In times of crisis, there are always those cool-headed heroes that use their brains and the brawn to help others.  Like the 9/11 firefighters who rushed into the burning World Trade Center tower and ran up the stairs to their deaths.  And at the other end of the spectrum we have George Costanza of Seinfeld fame who at the first hint of fire at a kid’s birthday party trampled mothers and their children so he could be the first one out of the house.  When the going gets tough, some people shine and others get going in their own selfish direction. 

I hereby announce the inaugural edition of the Power to the Patient Coronavirus Hall of Fame and Wall of Shame to salute our heroes during this pandemic and to shame those villains, who through either selfishness, stupidity, or some vile combination of the two, have put the lives of others at risk.  (It’s the latter group that makes it especially necessary for my readers to take steps to chill out every day, like the ones I described in my last post.) These are but a few examples of courage and douchiness. I invite your additional nominations.

P2P Coronavirus Hall of Fame

►Doctors, nurses, EMT’s and other frontline medical workers:  These brave individuals have worked crazy hours and put themselves and their families in harm’s way, especially when they’ve had inadequate personal protective equipment.  Physicians, nurses, and other frontline medical workers may be heroes but they’re also human and they’re scared, tired, and frustrated. We need to go beyond hero worship by supporting their right to voice their opinions without fear of retribution from their employers.  And let’s not forgot about healthcare providers’ wounded psyches.  Many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers who had high rates of burnout before this crisis are going to be in very fragile emotional states when this is all over. Will we then let these folks take off their superhero capes and have their needs tended to?

►Cops charged with enforcing social distancing restrictions:  I’m safely (I hope) sitting in my house writing about the idiots who are still having parties (including one with a dj in a studio apartment in nearby Ewing, NJ!!!) but law enforcement officers actually have to go out there and confront them.  I watched on the news a clip of a cop who broke up a 40-person birthday party for a one-year-old.  The baby’s mom got in the policeman’s face (yikes!) and told him that as soon as he leaves, the party will resume.  Hey, I think we have our first nominee for the Wall of Shame.

►Mail carriers, supermarket workers, Doordashers, Instacart shoppers, package delivery workers: This is a very incomplete list of those people who go out there and are all who stand between our comfortable 21^st century style of living and our being forced to root around for squirrels and berries.  I’ve read articles that have said part of the reason for the high incidence of coronavirus in Queens is the large number of people there who have these service jobs.  In addition to coming into contact with customers, they also often have to take subways to their jobs.  A double whammy.

►Our friend who went grocery shopping for us: Being immunocompromised on top of needing to take corticosteroids puts my wife at greater risk of contracting a more serious form of COVID-19.  And I don’t even want to think what will happen if a doctor has to make a choice between putting Allison on a ventilator or a normally healthy patient.  I made my last trip to Wegmans two weekends ago and we have since decided it is too risky for me to do any in-person shopping.  Given that the competition for supermarket delivery and pickup slots is a blood sport here, sometimes we’re stuck with no other options than relying on the kindness of friends.  Also, I noticed on our local Nextdoor.com website that there are several good-hearted people who have offered to go shopping for the elderly and immunocompromised.  Great to know that there are some wonderful people out there!

P2P Coronavirus Wall of Shame

►Cough bombers:  I hope this isn’t too common but I heard a story about a customer in a supermarket near us who asked a teenage boy to stand at his spot indicated by the tape on the floor rather than next to her.  He then proceeded to cough on her and refused to move.  The police were called and they made sure he moved…out of the store.  His parents must be so proud.

►Guy who refused to stand on line:  When my niece (who also deserves to be in the Hall of Fame by the way) was shopping for my parents at Trader Joe’s, a guy got into a screaming match with store workers, saying that he didn’t want to stand behind the designated line.  Too bad they couldn’t empty out this guy’s cart before he had a chance to pay and tell him to hit the road.  And throw a hefty summons on top.  Dude, what are you, 4?!?!

►Woman on bicycle who cut off my wife: My wife currently walks with a cane because of autoimmune-related leg weakness and has been taking walks around the development.  During one of these jaunts a woman on her bicycle cut Allison off and came very close to knocking her over. When my wife said, “WTF?” the woman replied that she had warned my wife she was coming up behind her.  Well, whoopdee-friggin’-do.  First, we’re not talking a narrow sidewalk here but a wide-open parking lot.  And even if we were talking about a sidewalk or the street or whatever, the pedestrian has the right-of-way since we’re not in bike lane haven NYC.  And also lady – NEWS FLASH – there’s a pandemic going on.  And oh yeah, it’s not like my wife has tons of mobility right now.  For all these reasons, this poor excuse for a human deserves a prominent place on our Wall.

►Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama and other mouth-breathing science-denying governors: A mere couple weeks ago Governor Ivey offered this gem of a rationale for why she wasn’t issuing a stay-at-home order: “Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York state, we are not California. Right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.”  When the hell is the time?  After many people have gotten sick and died?  And last week – I shit you not – noted bright light and governor of Georgia Brian Kemp decided to reopen the state’s beaches.  These governors may be vying for the Darwin Award, which recognizes those people whose stupid actions led to their deaths, but I don’t think these states’ citizens want to accompany them up on the awards stand.

Who do you nominate for the hallowed Hall of Fame or the disgraceful Wall of Shame?