My goal with this blog has always been to influenza people... get it? Before you roll your eyes I ask that you heed my request and finish this entry. Believe it or not influenza means influence in Italian and since were entering the season I thought itd be good to bring everyone up to speed on this nasty little disease. Last Saturday afternoon I got my nasally-injected vaccine and made the joke "H1N1 is the loneliest number". It didn't have the sardonic impact I hoped it would, but it got my mind wrapped around the flu and its overall affect in the past century. To be honest I immediately formed in my mind a compilation CD with flu-like symptoms including Cat Scratch Fever, the ballad from "Grease", "I got chill's, they're multiplying..." and Mariah Carey's "Weakness of the Body". I stopped after that. This past April, the world became familiar with the aforementioned strand commonly referred to as the "swine flu" coming from pigs, humans and birds. In June the WHO declared this new amogamation a global pandemic level 6. This was because of H1N1's ability to spread to far reaches of the globe, not on its severity. The worst pandemics in history, were rated considerably less and have produced some lofty results in the realm of global mortality. Going back to the Russian flu of 1889-1890 we see nearly a million deaths worldwide. Holy Cow! Quite the amount, but it only gets worse. The Spanish flu from 1918-1920 which is regarded as the worst in history left anywhere from 50 to 100-million people dead, 17 million alone in India and over a half-million in the U.S. CW Potter a professor at the University of Sheffield Medical School declared this to be "the greatest medical holocaust in history" and may have killed more people than the Black Death. People like FDR and Walt Disney made it through this, but not Donald Trump's grandfather Frederick or famed economist Max Weber (guy I admire). Drink a beer for these poor bastards if you get the chance. But other pandemics have ensued over the years to include the Asian flu in 1957-58 where over a million died and the Hong Kong flu in '68 and '69 with a little less than a million. However, these others were of different strands... the swine flu (H1N1) is the same strand as the Spanish flu! I know! I need this like I need diarrhea on the Appalachian Trail! Education and faith are the best ways of dealing with such things. Ultimately the decisions you make will affect you and those you care about, so tread lightly. Personal responsibility is the greatest freedom were afforded, because it reminds us we have some control over our lives. However, use your freedoms wisely and know that it requires great humility... they're intrinsic, not mutually exclusive. Also remember this...
Fear: a balancing act between normality and idiocy. It paralyzes the majority, but gives clarity to some.
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