Crisis Management

One of my favorite movies I enjoy watching and re-watching is Apollo 13. I saw it with my grandparents in Annapolis, MD in 1995 and remembered my grandfather really enjoying the film as well since he remembered that crisis. I am amazed at the scene where the astronauts were going to run out of breathable air unless they could fashion the filter from one company to fit onto the CO2 scrubber from another company. The team of engineers figured it out. Or when there had to be a sequence of reactivating the electrical circuit panel via the circuit breakers in order to not overload the electrical system. The astronaut who got grounded helped come up with the solution.

What makes a crisis scary is at first, we cannot control the situation and the ultimate costs may be high. I think about some training in scuba diving where if you get caught on something underwater you are supposed to at first remain calm and think about how to untangle yourself, otherwise you may be breathing wildly and using up all your air.

My dad, and uncle, and I were caught in a storm in the middle of Green Bay two summers ago. We were about 7 miles from land in either direction – right in the middle of the bay when we were hit with 50 mph winds and 10 foot waves and lost our main sail. Then the front hatch opened, and the waves started pouring into the boat. So what did we do? We got the engine started, closed the front hatch, and had to slowly inch or way back to Door County with the boat bow facing the waves (as it would have been too dangerous to turn sideways to the waves). We made it back after an hour and a half and all was normal again. My dad teases me because after that I wanted to celebrate by having some summer sausage we brought along.

I think to some respects this COVID-19 is another crisis we get to determine how we want to react to this. The financial markets are down, there is high unemployment, the disease spreads fast, and there is a chance of dying if you get this. What should you do?

I think that again cooler minds prevail. Keep healthy. Practice all the COVID-19 precautions. Do not panic about your investment account. Seek some good old-fashioned American ingenuity to make the best of your lives like more video teleconferencing or learning a new hobby online. Maintain a positive attitude. We will get through this storm. And remember that usually after the thunderstorm is the rainbow.