Fauci: Expect The Unexpected

Fauci: Expect The Unexpected

Adult Inspirational
"A life well lived is to have made a contribution to society,
leaving what you've touched better off than before you had anything to
do with it."
It was balmy out today. Well, balmy for Penobscot County,
Maine on the last day of December. It was climbing into the upper
thirties with no wind chill to make it feel colder. I was doing a
Goodwill run. Somewhere between waiting for the Bangor bus and
getting off the Mt. Hope one I fell head over heels in love.
Not with a person or a even a cat, but with a book--a slim
volume that condenses a world of information and inspiration into
ninety-five pages. I now energized, on fire, and ready to leap into
a world of 2022 possibilities.
Fauci: Expect The Unexpected: Ten Lessons on Truth, Service, and
the Way Forward was compiled by National Geographic from interviews
with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who is
shepherding our nation through the current COVID crisis. This isn't
his first rodeo, BTW. He's had a hand in developing vaccines,
treatments, and methods of prevention for other killer illnesses
including HIV, Zika, and Ebola.
The book lets readers get to know Fauci as a human being--the
man who is neither the pandemic savior greatly admired by the pro
science crowd or the villain despised by those convinced that mandates
are trashing their constitutional rights. We get it all: the highs
and lows, successes and frustrations, and hopes and fears of his
work. All this is narrated in an amazing format. It's organized
around ten of the guiding principles that guide him through life.
"You must be prepared at any moment to enter uncharted
territory, to expect the unexpected. And where possible, seize the
opportunities."
I think that, as we slog through the COVID morass, with
adminitions to upgrade our masks in the face of more easily
transmisable new strains, at a point where many people had expected us
to be out of the woods, this is the Fauci principal most of us are
familiar with. We learn about two pivotal moments in his life. In
1968 when the surgeons general were telling Congress that we'd won the
war against infectious diseases and it was time to move on already he
stuck with his chosen specialty even though there were times when, "I
sort of felt as if I were going to Miami to become a ski instructor."
And in 1981 he was among the first to realize that AIDS was a brand
new infectious disease rather than a fluke or series of unfortunate
coincidences.
"I always try to look for the positive in people. That may not
work for everybody, but one of my guiding principles is empathy."
My favorite principle is the one entitled Above All Empathize.
Fauci was almost five when America bombed Hiroshima. Just like
probably most kids back then he'd played war games in which the
Japanese were the bad guys. So, seeing the front page picture of the
devastation he had thought, "Wow, hey, that's great."...
...until he saw his mother's sadness. He learned that he could
feel empathy for people who are very different from himself and even
be considered enemy. He also talks about how anger about homophobia
made him "a defender of others' rights to be who they are."
Despite surges, new strains, and many people's angry refusal to
take scientifically proven precautions, Fauci seems optimistic about
COVID getting cut down to size. He even voices a fear that when we're
far enough past the pandemic we'll start forgetting the hard won
lessons we wrested from it.
I urge you to read the book. I think just about all of us can
glean at least a few seeds of hope and inspiration from Fauci's open,
honest, and jargon free words at a time when we need all the hope and
inspiration we can nurture our minds, hearts, and souls with.
On a purrrsonal note, Fauci has given me a second New Years
resolution. (Recall my first is do more of what brings me joy without
feeling guilt?) I'd just hit the point where my memoir project was
bogging down. AGAIN. It felt clunky and wordy. No matter what
format in prose or poetry I tried to utilize I couldn't get past the
awkwardness of chronological ordering. So this way of organizing
gives me renewed hope. I plan to scrap the whole thing and start over
tomorrow because my favorite feline friend and I have some partying to
do tonight. (Jules)
Oh, YASSS!!!, we haz some partying to do!!! Bring on the cat
treats!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Anthony Fauci and National
Geographic for this amazing book which is a must acquire for all
public and higher education libraries.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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