Unseen invaders

Pandemic nothing new

One thing we all should have learned from this covid-19 pandemic: When it comes to handily destroying entire nations in a matter of weeks, we should be fearing an invasion of incredibly powerful, unseen and nonliving invaders far more than any armed conflict.

But that fact throughout the history of humankind is really nothing new.

Dr. James Finck, professor of history at the University of Science and Arts in Oklahoma, recently explained that history shows just how deadly the microscopic killers of this world always have been.

For instance, he said, the Mexican American War claimed 1,733 battlefield deaths but 11,000 from diseases. Our Civil War recorded 140,000 deaths in battle and 224,000 from disease.

The pattern continued during the Spanish American War, with 385 battlefield deaths, yet 2,000 lives lost to disease. Skip to World War I and 53,000 deaths compared with 63,000 lost to disease.

World War II killed about 70 million, the Holocaust some 6 million, and the communists another 100 million. Huge numbers. But, Finck wrote, there have been 36 million deaths from HIV/AIDS, and one million dead from the Hong Kong Flu in 1968. The Asian Flu in 195658 claimed 2 million, and the Black Plague that killed between 75 and 200 million.

Europeans also brought diseases to these shores, and some 20 million Native Americans died from resulting epidemics.

As of this writing, the ever-fluctuating U.S. death toll from covid-19 stood around 68,000, mostly those older than 60 with serious pre-existing conditions. Any deaths (although inevitable for each of us) are sad and regrettable. But in comparison with what the world and our nation has experienced over history, things clearly could be so much worse today.

Mask confusion

I gotta wonder, in light of the confusing and conflicting messages from national health “experts,” just what is the truth about much of covid-19, including wearing protective masks for our protection and that of others.

First we are told by the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. surgeon general and others that masks really serve no meaningful purpose when it comes to spreading the virus or preventing infection.

Then we are told to don masks anyway, as if the original facts somehow changed in midstream. So much mass confusion. So which truth is it?

Watch the dryers

We’d summoned help to repair the ice maker in our refrigerator (don’t these things invariably all foul up?) Soon Stan Clayborn appeared. He’s Harrison’s go-to superhero with tools (but no cape) when any appliance catches a virus and needs his healing touch.

I’m pretty certain every community of any size has its own version of Stan. He fixed our ice problem in half an hour for a reasonable fee.

Then Jeanetta, as an afterthought, asked if he’d look at the dryer. Having had a trillion or so loads rolled through her tub since she was unpacked from the box, it wasn’t as if we expected her last much longer.

Lately, the vanilla-colored metal box had started shaking more than usual, accompanied by loud whooshing sounds.

But why bother even fixing the thing? Well, new appliances with all their computerized whistles and buzzers can cost as much as a good used car. OK, perhaps I exaggerate. But not that much.

A soft-spoken man who’s been repairing appliances in these parts for nearly four decades, Stan is to ailing appliances much like a brain surgeon is to a tumor patient. It doesn’t take him long to open one up and determine what’s needed to get it back on its legs and purring.

He took a look and brief listen at our wheezing Hotpoint and smiled knowingly. At the very least she was badly clogged internally from all the years of churning. Some internal surgery was required.

Nearly an hour later, he’d dissected her, tub and all. The lint and trapped coins and such he discovered filled a Walmart sack. But there was something far more ominous lurking in there, which is why I’m writing about it.

“Every year, clothes dryers cause 30,000 house fires,” he explained, “so it’s good you asked me to look.” Most often the problem lies in clogged lint traps and blockages with the venting that can definitely trigger overheating and fire.

Then there are worn and makeshift fixes to electrical connections inside the body, like the one he held up for inspection. At some point, a “repair person” had used electrical tape to seal off the thermostat connections, which means the dryer always ran full-blast on hot.

To quote Stan: “Um, that’s not good at all.”

He said there are about a dozen spots that could cause a fire in a dryer, especially a used one in need of repair,.

When SuperStan departed, ice again was flowing and our dryer was humming smoothly and quietly, We felt like we’d likely dodged a bullet, or perhaps better put, a flash fire waiting to flare from something as simple as a clothes dryer.

Take heed, valued readers. Learn from Stan and our lesson.

Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.