I woke up with a stomach ache today. This is surprising because it's been years since I've had one (if you disregard bouts of acid indigestion.) When I was a kid I had them all the time, but as an adult I've almost never experienced them. I wonder if I could be coming down with avian flu? If I'm not the first person on my block to get the avian flu, I'll be terribly disappointed. Being the first to have the latest model of disease is very important to hypochondriacs. Some degree of vulnerability to physical afflictions is vital to our self-image. It's bad enough that I almost never have colds. Not to get the flu during a raging epidemic would be an awful blow to my self disesteem. The epidemic isn't actually raging yet, of course. In fact, thus far it seems pretty much confined to those vegans who eat their chicken raw. Even if this rare stomach ache (considerably diminished now that I've had dinner, I'm sorry to say) doesn't indicate the onset of avian flu, I probably still have plenty of time before anyone else gets it. And, besides, maybe I've got an ulcer, or a hernia, or stomach cancer. Always look on the bright side of mortality!
The persistent quite-niceness of the weather is encouraging. We are but a hundred hours from the first full moon of autumn, and there's a good chance that the night on which it arrives will be mild. Rain might fall Saturday, but a clear spell is expected to follow. For the night of the full moon, I wouldn't take a few clouds amiss, but I'd prefer that the rain be gone, and that the cold front depart by Monday evening.
It was Thursday the 13th. Missed it by one day!
