Urgh, this is the WORST time to get a cold. I really didn't want to wade into the whole SARS can of worms because I think readers who get there should get a reprieve from being bombarded by the news of it. Sadly, everyday when one turns on the news its either SARS or the war in Iraq. But.. now that I cannot deny I got a bad cold, it's time to face to music -- people might think I have it and do things differently around me.. Perhaps it's a good social studies exercise. First thing first. I have a cold.. Haven't had one for a LONG time, but nowadays runny noses just reminds me of the dreadful hay fever I get during September... urgh. I think I caught this cold from a co-worker I talked to at work.. Or, just thru the sheer bravado of leaving my windows open at night in my quest for fresh air during sleep. Nevermind. Last Friday in Toronto we had an ice-pellet storm.. Driving with my 91' Civic is impossible, so I resorted to taking the subway. Of course, I had the sniffles, and this time I remembered my Kleenex. It was obvious that Torontonians are gripped by the fear of catching it, there are people who avoided sitting beside me, and one person practically bolted when I brought out the tissue and wiped my nose. Ok, I am being mean here making fun of people who are simply protecting themselves...

This morning on CBC radio there was an interesting panel talking to Michael Enright on The Sunday Edition.. and someone made an interesting point -- as bad as the current statistics on SARS is, worse still is the chance that mischevious people who make use of the fear of the disease and cause mayhem. Imagine a guy running inside King station during rush hour, holding a smoke bomb and yelling that he's spreading SARS around (objectively, I think our fictitious terrorist does better if he starts chucking used Kleenex). The aftermath is not unimaginable. In fact while the medical community and the government are desperately trying to calm the fears of SARS, there are yet more people spreading rumours and misinformation around town. Most of us on ICQ has probably gotten messages that are relayed around warning of the "list of infected places".. lo-and-behold.. most Chinese malls and watering holes are metioned. Personally I've gotten 2 such emails and 1 ICQ message regarding this.. All my friends that do go out for dinner go not to Chinese restaurants, instead they head en masse to places like McD or Timmy's..

So I have a cold, and my friends invite me to dinner on Tuesday, to Alice Fazooli's. I wonder how many patrons I get to scare with my sniffles. I think I'll pop 2 Claritin-24s and suffer with the dry nose. :(