Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Let the SNEEZING begin

Have you looked around and noticed the desert lately? It is awash with color---all kinds of things blooming. I saw periwinkle, fuchsia, yellow, lavender, peach and white flowers as i drove today. It was so pretty---but as i was driving i had a rude awakening as too what all this blooming really means----ALLERGY SEASON!!!!! Yes, it hit me with a ton of bricks today and i have wanted to take any sharp object that would fit in my ear and try to give it a gOOd scratch. I actually had to stop in Gila Bend to pick up some allergy pills at a gas station because i knew that it was only going to get worse, so i might as well nip it in the bud. Thank goodness for drugs that work. Luckily i was able to take a nap while i waited for my team because those wonderful pills knocked me out---not the best way to drive. I guess it is a good thing that this happened now so i will remember to take drugs with me on the trek--boy, would that have been a miserable experience if i didn't have them along. In doing research regarding the whole sneezing thing i have become rather enlightened. There are pages and pages when you Google the word "sneeze."

So here is some knowledge regarding sneezing

We know today, of course, that when you sneeze, your heart doesn't stop, nor does your soul get expelled, nor will your eyes pop out if you could keep them open. Also, it's just about impossible to hold your eyelids open while you sneeze. They snap shut by reflex. The nerves serving the eyes and the nose are closely intertwined, and stimuli to the one often trigger some response in the other.
What does get expelled are hundreds upon thousands of microscopic germs. The current advice when you sneeze is to cover your mouth with your arm rather than your hand. That way, all those germs won't be on your hands when you touch the countless things you're going to touch in the course of the day. "Bless you" in response to a sneeze might be to bless or thank a person who sneezes but covers his or her mouth and nose with a tissue, handkerchief or even a sleeve as an act of concern and courtesy to others, in order to avoid spreading the germs expelled so as not to sicken other people. Presumably, a person who fails to demonstrate such concern and courtesy by not covering the mouth and nose during a sneeze would not be blessed or thanked

Now mind you i am not a "germaphobe" but in my flight to Oregon i was sitting on the isle (all the more reason i like the window seat) and this little boy walked by and with adult like precision turned his head and projectile sneezed all over me. I was covered in snooze--to which his mother responded "honey, cover your nose when you sneeze" Ahhh, Yah, just a little too late mom.

O.k. just one more sneeze story---all the more reason not to stifle your sneezes

So the other day we were at a bridal shower for a girlfriend and i could feel this {HUGE} sneeze coming on--so i pulled up my shirt and tried to stifle my sneeze--well that worked only instead of a sneeze coming out my nose i let a little ["TOOT' ] go--i didn't even know that i had gas or maybe i wouldn't have tried to suppress the sneeze. My girlfriend and i just looked at each other and then her daughter said something to the effect that "that was a funny sounding sneeze". At which point all that were within range of the said offense just started busting up. I turned bright red and was laughing so hard that i {SNORTED}. Isn't it ironic that at 39 years old i still laugh at the sounds of bodily functions--i thought i was SOOO over that--I guess not.

Blessed are those who have learned to laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be entertained.

-John Powell

http://www.pointsincase.com/stop_sneezing.htm

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