Let’s not blame snowbirds (or Canada) for winter ills
OK, I’m back.
Where have you been?
Don’t ask.
Really, where have you been?
I said I don’t want to talk about it, but if you insist, I have been locked in in mortal combat with my modem, wi-fi router, and internet service provider. The carnage on all sides was terrible. An uneasy peace has settled over the battlefield. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.
And I don’t want to talk about the curly newsprint or the new obits format anymore, either. These are matters beyond my control. There is no point in asking me about them.
Let’s move on to today’s question:
Is there connection between the influx of snowbirds and an increase of upper respiratory illness or the flu?
Our snowbirds get blamed for a lot of stuff, but I don’t think you can blame them for seasonal illnesses.
It is true that colds and flu spread more rapidly when there are more people around and interacting with each other in schools, restaurants, stores, etc., but pinning that solely on our honored winter guests would hardly be fair.
As a matter of fact, here’s one of them now:
As an avid reader of your newspaper I find it unusual that there has been no mention of Canada at any time over the years that I’ve been snowbirding. I know that that the perception of Canada is that we are kind of dull but could you please speak to your masters and have them try and find a story about Canada?
Sorry, I can no more help you with that than I can with curly corners or obits. In our defense, we do run the hockey scores.
My grandmother told me many years ago that the baseball legend Ty Cobb was my sixth cousin. What exactly is a sixth cousin?
People who have a common greatgreat-great-great-great-grandparent.
Have a question for Clay? Reach him at 602-444-8612 or clay.thompson@arizonarepublic.com