Random read over on Dirt: Vegetation: The valve at the end of the world, by Evan Grillon.
This story held a little resonance since I’d read a bit about how seemingly minor bloodstream infections, say introduced by a nick in your gums, or in my case about 10 years ago an infection under a tooth, could easily and rapidly escalate to life-threatening damage to your heart.
When the story was mentioned on Hacker News the other day one line a commenter AlphaWeaver quoted stood out:
What a stranger can offer a person in a moment of crisis is solicitude unalloyed by the past or the future of the relationship, unconditional in the true sense of the word.
If you’ve been on the receiving end of that scenario you know what a precious, astonishing gesture it can be.