Hey, look at the bright side. You came home to wonderful spring weather. Less than two days till May and I'm out side watching the sunset. 39 degrees, spitting rain, good breeze out of the southwest.

I expect the advancing arctic ice sheet will be visible to the north any day now.

Gerard,

I had one one those a month ago; my condolences. Go to the drugstore or Amazon and get a NeilMed sinus rinse kit. My allergist told me to get it but my ENT demanded I do so. Made a world of difference for me. (You can get generic salt refill packets at CVS. You'll only skip the salt once.)

I still can't get enough of your wordsmithing, Gerard...About a cold, during a cold. Wow. :-)

I've thrown out my back from sneezing, on more than one occasion. Luckily it hasn't happened recently.

I've had to run my air conditioner a couple of times this week. In Pennsylvania. In April.

Where in PA are you, rickl? We are wet and cold in Lancaster. I just got over my first of many bouts to come of bronchitis. The only upside of getting it so frequently is that my voice ends up sounding like Bea Arthur's.

Jewel, as your physician, instead of bronchitis, may I recommend gin and cigarettes for the voice. It's easier on the lungs and a hell of a lot more fun.

You know, once, Pec, I had a gig as an interpreter in a nursing home for a really fat and demented Russian. I mean, the fellow was at least 500 pounds and tied to a huge wheel chair with bed sheets. He was utterly insane, too. He didn't understand a lick of English, and couldn't understand much Russian, either.
One morning I got an emergency call from the doctors at the place. They wanted me to give a specific interpretation concerning the man's meds., and they wanted to make sure he understood exactly what they were telling him about them.
I show up with my pharmaceutical/medical dictionary in Russian and English, expecting to have to understand precise terms and dosages...and let me tell you...those dictionaries aren't cheap, either. And they are hard as hell to locate.
Once I arrived, I was quickly ushered into the dining hall, where I was given the following instructions:
...and keep in mind, that when people want you to translate something, they say it really, really loudly.
"Tell Mikhail that he can only smoke TWO cigarettes EVERY HOUR. NO MORE THAN TWO.
....AND TELL HIM TO STOP EATING THE EMPLOYEES LUNCHES OUT OF THE REFRIGERATOR. "
So much for needing my specialized medical dictionary. But I digress. I like my baritone voice. It makes singing All the Single Ladies while sounding like Bea Arthur more fun.

Some of our natives here in the fog belt believed that dipping oneself in Puget Sound then spending time draped in seaweed inside a smoke-and-sweat lodge would cure the sneezies. No wonder they lost it all to the wonder-drug taking whities.

Jewel, my Russian ex-sister-in-law thought she was entitled to take our family jewelry when she walked out after only a few years of marriage - just after my brother had purchased American citizenship for her and her daughter. Now my brother wants to go get another Russian wife and I'm thinking of strangling him with his smartphone charging cable. The sooner we find an excuse to bomb Russia back into oblivion, the better.

Great storytelling. And the perfect little pup photo to go with it.

Strategy is good in war and colds. I have sworn off the meds - they just make symptoms worse. My advice to my kids (and my mom voice is always right) is "take a steaming hot shower" (note to self: check temp of water heater ASAP) and "blow! Don't let that junk get into your chest!". Tylenol for pain, cases and cases of extra soft tissues, fluids and fresh citrus and ointment for sore nostrils.

Once it gets into the chest.. forget about it. Gerard, thanks for this. It pumped out every bit of moisture through my tear ducts in fits of laughter. I've never experienced a story personifying a head-cold but I sure as hell needed it. Looking forward to the "dry heaves after drinking too much version", by the way.

The effects of long nights of drinking? Well, there was this time on the island of Hydra in Greece....

Jewel: I'm in southeastern PA near Philadelphia. There were 2-3 days early last week where it got hot and muggy. I had to turn on the air conditioner for a few hours in the evening when I got home from work.

I could have made do with the ceiling fans, but my computer doesn't like the heat. The fan screams like a banshee when it gets up above 80º.

Bronchitus? Bronchitus? Whither thou Bronchitus - mucusoid god of Lung Oysters? '

I'm very sorry about your cold. I fought that very same one to a standstill this spring in New Mexico.

It's a Southwestern Cold; as influenza rolls off the Asian plains of the Gobi and Ebola cycles and thrives in the Congo, The Cold lives and thrives in the Desert Southwest. In scenery devoid of life, the viruses rattle to-and-fro with the wind looking for a nostril.

It's a stark, naked land with its life underground, drunk in a hogan or inhabiting a mucus membrane.

But it gets better.

Gerard, mine was after too much wine at a wedding in Smalltown, SC, but it's a universal theme. I don't think I've hugged any international toilets, but then again, my memory isn't what it used to be. It is less of stretch, however, to personify the cold... scientifically speaking. Thanks for the laughs. God knows we all need more of that these days.

Uggh, now I have the hitch hiker....it is exactly just as you described, too.

Jala neti. It saved my life. No kidding. Lots of instructions to be found on the Internet. Just do it. Been doing it since 1999, and I never get sick, have colds, or sinus problems.

Feel better, Gerard. Too bad you are not touring the Southwest again...I would make you some chicken soup, or, maybe that hamburger broth you posted...

GA moonshine infused with peppermint candy sticks

"Strange that you don't realize how convenient the nose is for breathing until yours has been sealed with what has to be a heady blend of damp concrete and gummy bears."
Without doubt one of the best descriptive, hilarious sentences I have ever read. I'm so glad I wasn't drinking or chewing when I read it.

...me too

sucks, don't it?

JWM

Dang it all. I just hurt myself laughing.