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OH, GOOD HEAVENS, THE MISERY of it all! I woke up at four o'clock this morning with stomach flu! (It's been sweeping the country like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up everyone's plans and ambitions; if you haven't already recently suffered this malady yourself, Reader Dear, I'd suggest you immediately stock your cupboards with ginger ale!) My only symptom is unrelenting nausea, though by using the word only, you may wrongly infer it's a minor inconvenience. Not so!

I cannot eat! The thought of food makes me wish to....(never mind). Late this afternoon I was able to shuffle slowly to the car and drive to the nearest health food store, looking for "natural" ginger ale. Driving past an eating establishment advertising Chili and Cheese dogs, I well-nigh...(never mind)...

All through this record-breakingly warm and beautifully sunny day, I've been huddled inside by the space heater, fighting the urge to...(never mind).

I am withered for lack of water (can't even stand the thought of drinking that h20, for fear I will....(never mind).

Now you might suppose, Reader Dear, that there'd at least be some lovely lolling involved, but such isn't the case! Frankly, it's not easy to relax or read or blog or watch TV or even chat on the phone when one feels at all time as though one could....(never mind).

This afternoon I made a business call and talked to a man who'd suffered the stomach flu just a few weeks ago. "How long did it last?" I asked, and waited with bated breath. "Oh, I only felt bad one day," he replied. (If I'd had any energy at all, I'd have danced a jig!) But then...

"My daughter had it, too," he added. "In her case, it hung on for about three weeks."
Oh, good grief, Dear Reader, I feel like I'm going to....(never mind)


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