Mr. Bones

Not that I'm superstitious, mind you. But a lot of people are out sick this week, most for just a day or two, some longer, and don't tell me it's "the cold and flu season." Flu schmu! It's the post-holiday immune-system letdown, and it's unacceptable.

Yesterday alone, there was one migraine, one chest cold, one stomach bug, one degenerating disc, an undisclosed ailment, and a sore knee (that would be me). And that's in two rows of cubicles alone, not to mention the silently suffering who stoically choose not discuss their ailments. No lords a leaping, no ladies dancing, and no swans a swimming that I know of.

What's up, people? Just because the intensity of holiday preparations and gatherings is over, and the accompanying adrenaline surge that goes with it, you don't have to let your somatic guard down and succumb to whatever random virus happens to enter your energy field. We have to play better defense!

I have a number of answers, team, none of them foolproof. First, I hung the glow-in-the-dark plastic skeleton, leftover from Halloween, in the window next to the back door. I thought it would be a tasteful, Martha Stewarty way to celebrate the darkest time of the year. Someone else in our house placed a stylish scarf around his/her neck and a pair of wool gloves on those dangling metacarpals to keep the bare bones warm. Pretty soon Mr. Bones was wearing an OSU tank top in anticipation of Troy and the Boyz kicking Gator-butt out in Arizona next week.

But also to ward off the evil eye, ear, nose, and throat bugs. You know they're out there, and if you give them even the slightest opportunity, they gotcha.

Another measure is to sweat. I don't care if it is 50 degrees outside on a January morning, put on your longjohns, drink your hot tea, and ward off the bad stuff from the inside out. Not to mention starting and ending the day with a little workout. Hey, walking up all those steps to the fourth floor would qualify. And speaking for myself, a short mid-afternoon break in the fitness room downstairs works wonders for body and mind after slouching in front of a screen all day.

Now that I've preached the good word, watch me be the next one to fall victim to the dreaded Lower Slobovian poultry flu.