Nothing to sneeze at

> There’s one bad habit exhibited in public by both adults and children that needs to be covered up

late 30s sneezing at the payment counter which also had some Thai cakes on sale.

He had already sneezed four times even before he could make any payment. Perhaps he had been affected by the aroma of the cakes.

The fifth time he sneezed I could see the spray emitting from his nostrils!

I had to think of a way to remind him that what he was doing was out of line.

So I lifted up a tissue box on my table, and gestured to the sneezer standing some four metres away that he could use the tissues instead of sneezing all over.

He gave a sheepish smile and gestured that his table, too, had tissues that he could use. I think he got the message that I was either being helpful, or sarcastic.

But why didn’t he have enough sense to use the tissues in the first place?

Just the other day, I was on a long-haul flight packed with many holiday-makers. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of constant uncovered sneezing.

I told myself that there was no escape here. It was inevitable. We were in an enclosed cabin on a plane, where germs could happily circulate.

True enough, I was afflicted with a sore throat and a slight flu within 24 hours. This would make things pretty frustrating, especially if you were looking forward to enjoying some holiday sights, and meeting people in a new land!

And the above two examples of unhygienic sneezing were not committed by some poor migrant workers.

They were committed by persons who could afford to dine in a pricey Thai restaurant, or buy airline tickets that locked them inside a plane for eight hours!

Have the use of handkerchiefs or tissues gone out of fashion?

Jeff Yong, after making his mark in the twisty maze of mainstream journalism, has finally decided to enjoy what he does best – observing the unusual and recounting the gleeful. He can be contacted at lifestyle.borak@gmail.com.