Washington State has already closed I-90 and other passes east of Seattle due to heavy snow. Our Cascade Mountains get plenty of snow every year. Mount Rainier averages 59 feet. Yes, that’s fifty-nine feet of snow. Although state maintenance crews are prepared to reopen as-soon-as-possible, they know when to save lives by shutting down or restricting access to highways.

Last spring I warned Kit that the Covid virus, like colds and flu, would attenuate over the summer and return in the fall. Experts are now predicting a heartbreaking winter with perhaps 200,000 additional deaths. Adding to the tragedy are the long term effects suffered by nearly every person hospitalized. This is a major health blizzard which will require shut downs and restrictions to save lives.

Our novel, The Ambassadors published in 2018, reaches a crisis when a pandemic threatens mankind. Our protagonists rally everyone to help with the catch-phrase “Don’t let the ship sink. Everybody to the buckets. Help is on the way.” As in our story, we are facing a real crisis and help in the form of a vaccine is on the way. Please do all you can to help save lives, starting by taking precautions to stay healthy yourself. “Help is on the way.”

Drew Coons