Norman

The two friends sat at the long bar, grateful to hold their frosted mugs. It had been a whole year. The one continued, sharing about his family.

"My father-in-law Norm, you can't believe this guy. Just had his 95th, still going. He was an airmen, Flying Fortress. You want to mention guts? He was that gunner in the bubble. What could go wrong, right? WWII and Korea. Lots of bombing missions. Saved the whole world, his generation did, no doubt, the historians say."

The other friend urged him to continue, his own family rich with military heroes. He knew how talking about them made you feel.

"My boy's grandpa is beyond amazing. He has beaten so many enemies for so long now. Cancer. Heart disease. Diabetic for years, he hooks up to a machine three times a week. He just keeps on going. Then, he gets a rare eye infection that cannot heal, so he lost that sight. Now, his hearing going, one eye, how he keeps his positive attitude, really inspiring to everyone."

The other friend finished the last of his beer, "That generation just breathed courage, it was their oxygen. Guess that can last a lifetime. That's a pretty hard list of deadly foes to overcome".

Both friends were silent for a long minute, thinking the same thought: incredibly, you can add one horrible pandenic year to amazing Norm's list.