Over 100 Years of Generational Pandemic Trauma with a Side of WW1/Depression/WW2 Trauma and Frugality: 1917-2020
This will be more personal than I usually get on Tumblr, but for some reason, I wanna share it. I wanted to put it in words with a bit of research as a way to process it and maybe get some other stories from other people.
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So the other day, Mom and I were talking about illness and reactions to the threat of widespread, dangerous illness while watching pandemic coverage on TV. (Yes, we talk about weird social stuff a lot. A lot.) Mom casually said she and her sister were distressed every time they got even a little bit sick and tried to hide it from my grandfather because he seemed to react to illness with anger. Huh, we said, How odd.
“Maybe he was angry at the illness, not at you?” I guessed.
“Hmmmmmmm,” Mom said doubtfully.
So we were taking a break from talking and someone on TV brought up the 1917-1918 flu pandemic.
“Oh, hey, didn’t Great-Grandpa live through that?” I idly asked.
Mom blinked and went utterly still. After a minute of staring blankly, she said, “Oh. Oh.”
“What?”
“He wasn’t angry. He was afraid,” Mom said.
“Who? Oh, Grampa?”
Mom nodded, face in an expression of epiphany.
I started thinking. It turned into diving into family history and history in general.
Okay, so. Let’s back up for some context.
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