(Image credit artist Michael Ancher)
'Have you had it yet?' is a question most asked right now, to which I can answer, 'Yes I have.'
I'm talking about the 'flu, the 'cold', the 'dreaded lurgy' that has decimated the population this winter. Reaching into the far corners of the country with its horrid, insidious tentacles, it has felled almost everyone you speak to - hence the question, always asked with some eagerness to see if someone, anyone, has managed to evade infection.
It's been a calamity. Overflowing emergency departments in public hospitals, sick people sitting, standing, lying in corridors, A and E clinics overrun with the ailing, and an abundance of consipracy theories as to why. The plague has descended upon us (biblical), the viruses have been sent by a foreign power seeking domination (political), the weather has created a perfect storm for the breeding of such horrors (climate change). Whatever the reason, this has been one of New Zealand's worst 'flu seasons ever.
When you come down with it and still have the energy to rant and rave a bit, you curse the person who gave it to you - who was it? why were they out when they're sick? - and you wonder where you got it from - was it the grocery store, the library, or a gig we played at a crowded venue (most likely). Then the illness sets in and you really don't care about that any more, just hoping you will survive, flat out in bed with a huge box of tissues, a wastepaper basket big enough to handle them, a jug of water, cough medicine, maybe a book or two - and you hope for the best.
These are nasty bugs. They've been taking people off to the pearly gates. Not to be taken lightly or faced up to with bravado. I read books, watched trashy TV shows, went through a few boxes of tissues and coughed up everything below my throat line several times over. Too much information, and I apologise, but I am trying to be tactful and spare the details.
When we were dealing with COVID, we were all very conscientious about wearing masks, washing hands, avoiding large gatherings, and staying home. I've not seen anyone wearing a mask this winter (not one - maybe I just haven't been where the mask-wearers hang out) and the grocery store in particular is a mecca for coughs and hacks and nose-blowing.
Maybe I'm just grumpy as it's been a very long winter but let me tell you this. Having 'had it', I'll walk around in a Hazmat suit to avoid getting it again.
A pink one, I think, with yellow daffodils as it is spring time now, and a celebration of sorts is in order as we move from The Season of the Contagion to what we are all hoping will be a warm and jolly fine summer.