My brother decided the pandemic was a hoax and applied to work again at an RV park at Mount Rushmore this summer. His sons pleaded with him not to go. They wanted him to spend the summer with his grandchildren and they feared he would be infected dealing with so many visitors. I begged him not to go.

He is now in a tiny local hospital with one doctor and two nurses and, because he was embarrassed, he did not call his children or me. Instead, he finally called his local doctor back home. The doctor called his sons. They cannot visit because the hospital has asked them not to for fear they would end up as patients. He is very, very sick and has taken a turn for the worse despite getting the proper treatment. His oxygen levels have dropped; he has been so sick he is now on the verge of giving up.

If you wear clothes because you would be arrested if you did not, what difference does it make if you are asked to wear a mask? You wear seat belts; you go through security at the airports. We are not going to wake up Nov. 4 with a cure.

Let us take care of each other – wear a mask as long as it takes to keep you and yours safe.