Pam Pardy: Fists of Furey

As of this writing, COVID once again has us huddled in our homes for school and work. Hours after the end of one snowstorm, with two more potential systems headed our way, there’s really not much to do but sit back and wait for all this – the worst of winter and the cloud of the latest Corona variant – to pass us by. Better off staying where we’re to ‘til it comes where we’re at anyway, it looks like, as catching ‘da vid’ seems to be inevitable.

As if the threat of vulnerable Aunt Vida catching Omicron wasn’t bad enough, now even our own Chief Medical Officer of Heath has warned us that, odds are, we’re all gonna catch ‘it,’ it’s just a matter of time.

 

Long Winter’s Nap

The proof is in the pudding, as the virus has stuck some notable names. Broadway star Petrina Bromley had it. Comedian Lisa Baker caught it. Politicians too, from Dr. John Haggie to the Hon. Seamus O’Regan have all shared the fact that they’ve been struck by sickness. But as we all hunker down for a long winter’s nap or a variant-induced hibernation, there are exceptions to that ‘Hold Fast’ by staying put stuff, and that’s this province’s premier, Dr. Andrew Furey.

Besides his premier duties – COVID updates and the like – Furey’s gone all Fists of Fury and seems to have taken on the world like some superhero out to avenge our lot in this crazy pandemic life we now live. 

From helping to administer COVID-19 vaccines in Sheshatshiu to providing boosters at clinics in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, to sharing a touching tribute at the news of the loss of former Liberal Cabinet Minister, John Efford, our premier had been one busy man over Christmas.

 

Road-side Assistance

As if that wasn’t enough, the man with surgeon hands has even been offering road-side assistance to stranded travellers. Jeremy Cakes posted the yarn on Facebook over the holidays, sharing how his aunt and cousin and a few others had been out and about when a flat tire put an end to their merriment. With a jack that wouldn’t cooperate, they were stranded. Along comes a lovely fellow and, using his own jack, he changed the tire lickety-split. The fellow did such a good job, the post by Cakes reads, that it caused the aunt to utter, ‘You must be a mechanic,’ to which the Good Samaritan’s wife responded, ‘actually, he’s a surgeon.’ It was the premier and his wife who stopped to help those stranded strangers. So, what’s the message? Hope, maybe, that things will get brighter if we all stay kind to one another, is one thing we need to remember.

 

Pay it Forward

We’re all in this together, is certainly another take away. Never lose sight of our humanity or forget what we’re known for as a people, is another good lesson, for while we need to stay safe in our bubbles, we also still need to help our neighbours when we can when the need arises.

Shovel out someone who can’t. Run an errand for someone in isolation. Bake more than a baker’s dozen, cook that extra casserole, and share what you don’t need with someone who might appreciate the thoughtfulness.

If the premier of the province can take the time to change a tire on the side of the road in the height of winter over the holidays for a complete stranger, then being kind to one another is the least the rest of us can do. While COVID fatigue is real, so is COVID kindness, and the latter just seems like a better cape to wrap ourselves in.   

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