In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped our nation, I have been searching for the right words that might provide comfort to those in need of the same.
Easier said than done.
During Tuesday’s daily White House press briefing, a somber President Donald Trump finally acknowledged that as many as 240,000 Americans could die from complications caused by the virus.
Experts say the number of dead could drop to a mere 100,000, but only through continued and aggressive stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements that far exceed those suggested here by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves.
To put that in perspective, only 58,220 Americans died during the war in Vietnam. During the First World War, often called “The War to End all Wars,” 116,516 Americans lost their lives.
If the White House projections hold true, that means that statistically speaking, more than 1,000 Mississippians will likely die within the next few months. Here in Forrest and Lamar counties, the death toll could top 100 or more.
I’m not sure how to wrap my head around that – nor does anyone else, if they’re being honest.
And then came the news this weekend that songwriter John Prine, best known for songs like “Illegal Smile,” “Spanish Pipedream,” and “Angel From Montgomery” as well as his 2005 cover of the Blaze Foley masterpiece “Clay Pigeons,” had been diagnosed with the virus and was in critical condition in a Nashville hospital.
Prine, who learned how to play the guitar at age 14 in his hometown of Maywood, Illinois, rose to notoriety in 1971 with the release of his self-titled eponymous album and he has remained a quiet and enduring voice of the folk movement ever since. In 1998, he famously beat an aggressive form of cancer on his neck that forever altered the way he sang, but in an interview following the surgery, Prine said he was committed to finding a way to return to stage.
“I still have more to say,” he said.
Music has provided me comfort for as long as I can remember and especially in recent years as I navigated the rocky waters of divorce after 22 years of marriage.
Prine’s music has been an important part of that healing process and I have struggled to wrap my head around what a world would look like without him in it.
Fortunately, Prine’s condition has improved somewhat and although he is still on a ventilator, he is now stable.
Although he’s certainly not out of the woods, I have a hunch we haven’t seen the last of John Prine. I think he still has more to say. At least I sure hope so.
In his masterful rendition of the Foley song, Prine sings about searching to find his voice again and ultimately decides that he would “start talkin' again, when I know what to say.”
Finding the right words is difficult sometimes, especially during uncertain times like these. But like Blaze and the great John Prine, I’m not quite ready to give up – and I hope you’re not either.
We all have more to say.
Here’s to finding it together.
Gustafson is the editor and publisher of The PineBelt NEWS. He and his wife, Carly, live in the Parkhaven Neighborhood of Hattiesburg.
