Like many of you, I’m just getting over the spring funk, an infirmity that hits many of us in the Nursery Capital every year.
Frankly, this is the first year in a long time I got floored by the illness that tends to sweep Warren County at this time of year. Usually I listen to the complaints, hacking coughs and sneezing from the masses who are suffering from the funk and never feel a symptom myself.
Knock on wood, aside from a kidney stone, a few root canals and minor stuff, I’ve been pretty healthy. I generally don’t get the stuff that goes around and I don’t get the flu. Oh, speaking of the flu, would people please stop saying they got the flu when they actually have the funk.
The flu is actually a serious matter. Don’t be at work all hacking and coughing and tell me you have the flu. First off, if you actually have the flu then you aren’t going to be able to pull yourself out of bed to make it to work. And second, and most importantly, if for some reason you can drag yourself into work with the flu – DON’T! You aren’t that important to the system.
Don’t come in and subject everyone else to the flu. You won’t be respected for being a great employee, you will be hated for being the jerk who gave everyone else the flu. Same with your kids, parents. If they have the flu, keep them at home. I think they’ll still graduate on time if they miss a week of school to recover from the flu.
Anyway, as I was saying, the funk got me this week, leaving me lying low. However, realizing it wasn’t the flu and was likely nothing contagious, I decided to work through it. In hindsight, I likely should have taken a couple of days off but since it was the week after my botched vacation (see last week’s column), I decided I could be sick at work as easily as I could be sick at home. So, I came in and did my regular stuff, leaning on my elbows half the time.
It was no secret I was feeling bad since I mentioned it constantly. Hey, I don’t get sick much so I’m going to get mileage out of it when I am. So, I’m at my desk, toiling despite sick, when a member of our staff walks up and presents me a medal. Yes, a medal that goes around your neck.
“This is the (name deleted) memorial medal for working sick,” he says handing me the medal named after a past employee who was known for not working when he was sick.
Now, I’m not going to say wearing the medal made me feel better or that it had healing powers but I can safely say I started feeling better immediately thereafter.
What does this all mean? Well. Next time you’re at work and feeling bad and someone asks, “What? You want a medal?” Tell them “Yes. I would like a medal please.”
Standard reporter Duane Sherrill can be reached at 473-2191.