Walking Cross-Town. Teetering on myself.

~ Live & Learn

head-cold-mist-jpg

Day 0: Friday morning, not yesterday, a week ago. Flying down I-95, light traffic. I’m lip syncing America’s Ventura Highway: “Chewing on a piece of grass…Walking down the road…Cause the free wind is blowin’ through your hair.” I flick through the day’s calendar as I pull into the parking garage. Light. Nice ramp into the weekend. What Bliss is This?

By day’s end, Bliss is way amiss. Whether from a hand shake, or splashed in the air from a cough or a sneeze, or from an infected keyboard at a guest office, the virus is planted in the eye, it spreads to the tear duct and then to the nose – and we jackknife from Bliss to → Far-From-Bliss-Miserable-Son-of-A-Bitch.

Patience, a short string on sunny days, is a gator snapping. Sick man, with head cold, brooding.

The nasal secretion flows uninterrupted.  I roll the smooth, orange-crush colored LiquiCaps in the palm of my hand. Marbles! Days are measured by DayQuil feedings, ingested at 4 hour intervals and then relieved at bedtime by NyQuil. The Vick’s team is on the field 24 x 7.

I’m squinting at the DayQuil packaging. Multi-Symptom Relief. I flip it over, and the font shrinks to something less than 5 point. What a**hole at Vick’s thinks I can read this sh*t? A commercial conspiracy I’m sure, to disguise dosage levels to keep juicing.

“Severe Liver Damage may occur if you take more than 4 doses in 24 hours, which is the maximum daily amount for this product.” I stare at the warning. Severe liver damage. No warning for taking 4 doses a day for 7 days and another shot of NyQuil each night. My stomach growls. Jesus. Common head cold to damage of the largest internal organ. That escalated quickly.

“Powerful Non-Drowsy Relief.” Non-Drowsy is repeated on the box. May be true, may be true, but there’s no commentary on lucidity because I’m floating like a dirigible.

Day 8: The World moves in slow motion and is covered in an ever so light mist – cabs, foot traffic, street lights, street vendors, thoughts.  My pace is half-step the normal gait, and I’m panting.

I step into Walgreen’s, the body’s fuel now half blood, half DayQuil – it needs no store map – it’s a Ouija Board yanking me to the cold medicines.  The counter man watches me warily – I drop the DayQuil and a bottle of water on the counter. He takes a step back, grabbing the corner of my Visa card.  I crack open both at the counter, down them, step back from the counter and pause waiting for relief. The stomach acids break down the LiquiCaps, the potion coats the insides, the full semi lucid state returns. Sigh.

I pause to watch the pedestrian traffic from inside of Walgreen’s, thinking about this alien thing camped out upstairs in my private library.  The iridescent light of the morning pours in through the window.

How-for-bloody-granted you take the good days, the ordinary moments.

I ask, I implore – Restore me.  Please.

I will awaken. I will Praise. I will be astonished. Of the Ordinary. Of the Moment.

I will be Light. A bloody Lighthouse.

I promise, this time.

Notes:

31 thoughts on “Walking Cross-Town. Teetering on myself.”

  5. Holy shit, Dave! Hoping you’re feeling a bit better by now. Have you thought about visiting a naturopath? This has to run its course but to fortify your immunity, that may be an option. Wishing you lived in my ‘hood as I made 6 quarts of chicken soup yesterday to send out to 2 aging aunts. I’d have certainly shared some with you, my friend! 😩

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    1. I’m 75% there Roseanne. Thank you. I’ve never heard of a naturopath and had to google it (Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal. health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing. process.)

      As for the chicken soup, sounds delicious! Thanks for the thought!

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      1. It really works great. I use it when I have even a hint of a sore throat and it clears it right up. Germs don’t like living in a salty environment and those little salt packs you mix into the rinse water do the trick.

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  8. Interesting coincidence that I just finished a two-week regimen of orange gel caps during the day and greens at night. Adding my normal Aleve and alcohol intake, I might as well be proactive and apply for the liver transplant registry. Hope you are feeling better and thank you for reading the label for me.

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  9. Man, DK, that sounds brutal. But you’re ‘playin’ hurt’ like you always do. Really hoping that you’re on the downhill slide of this thing.

    I hesitate to mention this, but I have a couple of friends at the gym who have been fighting this menace for about 6 weeks now. It. Is. Brutal.

    Me? The first *whiff* I get of a swollen gland or scratchy throat, I am downing Emergen-C like I’m gettin’ a wage. Maybe it’s a mind game, but I swear it always seems to (a) head the malicious intruder off at the pass or (b) make the virulence much less. Just sayin’….

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  10. Never heard of a naturopath Mr K? Garlic tabs and Vit C? I think the pharmaceutical empire is laughing all the way to the bank, at our expense! I agree there is nothing good about a cold and the universe may hold you to that last thought Mr lighthouse ha!! 😂😢

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  13. You better keep your bargain this time, DK. There are only so many chances 🙂 I’m into all the natural remedies/preventions as well, and honestly can’t remember when I last had a head cold.

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