A few days ago, I read this terrible report of the number of deaths in Sevier County Tennessee’s only hospital. A commenter in an online thread said that if Sevier County isn’t in a riot by now, there’s not much hope for this country. Perhaps MPAU is a subset of MPAI. Most People Are Uninformed, which makes them idiots? I have spent time contemplating the thing, but that’s another topic. I posit that the people of Sevier County, where I reside, don’t know the situation.
I’ve lived in East Tennessee for almost thirty years. For most of that time I knew M.D. I’m not sure it’s appropriate to reveal his name at this time, although he was very well know in this area. I met him and his wife in a grocery store parking lot. I had a sign on the camper of my truck, it read: “Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father, but by me”. (John 14:6) He later said that I was influential in bringing him closer to the Lord. He found out that I was a sign painter, and asked me to letter the concrete wall of the shop he was using. Inside he was using his many metal and wood working skills to make things for sale. I marveled at the Cherokee Indian theme chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It featured different metals in its design.
We met his family, and stayed in contact. Both of our families became part of the loosely associated Christians in this area who have large families, homeschool their children, and are wary of communications like television. I have eleven children, and they really took a liking to M.D. He would sometimes take my whole family out to a local restaurant, as that was difficult for me to do on my income. Even very recently, the children asked why we were having an above average meal with lots of extras when I returned from the grocery store, “Mr. D. paid me extra for that job I did, so were going to have a nice meal!” was the answer.
He never lived beyond an average blue collar lifestyle, in fact, he always rented modest quarters. He lived in Sevier County Tennessee. He had a knack for figuring out how to do a large or small job, and the ability to smoothly keep a crew working on it. I would say that was his ministry. He wanted the average guy to have a decent paying job, and there was usually one available to who ever needed one. Guys on the other side of the law, didn’t matter, they always had a shot at a decent paying job. No slacking was permitted, so it was just an opportunity, not a guarantee. More than once he gave me work when I had none other. For months after the economic crash of 2008, he had work for me.
He was not taller than most, but he was a big man. I never heard of him working out, but his wrists were as big as my knees. He could have hurt somebody very badly, but he never would. Once, I got a measure of his strength when we were in a basement of a house being remodeled. We were both using pry bars to move an old beam out of an old block wall. Somehow, my bar slipped and slid between the beam and the wall, with my hands in the narrow area, and all his force pressing against them. It all happened so fast that he didn’t have time to remove his pressure. I thought my hands would be crushed; and realized how very strong he was.
I could tell the stories of a long friendship, of the highs and lows, but I’ll save that for later. He has long had health issues. I received the news this afternoon, Friday January seventh, that he recently contracted the Covid virus, and was taken to the hospital. This information is indirect, but from reliable sources. As it was related to me, while he was there, he became agitated, and started pulling the IV lines from himself. The staff decided to put him in an induced coma, then he died, yesterday, on the 6th. As one who often relies on pattern recognition, I find this interesting in an angering way, but time will tell.
There are take away thoughts from this:
- The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” I would add or change it to “A life of regular labor and careful diet will keep the doctor away” In these times, BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT A VISIT TO THE HOSPITAL, avoid it if at all possible.
- What did the big man know or realize when he was tearing out the IV drips?
- BE INFORMED. The regular news sources are lying to you, have been for years. Remember when they said “Give us 15 days to flatten the curve” Or when they described the riots that burned cities and murdered police as “Mostly peaceful protests”? Or When they lied about a crowd chanting FJB, and said it was “Let’s go Brandon”? They lie all the time, and PLEASE don’t trust your health or any other important thing to them.