For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

In my worst nightmares I could not have imagined the situation that we are in today. A common expression is “misery loves company.” Today, misery has plenty of company. By now, many people in our community know a person who has died from the coronavirus. It feels like, as sung by Kew Gardens Hills natives Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, “Nothing but the dead and dying in my little town.” For the first time in my life, I looked forward to Shabbos so I would not be able to hear about people who just died. Unfortunately, I did hear about a neighbor who did die, though I don’t know if it was from the coronavirus. Also, many people have become unemployed due to the virus and have watched their investments in the stock market tank due to COVID-19.

The coronavirus is not the first pandemic that I have been of an age to understand its significance. I had forgotten about the H1N1 virus (swine flu).  We got through it without the panic and massive shutdowns that are now occurring.  Rush Limbaugh, on his March 12 radio program, agreed with me, noting, “How many of you even remember the swine flu 2009, 2010? I don’t remember it. I mean, I remember we had it. But I don’t remember any panic about it. I don’t remember a thing about the swine flu.”

If you want to look at the silver lining of the effect of the coronavirus, it is the outpouring of support by those who have volunteered their time and experience in trying to help others. For example, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday, March 29, reported that 75,000 retired health care professionals volunteered to join the healthcare force to deal with the coronavirus.

I enjoy writing for the Purim edition. A good satirical article has elements of truth, plays on the biases on the reader, and comes up with a conclusion that most people would realize is fiction.  At the end of the article I said “Happy Purim” to make sure that the reader realized that it was fake. I have had people read my past Purim articles and believe that I was serious (regarding both this and past articles).

For most of us dealing with Covid-19, the virus is probably the most stressful event in our life. There can be three reactions:  anger, depression, and positive thinking.

Fox News has reported that last week President Trump met with his senior advisors Carshena, Shesar, Admasa, Tarshish, Meres, Marsna, Memuchan, and King Achashverosh and Queen Vashti of Persia at the King’s palace in Shushan. Trump was proud of being the best president in United States history. The economy of the United States is the envy of the world and every other country fears and respects America. He has turned around a country that was destroyed by the Muslim foreigner Obama. Yet, more than 50 percent of the country does not support him. He has overwhelming support in the Orthodox Jewish community, yet it is not 100 percent. Trump blamed it on a bunch of losers and the fake media. He called out one writer, Warren Hecht, who writes for the Queens Jewish Link. He cannot understand why this writer keeps on criticizing him, since the president has done what supporters of Israel such as Mr. Hecht have wanted, such as moving the United States embassy to Jerusalem. Clearly, Hecht is a loser and nothing more than a far left-wing Democrat who never will like Trump no matter what he does. They should have never let his grandparents into this country. This is what happens when you let in impoverished individuals without college degrees. If they do not destroy the country, their descendants will.