COVID-19: NYC Quote of the Day 2020-04-25

Friday, April 24, 2020, NYS Gov. Cuomo - God Bless America

It's easy to be nice and kind and affable when everything is easy. You really get to see people and get to see character when things get hard, and when the pressure is on is when you really get to see true colors of a person and see what they're made of. It's almost as if the pressure just forces their character, and the weaknesses explode or the strengths explode.

Personally, I'll tell you the truth. Some people break your heart. You just see the best and the worst of humanity just comes up to the surface, on both ends. For me, the beauty you see and the strength that you see compensates and balances for the weakness, and I get inspired by the strength so I can tolerate the heartbreak of the weakness. Here's a letter that I received that just sums it up.

[March 26, 2020]

Dear Mr. Cuomo, I seriously doubt that you will ever read this letter as I know you are Busy Beyond Belief with the disaster that has befallen our country. We [currently (as of March 26, 2020)] are a nation in crisis. Of that, there is no doubt. [Your approach has been spot on correct. I commend you for that & for especially for telling the truth, something that has been sorely lacking as of late.]

I am a retired farmer hunkered down in [N.E.] (northeast) Kansas with my wife who has but one lung and occasional problems with her remaining lung. She also has diabetes. We are in our 70's now & frankly I am afraid for her -

Enclosed find a solitary N-95 mask left over from my farming days. It has never been used. If you could, would you please give this mask to a Nurse or Doctor in your [city] (state)? I have kept four masks for my immediate family. Please keep on doing what you do so well, which is to lead -

Sincerely, Dennis and Sharon [redacted]

You want to talk about a snapshot of humanity? How beautiful is that? How selfless is that? How giving is that? It’s that love, that courage, that generosity of spirit that makes this country so beautiful and makes Americans so beautiful. It's that generosity of spirit, for me, makes up for all the ugliness that you see. Take one mask. I’ll keep four. God bless America.
As a check on authenticity, click on the image of the original letter below to go to the tweet where Governor Cuomo first posted it. In his press conference, he purposely left out the two sentences praising him and criticizing other politicians. He also spoke out "northeast" and corrected that he is Governor of NYS, not Mayor of NYC. Some other details and corrections from the rush transcript have been incorporated above.

Letter from Kansas to Cuomo
Edited for redundancy, grammar, and emphasis
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