‘Damn, you’re old!’
p2pnet news | P2P:- I’ve been off work, so to speak, for several days, brought down by the weirdest ‘flu I’ve ever had.
My wife, Liz, doesn’t remember me spending an entire day in bed without a book or anything else since we’ve been together (23 years). But it happened this time. I was flat out on my back for 24 hours, and still in bed, but this time with a book, for another 24.
I’m 66 (a bit more on that further down) and my daughter Emma, who’s not 11 (as I keep saying) but 11-and-a-half (as she keeps saying 
) got the same bug at the same time as me with virtually the same symptoms.
A week earlier Liz had come down with the ‘traditional’ flu. But it cleared up after a few days and she’s back to normal, working in her garden and taking advantage of the beautiful weather we’re currently experiencing here on our part of Vancouver Island in BC, Canada.
Emma and I were spared that time. But now we’re both still pretty sick, coughing like fiends and with our sense(s) of taste virtually destroyed. But we’re on the mend and I’m hoping I’ll be back to more or less normal within a very few days.
Back to the symptoms, Emma and I both ached all over, didn’t eat for three days, had strange, almost hallucinatory, dreams which, every time we woke up, flowed back into each other as though they were continuous segments.
And here our symptoms differed. Emma’s teeth hurt. Not ‘ache’. Hurt. And she has perfect teeth, nary a filling and never a trip to the dentist.
So her teeth hurt.
Me? My skin hurts. This came on during Day 2 and is still with me. Try taking a shower when your skin hurts.
‘Damn, you’re old’
We educate Emma at home and she spends an hour or two (sometimes more) each day online with friends on a dedicated home-schooling site. The mother of one of her friends said her family had many of the same symptoms.
She told us about natural remedies which’d worked for her, so we decided to go the traditional (traditional meaning natural medicine) route and today, I feel better. My skins still hurts and although I never sleep for more than five or six hours, I haven’t even been managing that and I’m still tired. But that’ll go and meanwhile, physical symptoms aside, I feel more like me than I’ve done since this started.
So I’ll be back to posting as of tomorrow. I’ll probably start somewhat later in the day than normal, and there’ll be fewer posts until I’m squarely back on my feet. But it’ll be a start and meanwhile, “damn, you’re old,” said an anonymous (of course ) Reader’s Write on Friday when I said I wouldn’t be doing any posts over the weekend. That would have been in reference to the pic of me which went with the story.
I don’t make a habit of using pix and until a few months ago, when someone emailed me suggesting I was too scared of possible repercussions to put my name to items I wrote, I rarely signed stories either. As a general rule, if stories don’t have someone else’s name on them, signed or not, I wrote them.
But this is by no means the first time I’ve included a picture of myself with a post and now, “damn, you’re old”.
Well, I guess depending on which stretch of which road you happen to be standing on, that’s true. Certainly, on a continent where anyone over the age of 30 is ready to be hauled off and stashed out of sight and out of mind in an old-folk’s ‘home,’ I’m old.
66 going on 23
As I’ve said a couple of times elsewhere, I’m a recovering alcholic/drug addict. I last used more than 22 years ago. But one slip and all those years could be wiped out instantly. I’m sure Mr Roboto and anyone else who’s been there will back me up on that.
When you’re a user / boozer, life centres on your chemical(s) of choice and nothing else matters. When you’re clean and sober, though, suddenly, anything and everything is possible. It’s hard work getting there, but …………..
My life started when I stopped. So Yup, I’m old. I’m 66 going on 23.
I was born in London, England, half-way through WWII, and I see that we haven’t learned a thing since then. We’re still blowing each other up, claiming we’re right and they’re wrong, and we’re still letting the George W’s of the world screw us, blue us and tattooo us —- over and over again.
On my continuing recovery, one of the basic precepts of staying straight is: you have to be honest not only with yourself, but with others. Another way of putting it is: you must care and you must share.
p2pnet is from me to you, which is why I allow myself to occasionally post items such as this.
So Damn, I’m old! And given the 45 years of non-stop physical, chemical and mental abuse I subjected myself to, it’s a constant source of amazement to me that I’ve made it to the point where I can say that (even though in my own eyes I’m merely an extreme example of arrested development ).
I wasn’t offended by the post, and I don’t think whoever made it was intending to take a shot at me.
Years ago, I had another site called OTRiCS (On the Road in CyberSpace) and I guess when you get right down to it, p2pnet is another chapter.
Thanks, everyone, for keeping me company on the journey thus far.
And definitely stay tuned
Cheers! And all the best …
Jon Newton
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February 24th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
do i need to know this?
February 24th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Jon, pay no attention to stupid people. Keep up the good work. I read your site everyday.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I echo ninjadude’s thoughts. Some folks are insensitive. That works well till it is their time to be sick. Then it matters a bit more to them.
It’s never fun to be sick. Flu is especially trying when it hits a family and then makes the rounds. Been lucky the last few years as I’ve cut my public exposure times and that has resulted in better health and less sickness. When I go to stores, I try to do so during the off times when less crowds are present. Not only is the line shorter (which is the prime driver for this action) but the side benefit that has only dawned on me after a couple of years, is the better health and less dealings with colds, flu, and other transmittables.
You are healthier by far for your daughter not being in a public school system. Her exposure and by implication the rest of your family has been cut down by a large margin. It’s one of the main reasons that public schools require mandatory immunization for it’s students. Schools and other large public gathering places are breeding grounds of the passing of whatever disease of opportunity is going around.
While this may sound like some nutcase with a penchant towards hypochondriac leanings, nothing could be farther from the truth. I rarely ever take so much as an aspirin. My health is good and I would wish it to stay that way. But through experience I have learned that cutting down on public gatherings has increased my health levels by more than any other action I have taken.
*second attempt to get by “posting to quickly”.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I made the old comment but old is in, so don’t worry.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Jon, smoke a lot of pot. You will feel 1000000000000x better. You’ll sleep better and your pain will be relieved. You’ll also get your appetite back.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Oh and get better quick!
February 24th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
When youâre a user / boozer, life centres on your chemical(s) of choice and nothing else matters. When youâre clean and sober, though, suddenly, anything and everything is possible. Itâs hard work getting there, but â¦â¦â¦â¦..
My life started when I stopped. So Yup, Iâm old. Iâm 66 going on 23.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Sure, you may think you are healthier because you don’t get sick — its actually the opposite. By never being exposed to these germs your immune system is less able to deal with that one cold you do actually get.
I work in a elementary school and am exposed to EVERY single germ. In the last year I have been off work 4 days because I was sick. Otherwise when I get a cold that knocks everyone else off their feet — I can tolerate it because I take Vitamin C at the first sign of illness and I’m constantly exposed so chances are my immune system fought off the similar flu from last week or last year.
By never being exposed you are making it worse for yourself.
As far as tylenol or aspirin… I NEVER take fever reducers, why do you think your body has a fever??? Its trying to kill off that virus in your body by over heating. If you can stand it — take a warm shower and help it along (just make sure you take your temp and cool off if your temp is above 103!). People complain that the flu lasts for days — well then help the fever break!!!
February 24th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/26/new-zealand-puts-its.html
The New Zeland police have launched a wiki open at anyone wanting to edit and make suggestions to the Police Act as part of a wider revamp. New Zealand’s current Police Act is nearly 50 years old. In March 2006 a review undertaken. Following this a new website wiki.policeact.govt.nz has been launched to allow people to suggest wording for the new Policing Act. It uses similar wiki technology to the popular user-generated site Wikipedia. The wiki version of the Policing Act will be viewed by New Zealand parliamentarians, before an official bill is introduced into Parliament.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:18 am
It’s better to be exposed to mild, weak versions of said viruses that don’t ravage your immune system…. Also yeah reminding your immune system to stay alert is important, but there are other non germ related substances out there that can stimulate it. Getting a cold all the time doesn’t help a damn thing.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Jon, please ignore the idiots (I know there are a lot of them…) and keep doing what you do. Personally, I like the informal atmosphere of this site. It has a much friendly feel than other sites where the staff never interacts with the users.
However, I wish you would fix the anti-spam system! I haven’t posted anything in at least 24 hours, and it still tells me I’m posting comments too quickly. Other times, I can post three of four messages in under ten minutes (on different stories) and it never complains once.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:07 am
^^ actually, Rekrul, I’m not staff. There’s no difference between me and everyone else who comes here. Which is why I feel okay about posting stuff such as this article. I feel like I’m talking to friends rather than writing for users. I know someone’ll say that’s just bullshit. But it’s the truth.
As for the anti-spam system, it isn’t — an anti-spam system. Its an infuriating peculiarity of WordPress and it gets me as well as everyone else.
I wish I had a way of fixing it, but I don’t. Not at the moment, anyhow. But I’m very much aware of the problem.
Cheers!
Jon
February 25th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Jon – thank goodness you are starting to feel better.
I care about you and your health.
I am anxious every day to see what you have to tell us.
You are like family to me and probably to a lot of us.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
If you are “66 going on 23″, I must be “45 going on 15″ (but for slightly different reasons. I like to tell myself that I may be getting older but I refuse to grow up!