Well, no doubt Covid was a factor in ending the dreams and lives of many who thought they could
make it paycheck to paycheck.
We'll never know the true number of people we lost during the Covid years. Many who died, died for causes outside of contracting the virus. Eighteen months of interrupted salary created more financial hardship for them and they couldn't provide for their own medical care. But, we can share what little we know about their stories.
My daughter told me her coach died a few months ago. This was a young man who coached competitive travel teams. I didn't care much for his methods, but I really didn't do well with that cut-throat environment. Hard not to lose yourself when everyone is sharpening the cutlery, ready to take your child down with vile gossip. It was never for me, but I know that my daughter benefited from learning how to deal with that hostile environment without allowing it to affect her -- just like her dad. It's a gift and a skill that I don't possess.
But one thing I didn't expect was that this cut-throat environment was the only means of income for some people and Covid would create such hardships that we would lose them, not because they contracted Covid, but because the world that they knew, where people could survive even with jobs that had little to no benefits; and where they could always find a safe place to stay, by relying on their networks or friends, family and even parents who were looking for leverage for their children on the team, well that all dried up. No one was going to take unnecessary risk during a lock-down.
Which only adds to the growing evidence, that our society is working its way through barbaric times. I hope we make it through this century, better than we entered it.
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