Alternate Apocalypse

Even though my friends tease me for my apocalyptic mindset, my ability to see dystopia lurking around every development, I am not always quick to see immediate, personal danger in world developments. I remember a leadership team meeting in early February of 2020, when our college president mentioned this strange new sickness in China and maybe we should be thinking about how it might affect us. I remember saying that it wouldn't be any worse than the flu (my first blog post about the disease is here, January 30, 2020). I had been aware of various versions of flu and SARS viruses, and I understood worst case scenarios--in other words, I'm not a denier of any sort. But still, I was the one downplaying the danger.On September 11, I was getting ready to drive down to the University of Miami to teach my Brit Lit Survey class. I was still at home, almost ready to walk out the door, with NPR on the radio, when I heard about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. I wondered what part…