Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that began in late 2019, the author worked as a solo hairstylist in the front parlor of an old Victorian house in the Pacific Northwest.

This work is a collection of intimate, fictionalized stories that were inspired by true events and hundreds of conversations the author had with his customers about what it was like to live through the unprecedented disaster that conquered every nation on Earth.

Written in vignettes that are woven through the backdrop of politics and popular culture of the time, this compilation is an honest depiction of the impacts of pandemic life as told through the experiences of a gay man.

The events captured in this final volume of the Beauteous Maximus trilogy show how COVID pulled society into the most volatile flashpoints of human conflict. More importantly, Volume Three depicts how the Spirit of Truth can guide us out of darkness and fear by teaching us how to embrace the beauty of compassion.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that began late in 2019, the author worked as a solo hairstylist in the front parlor of an old Victorian house in the Pacific Northwest. This work includes a collection of intimate fictionalized stories that were inspired by hundreds of conversations the author had with his customers about what it was like to live through the unprecedented disaster that conquered every nation on Earth.

Written in vignettes that are woven through the backdrop of politics and popular culture of the time, this compilation is an honest depiction of the impacts of pandemic life as told through the experiences of a gay man.

In Volume Two, the multi-layered prose of Beauteous Maximus shifts to The Economy of Truth. Unquestionably, the COVID pandemic destabilized global, national, regional, and individual economies. Supply chains were interrupted. International trade was upended and conflict ensued. The workplace was changed forever. Priorities shifted suddenly in ways that required everyone to reevaluate what was essential. It was as if the whole world was put into a giant salad spinner to be rinsed and drained of outdated ideas. History shows that humanity's greatest wars and revolutions were caused by economic pressures, primarily wealth inequality among the classes. History also describes how the conflicts of the past repeat in predictable cycles of time until humanity embraces positive change.

Truth is the strongest protection of the people's wealth and allows for the most ethical use of natural resources needed to sustain life, culture and trade. Truth is the path to healing - this is an important idea given that propaganda, deceit and paranoia were prominent obstacles that took center stage in pandemic life. Therefore, embracing real Truth was a reliable way to survive the scourge of a lethal virus at a time when those who doubted Truth could not.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that began late in 2019, the author worked as a solo hairstylist in the front parlor of an old Victorian house in the Pacific Northwest.

Beauteous Maximus is a collection of intimate fictionalized stories that were inspired by hundreds of conversations the author had with his customers about what it was like to live through the unprecedented disaster that conquered every nation on Earth.

Written in vignettes that are woven through the backdrop of politics and popular culture of the time, this compilation is an honest depiction of the impacts of pandemic life as told through the experiences of a gay man. COVID ushered in a conscious awakening and a coming of age. It was a turning point in human evolution that brought about the powerful desire to heal and to find lasting solutions to hatred and bigotry that were never thought possible.

This work is a testament to humanity's greatest strength -- its ability to endure the fear of annihilation with Hope, Love, and the Wisdom of Truth. Beauteous Maximus is written in dedication to our future selves.