When I was five years old, I stepped on a needle. Now I don't really know how far the needle went into my foot, but I do remember that it hurt; so much so that I convinced myself that the needle had disappeared into my foot and remained there. Now as a child I obsessed over the would-be needle in my foot. Every time I had a pain in my foot, my mind went immediately to the needle--still lodged in there--causing me pain. Now, of course, the needle could not be in there since it was probably as long as my had height when I was six, and it would have to have punctured bone at that. So as I grew older I realized how stupid I was for believing that the needle was in my foot.

Yesterday, as I was walking home, I had a sudden pain in my foot. My mind went immediately to that needle to blame the pain on, still lodged in my brain after all these years.

It is nice waking up and not feeling like a truck ran you over in the night.

I don't think I've had a flu like this in a very very very long time.

I think I read somewhere that this year's influenza was slow starting but particularly virulent and taxing. I can attest to that.