Look out: Flying Pigs!

Three bottles of hand sanitizer, two thermometers and more than a dozen freaked-out phone calls. That is how the swine flu has infected my husband!

While the swine flu is a little scary, especially with our proximity to the first two cases in Houston, I'm very annoyed with the way that this "pandemic" has been expressed by the media. I am dealing, first hand, with the result of the out of control, non-stop production the local newsies have made of this. Every fifteen minutes, my scaredy-cat husband takes Izzy's temperature, douses the thermometer in alcohol and takes mine... first with an old school thermometer and then with a digital one. And sanitizing is becoming just as normal as breathing. I think I am permenantly anti-bacterial hand sanitizer scented.

I'm not trying to make light of the swine flu, but I worked for a TV station. I know exactly how they operate and how excited they get over things like this. Right now, about half of the newscast is dedicated to the swine flu. A different spin here, a new case there... the swine flu is the best news going on right now. And that's just what they call it. The "best" news. Really?! Isn't that great? Something new and exciting that kills people... it's the best! And then they come up with a million different stories intended to scare the ever-lovin' daylights out of everyone. Oh, and this is my favorite part: they send their reporters and crews to the location where the latest case is! They're shutting down schools, but the reporters are there live at five!

And what is the result? Crazy people. When we went to Walgreens for Greg to stock up on hand sanitizer, we got the last three bottles... people, just like my husband, are rushing out to stock up on hand sanitizer. The cashier rolled her eyes as we checked out. And Greg held his breath on the way home as we drove alongside the deserted high school where a case of the swine flu was confirmed. Don't you think that we are more likely to catch something by being out and about among the masses?! I tried to explain this, but there's no rationalizing when there's a swine flu outbreak! Must get to Walgreens immediately for hand sanitizer!!!

People are even avoiding pork products right now. I had to convince Greg that a turkey dog didn't have pork in it. I believe that this is all a direct result of media showboats trying to one-up each other, trying to get the better, scarier story.

But you know, swine flu isn't going to keep me away from bacon and pork ribs! I just pray that an enchilada flu never comes out of Mexico! I'd be a goner for sure... yeah, whatever!

(That's a bottle of hand sanitizer that Greg's tossing in the picture! Crazy!)