Am I Coming Down With A Texas Cold?

That is me sneezing about 2 minutes ago at 9:55am, Thursday, November 12, 2009. I started sneezing about 9:00am. At 9:45am I decided to aim the camera at myself and set the self-timer and try and catch myself in a good sneezing eruption. This is the best I came up with. I should have set it to video mode. That would have worked better. But, in my current oxygen deprived state of muddled thinking, I did not think of video.

Yesterday I had a burning eye sensation all day long. I thought this was caused by yesterday's incredible bout of gray smog here in Dirty Ol' Town, aka Fort Worth.

But, this morning I am having that telltale slightly dripping nasal type woe, combined with the sneezing.

In other words, I am afraid I may be coming down with a cold. Or worse. I can not remember the last time I've been sick. I can't even remember the last time I had a headache. My sister in Phoenix had the flu last week, but I had no contact with her, except by phone. One of my Washington corespondents, Miss Karen P. F., had a 3 day bout with a cold. I politely asked her not to send me a virus. I'm sure she didn't.

I've been very careful when out and about among germ/virus laden humans. I have been to no restaurants, in months, where sneeze guards protect the food. My closest contacts with humans, alien to me, was at Sprouts Farmers Market yesterday. It was crowded. Very crowded. I cleaned my grocery cart handle with the provided disinfectant wipe and tried to keep a distance from any passing illness carriers. But there were a few very close encounters. Once by the Texas Ruby Red Rio Grapefruits, once by the Broccoli Crowns, once by the Brown Rice, with the worst encounter being by the free sample of Hummus. There was actual physical contact at the hummus station, after which I rushed to get a disinfectant towel. I may have been too late.

My pattern, when ailing, is to continue on as if I'm not ailing. That usually works. At times, in the past, I've knocked out an incoming cold by using the non-doctor approved method of going to the liquor store and getting a bottle of potent medicine. A good dose of that usually knocks out a cold. But that can be one of those the cure is worse than the disease type things.

A person I know here in Texas, let's call her Miss Puerto Rico, takes a daily self-prescribed, non-doctor approved, dose of medicine that she gets at our local supply store. She has not had a cold as long as I've known her. Then again, neither have I, and I don't use her medicine daily.

Despite the symptoms of a possible incoming cold, I braved the other type of cold and went swimming this morning. It was very pleasant.