It’s a Cold, Cold World

The signs of the common cold … we got ‘em all!

It’s a cold, cold world out there. The temps in Las Vegas have dipped well below normal. We had to winterize our outdoor faucets and haul in the water hoses. Sustained below freezing temps in this part of the world are pretty unusual and they’ve persisted for several days.

When we left Boston, Lin’s infant grandson, Adam, had a cold. Mark had a cold. Lin was coming down with a cold. David and I both had colds. Everyone on our flight home to Vegas seemed to be hacking. When we arrived home, Mary was just starting to get over her cold. Paul had a cold. The four of us were sickies … hacking, blowing, sneezing and wheezing. We tried Zicam early on, but other than that ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation, it doesn’t seem to have done much good … but at least it’s expensive.

We each have our own ways of dealing with colds and the cold. I bundle up, cough, blow frequently and gripe about freezing temps, then seem to go into hibernation mode. We’ve spent less time outside walking and more time inside in front of our computers or reading or, in my case, studying Italian. Somewhat productive, but not necessarily healthy.

Mary still relies on good old Vick’s Vaporub … remember that childhood remedy smeared on your chest at bedtime? It’s been around since 1905! Paul’s been using it, too, and it seems to help them with congestion. Then there’s Thera-Flu, NyQuil, DayQuil, cough syrups, cough drops and my favorite, Snot-B-Gone … I mean Mucinex. It always amazes me that my head can hold as much snot as it does and continue to produce it at such a voluminous rate. Between all of us, we’ve probably tried every OTC remedy in existence and the colds still persist. We all had flu and pneumonia shots this past autumn, but still here we are benched by the common cold. Heck, look at H.G. Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’. Colds will getcha every time … even if you’re an alien!

So it’s been a slow start to the new year. We haven’t walked much … too cold and feeling wimpy. I’m not complaining. It’s best to get all this out of the way very early in the year so we can enjoy the rest of 2019 in good health. In retrospect, however, we should have purchased stock in Procter & Gamble (they own Vicks) and Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex). We’d most likely be millionaires … with colds.