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My Brain, My Gut, and Sister Mary Ruth

Welcome to My Green Vermont - A Blog by Eulalia Benejam Cobb.
By Eulalia Benejam Cobb

My brain, my gut, and Sister Mary Ruth–my high school English teacher–reacted to the news of Trump\’s Covid infection:

Gut: Gasps, adrenaline surge, animal excitement. 

Brain: This could be the equivalent of the Clinton emails! 

Gut: But what if Trump gets really sick/dies and the Proud Boys decide that it’s the Democrats’ fault?! (Fight/flight response sets in). 

Brain: Serves Trump right that he got sick. 

Sister Mary Ruth: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Brain: This could be the road to the first woman president!

Gut: Torrents of adrenaline flood system. Heart rate up. Feeling as if could—no, must—run a mile. Not an unpleasant sensation. 

Sister Mary Ruth, warningly: Ahem! 

Brain: Whiff of shame followed by twinge of conscience. 

Gut: Pulse rate down. Desire to run mile vanishes. 

Brain: But he KNEW that Hope Hicks had the virus and he STILL attended the fund raiser. He deserves what’s coming to him! 

Sister Mary Ruth, wags finger: That’s enough, now. 

Gut: Slight feelings of fatigue, or maybe indigestion. Also strange wired sensation, despite no additional coffee. 

Brain: Would be wise to close laptop. Maybe take nap? 

Gut: Must check updates. Trump cancels call with governors! Pence says Trump “just fine”! Should sic Sister Mary Ruth on VP, for telling fibs. 

Mind: Speaking of which, what if whole thing is another one of Trump\’s lies? 

Gut: Heart rate up again. Throat constricted. Nap? As if. 

Sister Mary Ruth , quoting Saint Teresa: “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you…all things are passing…God alone is sufficient.” 

11 Responses

  1. I'm sure that whoever is running scenarios for the Democrats is considering everything that could go right/wrong – and this is one of those things that would have had a HIGH probability, given his proclivity for wandering around without a mask AND thinking he is invincible.I leave the results to God – but I hold 45 responsible for literally hundreds of thousands of deaths.

  2. I read it as \”some of those nuts.\” All true of course. So good to have so much in your head. A parent of tow of my college students who was from Columbia called me, \”Sister Betty,\” I was honored.

  3. This quote made me cringe: “I am the president of the United States. I can’t lock myself in a room,” Trump told the world through his lawyer Saturday. “I had to confront [the virus] so the American people stopped being afraid of it so we could deal with it responsibly.”

  4. I had to laugh. Even so many miles away on the other side of the world, I had very similar reactions. I didn't have a Sister Mary Ruth, but my primary schoolteacher had the \”Golden Rule\” written on the blackboard every year from 7-13 years old.

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