I am not in good shape at the moment. I’ve had a very nasty URI (upper respiratory infection) for what seems like forever but in fact is lasting a fortnight. It was a “souvenir from Philadelphia”. Happily it is ‘from the neck up’ i.e. it hasn’t invaded my lungs. My tonsils are dissilient. Worse, there is a scratchy feeling in the back of my throat, a sensation of a lodged popcorn kernel, which triggers paroxysms of coughing (which doesn’t help). I am only now finally beginning to be getting my voice back. No fun, this.
I am using up the half-empty plastic shampoo bottles I’ve accumulated from hotel stays. I don’t like waste, so I bring them home along with the barely used bars of soap. Unfortunately this virtuous Protestant move is not being rewarded by heaven as my scalp itches. I need get my usual ‘tar’ shampoo after all. It leaves my hair feeling like dead grass but at stops me from scratching.
Between itchy scalp and scratchy throat my head is a mess.
There is nothing so inconvenient than an old queen with a head cold. My malady is thwarting many activities some of them I sorely miss. I am feeling a ‘withdrawal’. I want to get to the gym. In matters of other missed activities Someone says we just have to wait. And there is little to do but wait. As they say in “Waiting for Godot” there is nothing to be done. I have “ODed”on Nyquil and have replaced it with hot toddies. This may not shorten the duration of the disease, but it makes the time less unpleasant.
19 comments
November 23, 2013 at 6:26 AM
RuralBeard
Aw. Dr. Spo. I feel for your malaise; those nasty bugs (imported)! I have every faith that you’ll come through stronger and in good time. Might I suggest tea-tree shampoo for your scalp; I think you’ll find it most effective; leaving your hair and scalp in wonderful condition. No straw-head here! Now rest up. I send hugs from a rather drizzly Nova Scotia, a province that KNOWS their toddys!
November 23, 2013 at 6:27 AM
Willym
Poverino. I hope Harper’s other dad is giving you lots of TLC? Had a friend called Todd many years ago… we use to call him Hot Toddy but I guess it isn’t the same thing. 😉
November 23, 2013 at 6:32 AM
Urspo
I think you hot Toddy sounds far more efficacious for what ails me than a concoction of tea, lemon, honey and cheap bourbon !
November 23, 2013 at 6:33 AM
Laurent
Poor Darling, you look like an Italian movie star in that pic. Will and I also have colds from the plane, I strongly suspect with that recirculated air.
Weather is -6 C here this morning, do not like it a bit. Take care
November 23, 2013 at 7:17 AM
anne marie in philly
keep blaming MY city for your malady and we WON’T invite you back! 😉
you look so angry in the above pix; let someone and harper minister to you over a hot toddy. having been in your shoes last month with pneumonia, I feel your pain. take things slowly (including the gym) when you return to normal (and abnormal) activities. get better soon; march 2014 is comin’ up fast! 🙂
November 24, 2013 at 9:20 AM
Ron
I agree with Miss Anne Marie. It wasn’t Philly that was responsible for your present laid up condition but rather I think your flying tube in the sky as others have mentioned. No one else got a cold and we were all breathing the same air in each other’s faces at close quarters. And I do vaguely remember kisses being exchanged but then they could have been air kisses. Whatever, I don’t think Philly was the culprit for your present condition but rather that flying test tube in the sky that took you back to that retrograde state of yours. Just saying.
November 23, 2013 at 7:39 AM
Raybeard
Nasty situation, Dr Spo. No fun at all. I hope a good dose of my sympathies will be tolerable and will assist the shortening of your discomfort’s duration..
November 23, 2013 at 10:25 AM
Jay
I am indeed sorry for your problem. I think that rather than blaming Philadelphia you should blame the airplane. Flying always messes up my head. So I stopped doing it. Keep working on realizing that it is unreal (like horns on a Viking helmut) and have a nice bowl of Oatmeal with honey and cinnamon (Ceylon) mixed in for nourishment. Stop enjoying “poor health”
November 23, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Frogdancer
There’s a bit of a bug going around here too.
November 23, 2013 at 1:18 PM
jayinva
I hate that kind of sickness. The damn Nyquil leaves me numb for days, so nothing works right for a week after I actually feel well! But it’s the only way (short of large amounts of alcohol) that allow me to sleep.
I do hope you are feeling much better soon. It’s no fun being ill.
Peace ❤
Jay
November 23, 2013 at 3:01 PM
truthspew
You’ll get better soon enough.
I might get sick maybe once every couple of years. I am one at places of employment that tells sick people to go home instead of spreading the misery so maybe that helps.
November 23, 2013 at 3:31 PM
Laurent
Hey Mr. Italian Movie Actor, you cannot be that sick I read on Someone’s blog that you are galavanting at the Symphony. Should you not be in bed with the Good Book pondering the lessons of life while sipping on chicken bouillon?
November 23, 2013 at 3:37 PM
Urspo
It’s Dr.
Sent from nowhere in particular.
>
November 24, 2013 at 2:54 AM
the cajun
The culprit may actually be the aircraft, not PA. The planes aren’t sanitized as they used to be – just reloaded and back into the sky. God knows what is left behind. Everyone I know who has flown lately has returned with an URI, or worse.
I believe I was unscathed after my NOLA jaunt because my body was more toxic being on 3 lethal drugs already.
Take care. Nyquil vs. Toddy??? No contest.
November 24, 2013 at 4:32 AM
Geoffrey
Get well soon. But at least you have a legitimate excuse for the Hot Toddies.
November 24, 2013 at 8:38 AM
Stan
I’ll just leave a “Get well soon.”
Hugs,
Stan
November 24, 2013 at 9:16 AM
Ron
Ah ha! A fellow tar based shampoo guy! I cannot leave home without my tar (think the smell of railroad ties of telephone poles) based shampoo. I cannot use any other shampoo or else I’m scratching my head continuously and dandruff soon appears. I was always ashamed of my dependence on this kind of shampoo but less so on my recent sojourn to Philly with my Canadian friend. He said he liked the smell of “tar in my hair.” Ah yes, that and other fond memories like the smell of almond oatmeal soap on one’s skin but I digress.
That said (and I said a lot), I am sorry to hear of your upper respiratory malady. Dang thing! And you say you acquired it during your Philadelphia visit? I do feel guilty now but I don’t remember exchanging bodily fluids (did I just say what I think I just said?). Maybe you caught an errant germ during our jaunt around Center City whilst I looked for the gay clubs after our elegant and expensive dining experience at the Knock Bar and Restaurant. If that was the case, I do humbly apologize. That isn’t the memory I wanted to leave with you after your Philadelphia visit. 😦
November 24, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Sean (The Jeep Guy)
Feel better already! 😉
Why don’t you refill all those, soon to be empty, shampoo bottles and bring them with you when you travel and then you don’t have to itch or waste.
November 30, 2013 at 9:23 PM
Erik Rubright
I hope you’re more better already! And I’m sorry you were sick in the first place.
I have this weird “thing” about hotel shampoos and the like. How do you know that someone didn’t do something naughty to them before you were there? Because I’m sure they get changed each time. Right?