Who is an ideal man?

A man who, even after being born with a silver spoon, studied diligently, loved passionately, married the person he loved and continued to love her even after having a high-pressure, high-paying job. He took good care of his aging parents as well as growing kids. He ensured the former lived happily and died peacefully, while the latter grew up to be ideal citizens.

Such a man exists only in imagination or films. God does not make such a man. Stupid teenagers and crazy scriptwriters, however, continue to "create" such men in large numbers.

Recently I heard about a man from a different species. By the standards of the species he belongs to, he is an ideal creature. His name is Mr. COVID.

A man of rare accomplishments he is. Despite being a virus, he has certain qualities of bacteria. He does not need a living host to survive. He can survive on inanimate surfaces for long.

While his brothers and cousins cannot remain hidden for long in a host body, this highly successful gentleman can remain undetected for as many as 14 days. There is something remarkable about this stealth mode. The host does not fall sick. But all the while, he acts, although unknowingly, like a virus sprinkler - infecting one and all.

Not many of his ilk can fly, i.e., to be airborne. Surprisingly, under the influence of the checks and balances of Nature, which are evident everywhere, airborne viral diseases are not usually fatal, with some notable exceptions like viral meningitis or SARS. Their realm is limited to household diseases like ordinary flu, chickenpox, mumps, measles, etc.

The gentleman in question, Mr. COVID, is so lucky that I must state emphatically that such an insanely lucky creature should not exist; unless, of course, there is a scriptwriter behind it.