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By Karla Pomeroy
Editor 

Karla's Kolumn: Colds, detergent pods and Trump

I hate colds. They last forever and I never think I feel bad enough to stay home. I hate taking sick days. It is not that I think I am invaluable or irreplaceable, because I am not

 

January 20, 2018



I hate colds. They last forever and I never think I feel bad enough to stay home. I hate taking sick days. It is not that I think I am invaluable or irreplaceable, because I am not. It is just that my parents instilled a strong work ethic in me and staying home when I know there is work to be done is not easy for me.

Thank goodness the Daily News has a laptop enabling me to work from home, which I have done two days this week in hopes of stopping the spread of this, which has already hit three members of the editorial staff.

Personally, I blame it on not on the sports editor Alex, who had it first, or not dressing warmly enough for our weekend walk as my husband suggests. I think my body is rebelling for trying to eat healthy. There’s probably some withdrawal from chocolate to blame as well although I have not cut chocolate out completely (I’m not a total idiot).

Here’s hoping you stay healthy and if not try and stay home, not just from work but from public places as well until you are feeling better.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends these six tips to stop the spread of germs:

1. Avoid close contact.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

2. Stay home when you are sick.

If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick.

3. Cover your mouth and nose.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

4. Clean your hands.

Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

6. Practice other good health habits.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

~~~

So growing up we used to taste our mud pies and my parents tell the story of my sister trying to eat a stink bug once. But never, ever, did we try or even think of trying to eat laundry detergent. It is a sad society we live in when Facebook and YouTube have to take down videos of youth challenging each other to eat detergent pods. I don’t care if they are colorful or not. These youth know they are not candy. They were not drinking liquid detergent or powder detergent, at least we were not hearing if they were, so what possesses them to think it would be OK to eat detergent in the form of a pod.

I don’t blame parents because I’m sure the parents of these youth had hopes that their children were smarter than this. Well now they know that their children are not smarter than this so we can hope they will be more carefully monitored — no matter the age.

So one more time in case you missed … Don’t eat laundry detergent in any form.

~~~

Today marks the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president. Did you hear that? That’s right what you hear is shock and awe for all those who said he would not last a year, or that he would be indicted.

More than a year later the Russian investigation continues ad nauseam.

Yes, I know as I write this there may be a government shutdown, as there have been many times, including under President Obama. Despite what you might hear about a government shutdown, if that happens, which was uncertain as I write this, the world won’t come to an end. Essential services will still continue.

Has everything been perfect in the first year of the President’s term, hardly, but the world did not come to an end like all the fearmongerers predicted. Even one prediction about the stock market fell totally flat.

Predictions about the economy and unemployment rate have been wrong.

Does nearly everyone, including myself, cringe, when the president tweets? Absolutely.

For all the head scratching things President Trump has done, for those who are impartial they can see it not everything has been bad.

I have to say I agree with Congress’ action on removal of the health insurance mandate.

I have stated over and over that access to health insurance does not equal access to health care and I do not think we should have to help make health insurance companies rich.

And, let’s talk about the tax cuts. Some companies are liking the cuts. Apple is moving money back to the United States and creating 20,000 jobs in part due to the cuts.

Many Americans will likely see more in their paycheck starting next month (who knows if that may be delayed if there is a shutdown).

I myself am looking forward to having more in my check. Are you?

So whether you are battling a cold or flu, refraining from eating detergent or checking out health insurance options with your tax cuts, stay healthy my friends.

 
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