Friday, October 2, 2020

My Brain, My Gut, and Sister Mary Ruth

My brain, my gut, and Sister Mary Ruth--my high school English teacher--reacted to the news of Trump's Covid infection:

Gut: Gasps, adrenaline surge, animal excitement. 

Brain: This could be the equivalent of the Clinton emails! 

Gut: But what if Trump gets really sick/dies and the Proud Boys decide that it’s the Democrats’ fault?! (Fight/flight response sets in). 

Brain: Serves Trump right that he got sick. 

Sister Mary Ruth: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Brain: This could be the road to the first woman president!

Gut: Torrents of adrenaline flood system. Heart rate up. Feeling as if could—no, must—run a mile. Not an unpleasant sensation. 

Sister Mary Ruth, warningly: Ahem! 

Brain: Whiff of shame followed by twinge of conscience. 

Gut: Pulse rate down. Desire to run mile vanishes. 

Brain: But he KNEW that Hope Hicks had the virus and he STILL attended the fund raiser. He deserves what’s coming to him! 

Sister Mary Ruth, wags finger: That’s enough, now. 

Gut: Slight feelings of fatigue, or maybe indigestion. Also strange wired sensation, despite no additional coffee. 

Brain: Would be wise to close laptop. Maybe take nap? 

Gut: Must check updates. Trump cancels call with governors! Pence says Trump “just fine”! Should sic Sister Mary Ruth on VP, for telling fibs. 

Mind: Speaking of which, what if whole thing is another one of Trump's lies? 

Gut: Heart rate up again. Throat constricted. Nap? As if. 

Sister Mary Ruth , quoting Saint Teresa: “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you…all things are passing…God alone is sufficient.” 



11 comments :

  1. My Sister Mary Ruth was Sister Blanche. I never thought that I would miss her as I do.

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    Replies
    1. Many of those nuns were remarkable women. We were lucky to have them in our lives.

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    2. I read it as "some of those nuts." All true of course. So good to have so much in your head. A parent of tow of my college students who was from Columbia called me, "Sister Betty," I was honored.

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  2. I'm sure that whoever is running scenarios for the Democrats is considering everything that could go right/wrong - and this is one of those things that would have had a HIGH probability, given his proclivity for wandering around without a mask AND thinking he is invincible.

    I leave the results to God - but I hold 45 responsible for literally hundred
    s of thousands of deaths.

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    Replies
    1. I wonder whether the Democrats had anticipated this, for the reasons you give, and made plans?

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  3. This quote made me cringe: “I am the president of the United States. I can’t lock myself in a room,” Trump told the world through his lawyer Saturday. “I had to confront [the virus] so the American people stopped being afraid of it so we could deal with it responsibly.”

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    Replies
    1. Here comes the new onslaught on our sanity: the justification by the White House of everything Trump did last week.

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  4. I had to laugh. Even so many miles away on the other side of the world, I had very similar reactions. I didn't have a Sister Mary Ruth, but my primary schoolteacher had the "Golden Rule" written on the blackboard every year from 7-13 years old.

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    Replies
    1. I'm considering having the Golden Rule tattooed on my forehead.

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