Mariella Gattini

I took the entire month of February to dive into my new book. Now that it’s on its way to become my new story, I can finally get in touch with you. My apologies for my silence up to now. Too many things are happening around, but I can only open my heart publicly when I have something to say.

In February of this year, the number of people who died of Coronavirus surpassed the 500,000 in the United States. I would like to express my condolences to all those left behind, who have to go on with their lives with their hearts broken.

In the same month, and to make matters worse, the deep freeze down in the state of Texas left many without power for days, in other words, no heating for many—leaving uncovered the big disconnect between the government of Texas and the real needs of its people. Although I have to say Judge Clay Jenkins of Dallas County has shown great human qualities for all Texans to emulate.

The temperatures went down to the single digits in Texas; they were so low that the power grid couldn’t handle it. This type of freeze is rare in Texas, but when it happens it also makes pipes explode, especially in the most humble neighborhoods. For them, it meant no electricity and no water for days under freezing temperatures.

I know that you don’t come here for the news because I’m not a journalist. There is a number of good, professional journalists, who are doing a great job clarifying stuff for people, for which I’m extremely grateful.

What I would like you to take from me is my personal view of the struggle that I witness. This is not about me, and I do not have an agenda, but I believe it’s my obligation to add to clarity and not to confusion. My quest is against lies, which are so prevalent that sometimes I get too overwhelmed and disgusted. However, I never relent.

If you go to my essay Home Less, you’ll see that I added the name of British musician Holly Humberstone, who in her recent single Falling Asleep at the Wheel illustrates very well what I say in that piece about homelessness.

I hope you’re prepared to roll up your sleeve for the vaccine available to you when the time comes, so that you can help us end this pandemic once and for all, a pandemic that has affected people of all walks of life.

Please, keep wearing your mask when in public until we are sure we are completely out of danger. This is not a political call; this is a public health outcry.

Money means zero without your health. The economy means nothing without consumers. Our life is not really enjoyable if we are surrounded by misery.

Although I still see the misery in my surroundings, I’m also able to see that there are many, many people working hard to turn things around. Case in point, the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package just approved by the government of President Joe Biden. Because of him, his government, and many others in a long list, too long to display here, I can have more time in my mind for my own work as a writer, instead of wasting precious time fighting the idiocy that surrounds me on my own. Because I realized I’m not alone in this quest for the truth.

The ones who take care of themselves are commendable. The ones who take care of each other are extraordinary. I would like to be both commendable and extraordinary. I hope you join me in this big feast of the mind celebrating the advancements in humanity one by one, because together we can be extraordinary.