Oop I mean H1N1. Apparently we have to get polite now when referring to this epidemic. Up until about two or three weeks ago I was following the progression of this flu pretty much every day. I’ve slowed down since things looked to be winding up in Mexico.
My reason for this fascination goes way back. I’ve always been fascinated with epidemics. I remember reading The Plague by Camus when I was in high school. There is a passage in the book that tries to explain how the human mind cannot encompass big numbers, especially when it comes to deaths. Mass graves, bodies stacked up like cordwood etc. Does it help to imagine X many football stadiums filled? Interesting.
My fascination with that particular book was lessened when I found out later that it was a metaphor for human created epidemic called the holocaust. Bug vs Man in direct combat was more to my taste. However morbid you may think my curiousity on this subject is, yaint seen nothin yet.
I think I’ve read almost every major book related to the subject (and naturally the movies done on them too). Lets see what I can list off the top of my head….
Black Death (yersina pestis alive and kicking in then modern day – 1970s – NY City), Invasion (wierd 24 hour flu that comes from – gasp – outer space – and changes people), The TommyKnockers (ditto but done as only Stephen King can), The Stand (King on more down to earth – human created virus – flu that kills), Andromeda Strain (seen the orginal movie done on this book as well as the recent totally high tech remake for TV), The Hot Zone (Ebola-true story of how ebola ended up from Zaire to killing folk in Washington DC), Outbreak (Ebola again -and the so-so movie done with the same title), And The Band Played On (duco drama covering the early AIDS epidemic), Blindness (kick ass movie where the whole word goes blind), The 28 Days Later Movies (basic animal to human contagion that drives people into a canibalistic rage and almost everyone dies flick) Quarantine (ditto but make that everyone instead of almost) aaand the list goes on…
So you can imagine I was fascinated when things hopped off the screen and into real life. Aside from the usual discomfort there were a few things I found pretty disturbing.
1. When the Swine Flu was finally reported as reaching Arizona, they didn’t exactly report where. They mentioned a county instead. Now not being a native Arizonan, I had no clue if it was right next door or wherever. I had to google the darn thing to find out it was somewhere near Phoenix. Why didn’t they just say so? Interesting.
2. It seemed to me (still does and you’ll see why in a bit) that a majority of the cases/deaths were women and children. Why would that be? My guess is that kids have always been more vulnerable to disease, and when you have something airborne, well kids gather at school everyday… moms take care of the kids… so… Well thats just my hunch. Makes me sad.
3. Seeing the empty football (as in soccer) stadium in Mexico City. The players played the game anyway, but that was eerie. You’d have to have something pretty serious throwing down to keep soccer fans away. So yeah that sorta brought it home to me at that point.
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Flu Update Where I Live: 6 confirmed cases, two deaths (one middle school aged kid and one woman). We aren’t running around wearing masks (yet?) but at my local dollar store there was the courtesy waterless hand sanitizer available at the checkout counter.
That bottle taped to the counter so we could push pump a little safety on our way out the door was like some sort of stark reminder that things might get a lil squirrely before it gets better.
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Uncool Stuff: AZ is a border state. And here on the southern parts, Mexico is a hop skip and a jump away. Saw on the news a little girl was harassed and teased for “bringing the flu to America.”
Just The Flu: A Short story (Night Surf) Stephen King wrote that was a precourser to The Stand. Some kids who are immune wandering around a seaside boardwalk area. One thinks they should make a sign or monument that reads: The Flu. So those who may come along later could know what almost wiped out the human race. It was called Captain Trips. Has a much nicer ring to it than Swine Flu or even H1N1. (achoo! oooer…)
Gallows Humor: Mexico giggles a little to lighten things up.
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Random Things I Have Learned:
There is now a racing car that runs on chocolate. Who knew?
You know how we are allowed to picket and protest in front of the White House? Well the suffragettes were the ones who got all that started. Although they were initially jailed for their efforts, they were finally released and it became lawful for citizens to express themselves right out front. Cool neh? I tell you, Women Change The World In New And Interesting Ways.
