Preventative Healthcare is Free

Tragic tales of 5 siblings

Anthony — dirty air

The firstborn. Anthony leads. He is charismatic and charming. His hair is tousled. He mirrors his companions. Everyone likes him.

He never turns down an offer. Cigarettes at 10. Daily by 14. No smog. No indoor fire. Breathe the carbon monoxide and tar directly off the paper stick. Do it everyday for 50 years.

Hard to exhale. Hard to walk uphill. No stairs.

Stroke. Heart attack. Rehab. Repeat.

Anthony is 74. Looks much older. 74 seems too young to be this pitiful.

Bertie — lipids

The caretaker. Bertie marries early and starts her family. This is her dream realized. Food is love. Everything in moderation, except for love.

Bertie’s abdomen grows with her family. She does not like it, but she is powerless to change.

Diets come and go.

Bertie is a grandmother. Feed the grandchildren. They eat more if you add butter.

Anthony is sick. Bertie wants him to quit. He never will. Doesn’t he know how unhealthy smoking is?

Stroke. Stroke. Chair. No more hugs from Bertie.

Casandra — awake

The adventurer. The partygoer. The sampler. Life has a lot to offer. Casandra has a lot to experience. Sleep is for the dead. Drugs for the living.

Variable bedtime. Up early. Get the worm.

Depression. Anxiety. Existential dread. This is not Casandra. Who is this?

Double down. Do more. Do more!

Tragedy. Siblings here to help. Casandra does not slow down. Tragedy again.

Will Casandra sleep? Sleep is not for the dead, it is for the demented. She sleeps now in a chair. She is reclined. Her mind is gone.

Dora — relaxed

The supporter. Dora settles down. Her work is calm. Her heart is warm. Relaxation is healthy.

Dora watches her siblings toil. Not she. Dora does not run. She does not lift. There is no pedaling and no paddling.

Here is a glass of wine. Relax. We will get there when we get there.

Dora takes her vitamins.

She eats right.

She is merry.

She falls.

A broken hip. Pneumonia. Sadness.

She cannot run. She cannot lift. She cannot pedal or paddle.

Is 70 too young to be this frail?

Ernest — Solitude

The thinker. The perfectionist. Ernest has big ideas. Others slow him down. He roams.

Not even Bertie and Dora can coax him back. Anthony calls and Ernest ignores. Casandra goes to Ernest and returns with disappointed confusion.

Ernest has his interests and they do not include people. No spouse. No partner. No children.

The funeral of his mother is his own social funeral. He sees his siblings, nieces and nephews from afar. Bertie baked some brownies. Anthony offers a cigar. Casandra invites him to a night on the town and Dora invites him to a quiet evening with a glass of wine. No.

Ernest goes home. He outlives all of them and he dies without touch from someone who loves him. He is the most tragic.