Nasty Bug

   I heard a really funny joke at Toastmaster's this morning. Arnold liked to buy a six-pack of beer and drink it while watching TV at night. One night after having finished his six pack there was a knock on the door. He answered it and found a six-foot cockroach standing there. The cockroach pushed him violently away and then left. The next night after drinking three beers, there was a knock. The same cockroach was there only this time he punched Arnold in the face and left. The next night Arnold had finished only one beer before there was a knock on the door. There was the cockroach. He punched Arnold in the stomach and left. The next night Arnold had not started drinking when the knock came again. The cockroach was back. This time he beat Arnold up, left him in the middle of his living room and departed. The next day Arnold went to his doctor. "What do I do?" he asked. "Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do, " said the doctor, "There's a nasty bug going around."
   There sure is. C and I both came down with it. It's not often that both of us get this sick, but we did. C spent much of last week in bed. I thought I was immune. having worked as a health care provider for so long, I thought that I was immune to most of the stuff that goes around.
   Not this time. Last Friday I was all right. Saturday morning I had a dry hacking cough that wouldn't go away. It got to the point that I felt like the inside of my throat was torn up. It hurt to swallow. I drank pot after pot of tea with honey in it.
   By Sunday I was desperate. I needed something to help the cough. I can't take the OTC cough medicine because it makes me feel sick and disoriented. I looked for recipes for homemade cough syrup. I found one from a website that I liked. It was honey, apple cider vinegar, water, ginger and cayenne pepper. These are all things I have on hand. I mixed some up. Then I took a dose. I didn't like the taste, but it seemed to help. My throat felt better and the coughing subsided. I felt well enough to go to church.
   Monday the cold moved into my head. Head colds are not much fun, but I can handle a stuffed head. It beats trying to cough a lung up.
   This is the nastiest virus I've seen in awhile. It seems like it hangs on. For C the worst part is feeling tired. He hasn't played pickleball in almost two weeks because he doesn't feel well. That's unusual for him.
   It's not just us. Lots of people we know have been sick and are recovering. Last week we were supposed to have a Toastmaster's contest which had to be cancelled because all the contestants were ill.
  You would think that the cold weather would keep people in their homes so this wouldn't spread, but it hasn't. Oh well....
   The days are already getting longer and the weather will be warmer. Once it gets warmer then people will feel better and this nasty bug will scuttle away.