Hitherto micro, that's the way I heard at the only podcast for the curious mind with a short attentions man, it's episode, we episode one forty five, it's called. Does this look infected? It's a rhetorical question and one of my favorite titles. Today, Is this look infected fans of the way I heard it know that many years ago I began collecting titles for stories. I had not yet written. Some people do this with bands, and one of them too, when I hear a when I hear turn of phrase were an expression that seems like it should be a good title for a band. I make a note of it. I'm never gonna have a ban on ever being abandoned. Yet I like searching for four for good names for bans, and the same is true of stories years ago I was nineteen or twenty. I guess at Antimonium State, fair back when I was living in Maryland, minding my own business.

Walking down the midway looking to hop on the till to whirl, or maybe the maybe, the round, and remember where I was headed, but I do remember the sound of three young women chatting behind me about five feet behind me. I wasn't eavesdropping, but nor was I trying to ignore them. I guess I was kind of listening, because people talk loud in Baltimore, especially The state fair and these women were have of it a fascinating conversation. I don't recall the specifics of what it was right now, but I do remember apropos of nothing one of them paused to ask. Does this look infected

but of course were in Baltimore, so not only are they talking louder than necessary, they got that Big Baltimore serve a done doc accent going on. So what came out of this woman's mouth was a marge since look infected, and you know it just stuck it just stuck in my crawl. Right there in the reptilian part of my brain, I wanted to spin around and way and I wanted to have a look at whatever wound she was referring to to see if, if, in fact, it looked infected to me, but I didn't because that would have been Rudin weird, so I kept walking but to this day, thirty, some odd years later, I I still wonder what was ailing that woman and if, in fact she was wrestling with an infection of some kind, I don't know

the story you're about to hear. It does not, however, concern itself with a solitary infection at a state fair. This was a of a slightly more contagious infection that impacted people all over the world. It's a true story, I'll share it with you momentarily. Let me first of all thank the sponsor of this episode, its light stream. Thank you light stream for sponsoring the way I heard it and thank you for making a five point: nine five percent, a pr with ATO pay on a credit card consolidation loan, a reality, look to be clear, never borrow money needlessly, it's never a good idea, but if you need to buy, money, and if you have debt, then you probably have a credit card, and you should look at your credit card bill because, right now the national Average guess. What do you think the national average is for the interest rate people are paying on our credit cards I'll, give you a hint it's over twenty percent,

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there is the only way to get that discount has to go to light stream. Dotcom, slash row, that's light stream, Elijah HD! As to your ie, eight am dotcom, slash row, never borrow money needlessly, but dont pay more interest than you have two. Here's a disclaimer free to ponder. Subject: crane Approval rate includes point five: zero percent, auto pay, discount terms and conditions apply and offers are subject to change without notice visit, light stream got com, slash road for more info. I had to read that, but I don't have to tell you this: I like em, any company they can save people money on their credit card bills is ok by me check him out, like stream dotcom, slash row now back to the question of hand, does this look infected, be honest, the wired? Sometime in the early morning, hours of December eleventh-

two year anniversary of the diagnosis mark, decided he'd had enough, the virus showed no signs of abating and the pain had become unmanageable and so The forty six year old Father of two hung himself. As is two year old son slept in the adjacent room he used, a dog leash instead of a rope, his father in law found the body mark was not the only victim who chose not to endure the symptoms of a deadly virus that left thirty, seven thousand people hopelessly crippled like smallpox, polio, the spanish flu and the black death. This disease did not discriminate bit infected people of all races. All of the cities and all ages. Although the elderly were hit particularly hard

in one retirement community considered to be ground zero of the epidemic? Eight people died while waiting for a cure. Many more have since joined them. Victims of a lingering plague that continues to afflict thousands like mark the victims who took their own lives did so because they could no longer take the pain, William Foxen, for instance, sixty five year old british war, hero and pensioner, shot him Often the head shortly after in diagnosed better to go out sway he wrote that live in Hell. The rest of My days More recently, a fifty six year old entrepreneur name, Charles Murphy Dove, of the window of his hotel room in Manhattan. After ten years, of torment. He could no longer endure the agony that, of course, there was Renee Deville ashamed of french aristocrat, who

as far as we know, was the first suicide in the wake of the outbreak When village Shea realised what the virus would do to him, he swallowed a fistful of pills. And slit his wrist. Interestingly, you his arm dangle into a trash, can as he slowly bled to death, So as not to ruin the carpet in his tasteful office were, If two untidy a mess for the cleaning. Lady, though most of the victims were everyday people. A number of celebrities were also infected. Steven Spielberg, Joshua, Gabor, Larry King- they all suffered terribly but survived. The ordeal so too did John Malkovich, who was markedly sanguine about the scourge that left him crippled. I know longer view the whole thing is a negative experience. He said looking back, I see it as a valuable life lesson.

Perhaps the most enlightening perspective was that of Ellie vessel. The holocaust survivor. Who died a few years after being diagnosed as you. Recall, result had written fifty, seven books and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and nineteen eighty six at which time the norwegian Nobel Committee proclaimed quote through his struggle. Come to terms with his own personal expire science of totally humiliation in Hitler's death camps. He has successfully delivered a message of peace and atonement to all mankind. Perhaps that's why he reaction to the virus was so memorable. When Oprah Winfrey asked him to describe the exact moment, he learned that he and his wife had been infected. We were stunned, said vessel but the feeling quickly, past and seconds later I looked at Marianne and said

we have seen worse my darling, and so we simply got on with their lives as best we could in the end, The scourge of two thousand eight left in its wake. A trail of heartbreak and loss some of the victims recovered completely. Some took their own lives, but most like ITALY Visa endured the agony as best they could waiting and hope that somehow a cure would be to make them whole again but only one of the viruses victims died of shame mark the forty six year old Father of two who himself with a dog leash on this. Second anniversary of the outbreak, exactly Two years after he and the rest of the world learned the truth about the despicable huckster, whose contemptible lies. Bread around the world, like a virus the truth of a con man whose bottom

greed. Was the contagion that wiped out sixty five billion dollars and savings and crippled thirty, seven thousand investors, a human pestilence, whose name was some. He too painful for mark to live with a name heritage by his son from a father who broke his heart made off very flattered, What do you think that I go too far it wrong to compare a man to a virus and infection person I don't think so. I think of myself as a fairly forgiving type of guy, but when it comes to this kind of graft, this kind of con. What made off

was just deplorable, and I remember reading about his victims and just feeling so so bad for them, because read my book. You'll know. I was also feeling sorry for myself. I was not cod, up and dirty made offs web. But I did get caught up once upon a time in a policy scheme on a much smaller level. I was in my late thirties and had a trusted financially visor with whom I had invested every penny. I'd ever I'd ever earned and it was revealed to my shock and dismay along with the shock and dismay of dozens of others, that the money simply wasn't there the whole. They had been a ruse and I don't write about details of this because legally. I'm I'm not allowed to. There was a settlement and in the and I came out- ok, but a lot of people didn't and the feeling. Ah God, the feeling of realising the safety net You thought you had beneath. He was not really there.

That is so. That is something worth writing about for me anyway, so I did in my book the way I heard at which apropos of nothing would look terrific and stocking this Christmas. Don't you think, as for MR made off, I doubt seriously, if I'll be able to conjure up any sympathy for him when he shuffles off his we'll coil, and I suspect, I'm not alone. If you disagree, tell me all about it over on my facebook page. In the mean time I'll be back next week with another. Story for the curious mind, with a short attention span till then