How is it

that I am 50 years old, spent 12 years in school from kindergarten through high school (yeah, I know, it should be 13, but I skipped first grade) in nine different schools and five different states, five years as an undergraduate in college--including matriculating through a 'Great Works' programme--and eleven years in graduate school studying library science and European history (albeit prior to 1789), and until yesterday I had no idea that Alexandre Dumas, the author of numerous beloved novels and other writings, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Christo, was the grandson of a Haitian African slave? Granted, I read The Three Musketeers, which I adored--and one day I should read the sequels--on my own, not as part of my schooling. When I was a kid I loved anything which involved swordplay. I was also a great fan of Zorro, and I also loved The Scarlet Pimpernel. But you would think that detail would have been gleaned sometime in all those years of education. Of course, our system, particularly when I was young, was biased towards European white authors, but still.... Anyway, I know it now, at least.

I'm home from work today due to a bad cold. I spent yesterday at work, using copious amounts of hand sanitizer, but I blew a lot of snot out of my nose constantly, coughed, sneezed, felt like my head was ten times its size, and just generally felt miserable, and when I woke up this morning, after a fitful night, I felt worse. I texted my boss to see if I could stay home and then went back to sleep. I woke up again at 8:30 am, called YKWIA to see if he wanted to go to the doctor if I could get an appointment for both of us, but he is trying to keep the medical bills down, so he declined. I then called our doctor's office to see if I could get in, but they are already usually closed by 1 pm on Fridays, and they were going to leave early due to the impending holiday, too, so I couldn't. I could go the Little Clinic at Kroger, but it usually takes forever, according to people who've gone, and frankly, I don't feel like sitting or walking around Kroger that long. So instead I went back to bed and slept for about two-and-a-half hours, and then woke up, took my medicine, and got some food in me. I feel a little better. I still have a headache and I am stuffy with a sore throat (those frozen fruit bars help with that) and earache, but the pressure in my head isn't quite so bad, and while I'm still blowing stuff out of my nose, it isn't quite as constant. On the other hand, I've only been up less than an hour and I'm already tired so I may go back to bed for awhile--I just wanted to that stuff and feed the fish. But despite the rest I've gotten, I'm still pretty pooped. But then, that is a defining symptom of a viral infection, that feeling of being hit by a truck and having no energy. I really couldn't have worked today, even though it was a lighter day. My brain feels like mush, and it's just too much mental juggling to do when you're not at your best. Plus, the woman I sit next to is five months' pregnant, and while it's possible that I've passed my cold to her already, I did at least try to keep away from her as much as possible, use lots of sanitizer, etc., and it wasn't as bad yesterday, to the point where at first I still thought it was allergies. I also made sure I didn't infect anything as far as anything I handed the families. Some of our kids are medically fragile and certainly don't need a cold. But all in all, for my sake and theirs, it seemed better to stay home today.

I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to go back to bed. I almost wrote 'good night', even though it's sunny outside (or was when I started this, as it now looks like it's clouding up). Have a good day, and stay healthy, because being sick, even a fairly icky cold, sucks. I know, it could be far worse, of course.

Most bizarre news story of the week

Porn actor suspected of murder jumps off cliff, dies after daylong standoff with police

Only in Los Angeles would a porn actor kill a colleague at a social gathering for the studio with a prop Samurai sword, wound another, hold off police (with sword still in his possession) most of the day, then jump off a cliff when a 'less lethal weapon' was used to subdue him, whatever that means. He apparently started the whole thing because he'd been fired and was asked to leave his lodgings, which were being provided by the studio. This is definitely the case of someone who snapped big time, although he'd had previous weapons violations, so perhaps not unpredictably. I am sorry that he's dead (and that his colleague is as well, of course), but it just underscores how odd things can be in both the film industry and the Hollywood area. I think making money off of fantasy can sometimes draw you away from the real world, or at least the world the rest of us live in.

Odd Kentucky story of the week: rampaging psychiatrist with sword!

A psychiatrist and doctor of internal medicine, Dr Douglas Rank, attacked a woman with a sword, stabbing her in the chest, in northern Kentucky Sunday. Dr Rank had previously practiced in Lexington, but his licence was suspended for a time over sex with a female patient. Apparently he's also been in trouble over his prescribing practices. The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure found that Rank had given a patient 57 prescriptions, including narcotics, over a 14 month period. According to the police report, Rank had drunk a fifth of brandy and taken two Clonezapams before stabbing the woman. Neighbours heard the woman scream (his office is downstairs, his apartment upstairs) and were able to distract him enough for the woman to get away. The attack took place upstairs and it was unclear whether the woman was a patient or not. I would make a crack about how she shouldn't be billed if she were a patient, but it was pretty serious and she could have died. Fortunately, she's listed as recovering.

(Shakes head.) There are some real looneys out there, and some of them have medical degrees.

In the game I play essentially a ninja who cuts off cultists' heads in a bid to stop the next apocalypse

This one had a less altruistic cause:

Cops hunt sword-waving ninja after robbery bid: Armed culprit flees empty-handed when clerk refuses to hand over cash

Okay, as a gas station attendant, I have to say that if someone came at me with a sword, I'd go ahead and give him the cash, then call the cops with the ninja description after he leaves. Anyone that crazy is dangerous, especially with sharp objects.