Norovirus hits North Haven

With 15 students out--nearly a quarter of our population--and children who say even their parents are sick, we are running scared from "the Puke." One of the second graders came to me at recess to tell me that her dad is ill. "My daddy's sick," she reported. "What does he have?" I asked. "The Puke," she replied, adding that her brother had had it the day before.

Ugh.

For those who want to know more about this horrid creature--is a virus actually alive?--and vague hope for a vaccine, Scientific American tells us it can live in well water for years. Google trends shows that it hit hard right after Christmas and again last week and, depending on where you live, might be on the rise again.

All I can say is, wash your hands like mad and if you or your family gets it, stay the heck home for at least three days after you start to feel better. That's not me talking, that's the fracking CDC.

Good luck.

Back Amongst the Living

For the first time in three weeks I can taste my tea. I slept through the night, except for the cat needing to be thrown out at 0200, for the first time in a month. Nothing hurts. And I've only coughed three times in the last hour. It feels like a November miracle.

Of course, I have a doctor's appointment this morning. Oy. I am wicked thankful I have a job with health insurance. Too bad I have to give it one second's thought.

Anyone else been dancing with death this fall? Honestly, if I lived in a fireplace heated, 18th century house in Maine undergoing this grippe, I don't know what wouldhave happened. How did our ancestors do it?