Virus meets match in Rainbolt
Gene Rainbolt knows a little something about perseverance, having grown up in poverty during the Great Depression, in a single-parent home. That grit served Rainbolt well after he contracted COVID-19.
As The Oklahoman's Carla Hinton wrote this week, the 91-year-old Rainbolt, chairman emeritus of BancFirst Corp., spent 23 days in the hospital beginning March 19. He received “huge amounts of oxygen” but didn't require a ventilator.
Phone calls and text messages with family and friends helped to get him through. “Because it would have been the easiest solution for me to quit breathing,” Rainbolt said.
Home health care and physical therapy helped with his recovery. He has regained his mobility and can ride a stationary bike for up to 30 minutes.
Rainbolt says he feels for the many people who don't have access to medical care, and for those who have no family or friends to help them. His experience also drove home the importance of telling loved ones how much they mean.
“I've come to believe that love and service are two of the most important words in people's lives,” Rainbolt said. Here's hoping this longtime philanthropist and community leader has many more years to spread the word.
Understandable outrage over man's death
Police officers' actions that result in a person's death are often split-second decisions made in high-stress circumstances. Those elements were missing in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Videos show an officer with one knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes as the man — on his stomach, handcuffed and not resisting — repeatedly says he can't breathe. Three other officers do nothing to discourage their colleague. All four were fired; the lead officer has been charged with murder. The technique used by the lead officer is not approved by the Minneapolis PD. Indeed, Art Acevedo, police chief in Houston and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said it was “unfathomable” for an officer to do what was shown on the video. This horrible event has left two girls without their father, produced riots and looting of innocent businesses, and unfairly tainted the legions of police officers in this country who do their jobs the right way. It's a disaster all around.
A great OMRF donation story
Generous Oklahomans made construction of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation a reality more than 70 years ago. They continue to help OMRF today. This center of excellence is home to more than 400 doctors, scientists and staff members who study such things as cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders and Alzheimer's disease. Fundraisers during OMRF's infancy garnered donations from more than 7,000 people, totaling $2.25 million. OMRF annually receives gifts large and small from Oklahomans' estates. An example of the former is that of Gerald Jaquith, a farmer and former math teacher from Waynoka who died last year and made OMRF the sole beneficiary of his estate. It's value: roughly $2 million. Jaquith's attorney says his client lost his brother and parents to heart disease, and suspects that played a role in Jaquith's decision. “He always wanted to help other people,” the attorney said. This generous gift will help do exactly that.
Climate change concerns losing steam?
The American Energy Alliance recently partnered with MWR Strategies on a survey of 1,000 likely voters. By a wide martin, the economy and the coronavirus were respondents' chief concerns. Only 19% cited climate change as a crisis. The AEA said surveyors split the sample by asking people to identify their most pressing issue, and by offering a list of possible responses. Either way, climate change ranked low. “The bottom line,” said AEA President Tom Pyle, “is that if our current experience with the coronavirus and government response to it has changed any sentiments, it has deteriorated voters' concerns about climate change and their willingness to pay for any government schemes ostensibly designed to `solve' the problem.” Critics will point to the source — the AEA supports fossil fuels — and discount the poll's results. But it makes sense that the virus and economy would be top of mind for most Americans these days.