dalectable Life. And yeah, those are fish you see swimming it up inside waters you can actually see through. For now. Until the new normal goes back to the old way of doing things.

And I know what you’re saying . . . But Marc! Things will never go back to the way they were before! The world has changed! Forever!

Well, we’ve felt this kind of thing and said this kind of thing and believed this kind of thing before. And then the world returned itself to us and we behaved very much like the entitled stewards that had been playing up the A side as if it had infinite thread on its musical wheels.

The rules of nature are speaking to us through that canal in Venice. They’re reminding us that we are tenants to this place, and that all the high and mighty we can muster isn’t going to save our asses from losing the keys if we’re not careful. It’s up to us to not simply learn the lessons inside this time in our history, but to live them. It’s not asking for us to stop doing the things we did before, it’s simply asking us do the one thing we tend to get away from when times are good.

Listen.

 

 

 

78 thoughts on “Heroes Of The Week”

  2. Regarding your last one … I’ve spent years waiting for the crisis that will unite us again (as much as that is possible). Our generation’s version of the Great Depression or WW II. 9/11 could have been it. So could have been the Great Recession. But neither achieved any kind of unity and instead just drove the wedge in deeper. I don’t know if this pandemic is going to do it either. It all depends on what happens, how long it lasts, how bad it really gets. But I’m pessimistic of whether this really produces any kind of significant change in how the human races treats each other or planet earth. Once it’s finally over and people can come out of their houses again, we’ll probably just return to our old ways of pillaging and plundering. I wish I was more optimistic.

    Liked by 4 people

  3. B,

    What a perfect Heroes for this week. We are inundated with Corona and Covid-19 everything so, yeah, no intro was needed. Because… we know.

    Kevin Love can keep making the Heroes because he is the type of guy who will keep on doing those little and not so little things. Paying it forward has never been more timely.

    Yes, thank God for Dr. Anthony Fauci. We have the equivalent in Quebec who is the voice of reason every day at 1 pm (my friend Linda not only plied me one too many Negronis, she also told me to tune in to this guy).

    I am not the praying kind usually. However, today? I am definitely sending good vibes via prayer to Handoko Gunawan. He said he was ready to die while helping others, let’s let him know he doesn’t have to.

    That anonymous tip is what this is all about, isn’t it? I love that the employees chose to split it amongst all 12 employees and not just the five on shift. I can’t help but wonder what your government has planned for all the people who will be out of work for who knows how long. We have Employment Insurance and the usual one or two-week “probation” period is being waived. 70% of your salary is way better than nothing, right?

    As for the clear waters in Italy and the birds being heard in Wuhan, let us rejoice. For now. I am with you about the new normal becoming a fond memory. I don’t want to be jaded but we have proven ourselves over and over, haven’t we? Huge disasters bring out the heroes and the love and then slowly, our – I like your choice of term – entitlement returns.

    Your last paragraph sums it all. We really do need to listen.

    Brilliant, my man, brilliant.

    Q

    Liked by 3 people

    • Q,

      Sometimes there is nothing that needs to be said, yanno?

      K Love is a call to action, and his compadres have been listening. The league has been a face of this virus with several big names testing positive. And they have also been ahead of this from the get, with the NBA Boss Adam Silver closing business down in the wake of two players testing positive. More needs to be done, but the NBA is sure doing its part.

      These are the people we need to be listening to. Turn off the morning talk shows and pare down the news cycle until we get at the real truths of this virus.

      Poor bebe, getting bullied by Linda like that!

      Doctor Gunawan needs our prayers right now. We can’t afford to lose the likes of him.

      Yeah, I am dubious as to what the government will do. Writing $1,000 checks, with conditions really as to who will actually receive them is like putting a band aid on the Titanic.

      I like to think the majority of peeps will carry a positive piece of this puzzle with them. The part that wants better, from all of us and for all of us.

      Nature is speaking to us.

      Gracias lovely.

      B

      Liked by 3 people

      • I do know.

        That is fantabulous that Love’s compadres have been listening and that this league is doing its part.

        Absolutely. I can’t watch these shows in a loop because that would just make me crazy but staying informed is a necessity.

        I know right? All 5’2″, 120 lbs of her…

        He does and we will keep on sending them.

        I’m lucky in that I was already registered with EI, having not declared I had started a new job full-time (was giving myself a window if things did not work out). Now, I just have to see what more I need to do to keep it coming. It blows for so many people. A friend just wrote on FB that her husband lost his job. Shut down because of Coronavirus with no possibility of return. I am afraid there will be more of this.”

        I like to think so, too. There will be those who will make changes for the better.

        She is shouting, hoarsely.

        Always, love.

        Liked by 3 people

        • I kept things positive on the NBA front, but really, the owners shouldn’t have had to abide by Love’s example. They should have been leading the way if you ask me. But still, it’s a great story.

          I am lucky that I cut cable, for more reasons than the one.

          She sounds like a real brawler!

          We must.

          I am afraid there will be much more of these instances with people losing their jobs. The ramifications of this are no longer a short term thing.

          I believe there will be plenty of good.

          Woot!

          MUAH!!

          Liked by 2 people

  4. Super edition of Heroes, Marc. I love to hear the stories of those doing good things during this time of crisis. The canals of Venice is like clean air over China. Maybe some folks might take this virus as a sign that we need to give the Earth a break. Well done, Marc.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. Everyone can do with some K-Love right about now. I’ve noticed a number of team players and their team charities contributing to the displaced workers from their stadiums. Kind of renews one’s faith in sports.

    With all the misery poor Venice has experienced of late, seeing fish in a cleaner lagoon has to make them feel better.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I love these stories because, truth be told, there are so many of them out there that never get told. These guys really do give so much back to their communities, but all we ever seem to hear about are the arrests and the drug test fails. Time for more stories like K Love.

      I agree with you. Here’s to Venice.

      Liked by 2 people

  6. There’s so much here. The hoarding reference for starters. You should see what selfish New Yorkers were doing, until some of the wiser stores, put a limit on how many of anything you can buy. One woman who shops at my neighborhood gourmet store, before anyone really realized it, bought 43 cans of various Tuna, one of their specialties they stock.

    And thank God for Dr. Fauci who at least has brain cells working. Don’t get me started.

    The virus…I’m nonplussed at how it got so dire. Why were we not better prepared, at least with ventilators. It’s like the arrogance of the Titanic without enough lifeboats.

    That said. I LOVE THE BIG TIP AT THE SPORTS ARENA. THAT’S A TIP FOR THE REST OF US TO BE OF SERVICE…TO LEND A HAND AND TO STOP HOARDING.

    We need to believe it will be okay. Hope is essential.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. I hope people do stop to look and listen and see what the world is about when we’re normally zooming around and not paying attention. I find myself wondering if all the wildlife is thinking “What the heck is going on with those two-leggeds that are always causing us so much trouble? They seem to have vanished.”

    Liked by 2 people

    • It’s in the right now. But then we go back to our regularly scheduled programming and well . . . you know.

      Which is why one day I really think I’ll just disappear into the wild with all these creatures. Like Henry Beston on a bender . . .

      Liked by 2 people

  11. I always love your hero posts but your last paragraph really struck a cord, especially the last line. If some good comes of this, I hope it’s what you express here. For all our sakes.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I think in piecemeal, George. One person’s change, subtle, almost undetectable but there. It’s like the Butterfly Effect, really, or it can be. In a positive sense.

      Liked by 2 people

  12. Listen….. and learn!
    I saw the Venice Canal story on TV. Crazy!!! The traffic is so low in Toronto, that the air actually smells fresh.
    Your hero posts are very neat.
    It’s unfortunate I never see your president in one. (Wow… I’m assuming you are an American!)

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.