Like James Bond, The Shadow exists independently of the many actors who have portrayed him,
But just as most acknowledge Sean Connery as the definitive Bond, Orson Welles stands as The Shadow to beat.
Do you think that having four medical practitioners in the Club will save you from Corona Virus? Probably not, but be glad that they don’t get up to the high-jinks that Plague Doctors did in the Middle Ages.
Although the plague that bedeviled southern in the 1650s wasn't nearly as destructive as the Black Death of the 14th century, it is estimated to have killed over a million people in Italy and surrounding areas over the course of the decade, but mostly between 1656 and 1658. No one was safe, and since the germ theory of disease wouldn't reinvent medicine for another 200 years, the Italians figured desperate times called for desperate measures, and so they sent their physicians out in the most bonkers costume imaginable.
For starters, these doctors wore masks — but not just any mask. It was the face of a white bird, wearing goggles and a top hat. They wore long, dark robes, heavy gloves, and carried batons they used to point to things — maybe because it was hard to hear them through their masks.
All the parts of the plague doctor's outfit, and especially the shape of the mask, were believed to provide protection for the doctor. However, the protection wasn't from germs or bacteria on the patient, which would not be understood until the modern era. Instead, doctors believed that some disease, like plague, was generated by poisoned air called miasma.
https://history.howstuffworks.com/european-history/plague-doctors.htm
Maybe the best plan is just to steer clear of doctors . . . .
Our old friend Stephanie Woollard writes:
That time of year is here again and I'd love to invite to our Seven Women Fundraiser.
We’d love for you to join us for an evening of food, drink, music and giving at The Hotel Windsor, 17 March.
The night will bring our supporters and friends together to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020.
See the details under “Events”
The 2019 Rotary International Annual Report is available. You can check it out online.
The Shadow knows it will tell you about who we are, building peace, changing the future for the world’s children, and best of all, exactly what you need to do to join the Arch C. Klumph Society ;-)
https://www.rotary.org/en/annual-report-2019.
