I am sick. I’ve been in bed all weekend. Since we’re both sick, I don’t get any sympathy.
The sick grapes on the chair by the bed lie prone; at the window
The tassel of the blind swings gently, tapping the pane,
As a little wind comes in.
The room is the hollow rind of a fruit, a gourd
Scooped out and dry, where a spider,
Folded in its legs as in a bed,
Lies on the dust, watching where is nothing to see but twilight and walls.
Poem by D.H. Lawrence, Malade
This really happened to me. I won’t mention the name of the pharmacy, but it rhymes with Fright-Aid. The pharmacist said the best way to avoid getting the flu is “don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth.” I’ll assume I can still use my mouth for eating as long as I wash my hands beforehand?
So the C.D.C. says 50 million [Americans] have been infected so far. Another 50 million have been vaccinated. And maybe 20 million have got innate immunity because of their age. You do the math — that’s 120 million who are immune out of 320 million, so two-thirds of the population is still not immune. It’s amazing how many people are acting as if this is all wrapped up. The numbers could still go up dramatically.
Quotation from Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota
This poem is inspired by John Savo, the Authoring Auctioneer,
who suggests most of our crap is… well, crap.
Plus I have pneumonia, so I’m feverish and taking antibiotics.
Funds for the Strip Club? (The Authoring Auctioneer)
It might be that some day I shall be drowned by the sea, or die of pneumonia from sleeping out at night, or be robbed and strangled by strangers. These things happen. Even so, I shall be ahead because of trusting the beach, the night and strangers.
Quotation from Janet Wood Reno (Janet Reno’s mother)
Maria: You should get out of these clothes immediately. You’ll catch your death of pneumonia, you will.
Inspector Clouseau: Yes, yes, I probably will. But it’s all part of life’s rich pageantry.
Quotation from Blake Edwards, A Shot in the Dark