He Has a Cold

I feel like a bit of a baby, but I would have to say that I have never had a cold this bad.

Making its way through my various systems, from a slight cough to a hard cough that hurts my lungs, stuffed and foggy head to runny nose. And then there's the feeling that I have a fever, not borne out by a quick check with my digital thermometer (could never read the standard one when I was sick!). Not fever, just weakness. So pronounced that when I took my trash down the stairs for pick-up this morning, I felt like I had run a marathon by the time I got back up the stairs.

I don't actually remember feeling this weak since that brief period just prior to my HIV diagnosis when I was busy developing pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). The lungs are feeling a bit like that, too.

This all put me in mind of the 'olden days' of the mysterious changes in the top leadership positions of the Politburo of the Soviet Union. If you're old enough, you know what I mean. Every May Day parade was an occasion for the political analysts from the West to speculate on what the presence (or absence) and positioning of each personality might mean in the grand scheme of things.

It becomes relevant here because from time to time a leader's absence was explained by a simple phrase: "He has a cold." Disturbingly, these leaders often ended up dead shortly thereafter.

So…I am not at work this week. I have a cold.