I am sitting in the middle of every feeling imaginable as I reflect on what has happened these past two years. Part of me is numb, and at the same time, I am angry, tired, and have moments of contemplating retirement. The other part of me is incredibly proud of how we have weathered this never-ending storm. The decrease in positive cases is a much needed break from the deluge of COVID. It is the Yin and Yang, the duality of before times anticipates after times.
So what is next? We are sitting on edge of the cliff again, as mandatory universal masking is being lifted in school districts across the country. Mandatory masking in buses is also being lifted and every school district is cherry picking its own policies. COVID testing is dropping and some school nurses are being instructed to accept verbal reports of negative test results with no accompanying evidence. Quarantining for both illness and exposure is now up to parental choice in many school districts. The proverbial Pandora’s Box is wide open.
As my feet dangle over the edge of the cliff, I can’t help but think of the prescient poem and public health parable, An Ambulance Down in the Valley.
The Ambulance Down in the Valley by Joseph Malins (1895)
‘Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said, “Put a fence ’round the edge of the cliff,”
Some, “An ambulance down in the valley.”
But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city;
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became full of pity
For those who slipped over the dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave pounds and gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.
“For the cliff is all right, if you’re careful,” they said,
“And, if folks even slip and are dropping,
It isn’t the slipping that hurts them so much
As the shock down below when they’re stopping.”
So day after day, as these mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would those rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff,
With their ambulance down in the valley.
Then an old sage remarked: “It’s a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results than to stopping the cause,
When they’d much better aim at prevention.
Let us stop at its source all this mischief,” cried he,
“Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally;
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley.”
“Oh he’s a fanatic,” the others rejoined,
“Dispense with the ambulance? Never!
He’d dispense with all charities, too, if he could;
No! No! We’ll support them forever.
Aren’t we picking up folks just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence,
While the ambulance works in the valley?”
But the sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not bear with such nonsense much longer;
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be the stronger.
Encourage them then, with your purse, voice, and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They will scorn all pretense, and put up a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.
Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling.
“To rescue the fallen is good, but ’tis best
To prevent other people from falling.”
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence ’round the top of the cliff
Than an ambulance down in the valley.
Time will tell what will be, but for now, I am going to marinate in all that has happened and hope that I regain my sense of wonder, belief in humanity and a sense of hope and purpose. They all feel very distant at the moment.
Wow is what I can say! So on top of everything else we were fence engineers AND ambulance drivers. No wonder we’re so conflicted and exhausted and finding it uniquely difficult to sit with our feelings. I am right there with you Robin!
That poem was written in 1895…thank you for your thought filled comments Judy. I value your feedback.
Robin you have a gift of eloquently expressing in written word exactly what many of us are feeling. Thank you for these words. Sometimes I’m unclear of what I’ve been feeling with so many daily changes occurring. It’s comforting to know that others are feeling exactly the same way. Stay strong and take care!
Jean
Thank you Jean, your message is so appreciated.
The caring nurses and doctors of the valley
Taught the parents the risks of the cliff
So they could hold their childrens’ hands tightly
When reality and truth were adrift
(Thank you Robin)🧘♀️
Love this interpretation!
Thanks for sharing this poem. School Nurses know that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.