The illness you prevented, and the lives you saved, went unnoticed by the people sitting on top of society. That’s why her role was, every year, less well funded than the year before. The fax machine was the new tech in the office that still kept its records on paper and filed the paper in red manila envelopes. “If I wanted to send a letter, I needed to fill out a form, and the form had to be approved—all to use a county-funded stamp,” said Charity. “I was the county health officer, and I wasn’t allowed to use a stamp. But that’s okay! I learned to live within the system.”
