There’s a lot of talk about the avian flu these days, but many people don’t realize that a worldwide flu epidemic killed at least 20 million people in 1918-1919. The other day I had a story in the Post-Gazette about some nameless flu victims that were killed by the flu in 1918 in Butler County. They were buried in mass graves, but people still remember them.
While you’re driving down the highway during the holidays, you don’t expect the bridges above you to come falling down. Most people have heard about the recent collapse of the bridge onto I-70. The incident could have easily killed someone, since about 30,000 vehicles travel that stretch of I-70 daily.
1 comment:
i read your article.very well done. i take care of the family graves at a local cemetary. there are many there with 1918 dates including my mother's aunt, who died of the flu. the flu epidemic was rarely mentioned in my family. i think it still brought a great deal of fearful memories. the word flu almost became like the word "cancer" in my italian american family. a word not be to spoken aloud.
i understand the whys of that, but if we push those memories away we are open to another time of mass deaths and sorrows.
yes, it can happen again. better to face it and try to prepare as best we can. i hope someone has learned something helpful since then.
the bridges, well, everyone knows how bad a lot of them are, but there are so many problems that need answers it boggles the mind and gets people so frustrated that a lot, throw up their hands in disqust and walk away from them. other people count on just that reaction, buys time. until something like this happens.
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