Afterthoughts

     Why am I not afraid of COVID-19? That's a good question.  I had to think back to my childhood  to come up with an answer. Having grown up with an alcoholic, drug addicted stepfather, it's possible my fear subsided through the years because of the violence in my home. The circumstances caused me to cling to a higher power.  Sharing this is not for sympathy. It's just the way it was.      Many nights my stepfather would pull out his gun and threaten to use it on my family. Several times we would flee our house for safety.  The last time I remember him lying on the couch, waving his gun, and cussing, I hurried upstairs to check on my brother.  I didn't want a repeat of the time he hid in the dirty clothes hamper and couldn't run away. The two of us went into my room. I proceeded to open the window and take down the screen.  After putting it under my bed, I pulled the window shade down as a precaution. When I heard my mother in the hall, I reached out and pul