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No matter the time of the year, people are sniffling and sneezing. It could be allergies, the flu, or any other sickness currently going around. Around here, we call it the Louisiana Crud, a general description of any variation of illness that’s got a person under the weather.
Have you noticed there are two types of sick people? In one corner we’ve got the brave souls (or not so bright ones, depending on your point of view), the ones who soldier on. They can be coughing up a lung, fluids leaking out of all available orifices, yet they shout the war cry, “I’m fine, really!” This is followed by a string of sentences, none resembling the truth. “No, I’m actually a lot better. Oh, I really am—you should have seen me a few days ago. You’ll see, this will all be cleared up by tomorrow, trust me.” They shuffle around, wheezing and blowing, leaving a trail of cough drop wrappers and used tissues to mark their path.
Personally, I find the soldiers brave, yet a little yucky to be around. They enjoy telling war stories. “This? Oh, this is nothing. Why, I remember back in the flu season of 2015, the entire office was down for the count. But not me! I came to work every day, with a box of tissues and a bottle of Vicks Vaporizer tucked under each arm. I ate chicken soup the entire week and knocked out all the reports that were due.” They puff out their chests. “Yeah, I even lost eight pounds that week, that was a bonus.”
In the other corner we have the milkers. You know who I’m talking about, the ones who sneeze once and go home for the rest of the week. “Oh, sure, it’s not bad now, but we all know what’s coming. Yeah, I’d better get to the doctor before it really sets in.” They slip out the door with the parting words, “I won’t be in the rest of the week.” The problem is that it’s Monday, and you have to pick up the work load.
My friend Melissa’s husband is a milker. On Wednesday morning, he arrives at work with an upset stomach, then tells his boss he’s got to get to the doctor. “Could be nothing, could be a stomach virus—can’t be too careful. And I don’t want to get anyone else sick.” The doctor diagnoses a temporary digestive problem and sends him home with a prescription. He feels the same Thursday morning but stays home “just in case”. Friday he’s better but why risk it? And that video game won’t play itself.
Jann Goar Franklin graduated Russellville High School in 1985 and lives in Grand Cane, Louisiana. She also writes books, which are for sale at www.jannfranklin.com. You can reach her at jann@jannfranklin.com