I WILL FEAR NO MORE, FOREVER

I was visiting with an old friend recently. He is 86 years old and dealing with some serious health issues. It occurred to me during our conversation that this has been a very exciting life we both have lived and at the same time it has sometimes been frightening.  

When you consider all that we have seen during these past few decades, you have to be amazed. As I recollect back to my earliest years, it is a wonder what I have seen. 

As a very young kid World War Two was in full swing. Of course I was too young to participate but I certainly knew about it. The war was all the conversation of my parents and their friends. It was very frightening. I was afraid of the Germans and the Japanese. I remember when it was over. Even as a young child. I was relieved. 

I do not intend to cover all the wars we have been through in the last eighty years but it is sufficient to say that there have been too many and they have been very costly in lives and in money. For most of my life I, like most reasonable Americans, lived in fear of the communists. Along comes Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher who got together and sent the commies packing. My fear went packing too. 

Beyond the destruction of war, there have been many, many exciting discoveries also. There have been cures for deadly diseases. If you are in my age group, you will surely remember polio. Polio was beyond frightening. As kids we couldn’t go into wading pools or public swimming pools because it was thought that the polio virus lived in those environments. Lo and behold, Dr. Jonas Salk comes along with a cure and suddenly the fear is gone. I also have ugly memories of leukemia. It was for a certainty a death sentence. No more. It is still deadly, but many are cured and live full lives. Danny Thomas put together St. Jude’s Hospital to treat kids with this deadly curse and it has been a wonderful success. Another fear relieved.

While this next item is a bit off point, I want to share it with you. Chief Joseph was the High Chief of the Nez Perce Indians. They lived in a state of constant war with the white settlers in the Northwest. One day after a particularly bloody battle, Chief Joseph just had enough. He said, “I will fight no more, forever.” And he didn’t. Wars between the Nez Perce and the white settlers ended. 

So here I am in my eightieth year of life and the entire world is trying to scare me once again. We have this deadly virus traveling all over the world looking for victims to sicken and kill. I should be afraid, very afraid.

Well, I have decided as Chief Joseph decided, I have had enough fear. Therefore, for me, I will fear no more, forever. I will continue to be cautious and careful. I will distance myself socially. I pretty much always have anyway. I will practice good hygiene. Again, I pretty much always have anyway. But I will fear no more. How are you going to scare an eighty-year-old anyway?

Be safe. Be careful, Be cautious. But, don’t be afraid.

Ron Scarbro March 31, 2020