01:40 - 25.09.07
Literacy
A lot of sick people still taking transit. One fellow coughing really hard, but covering his mouth with his gloved hand. Problem was that he also used that same gloved hand to push open the door to exit that first commuter bus of the morning. One can't avoid touching the same place unless one chooses not to exit the bus after all even if it is your stop. In the grocery store yesterday they had those moist antibiotic wipes available by the grocery carts, so that one could wipe down the handle of one's own chariot before touching it. Great Idea since it is impossible to know who last touched it. May be something similar should be instituted in other public places where phyysical contact with infected surfaces are unavoidable - like busses. There are a lot of downtown offices that are now encouraging the use of said wipes for computer keyboards and telephones to stop the spread of flu and cold viruses, so it isn't an entirely foreign concept to most travellers. On the weekend there were a lot of detours as maintenance on the roads and rails was being carried out to prepare for winter. It was a relief today not to have to worry about where one's bus might actually end up as a result. I could nap in peace.
I was back looking after my grand-daughter today. She seemed fairly pleased with that and so was I. Her parents had bought her more story books over the weekend - on sale - and that was the first thing she wanted to share with me - even before I had removed all my outside gear. There had been frost on all the car windows, you see, as well as a thick, pea soup type of fog to travel through. My grand-daughter had had a flu shot on the weekend and it was obvious that milder form of the illness was working it's way through her system. Runny nose, iffy digestive system, and restlessness that comes with a low grade fever. "They" say that contact with an infected - excuse me - injected person - doesn't usually put others at risk for catching the disease but then "they" add that that doesn't apply to people with weak or compromised immune systems or those who are very young or very elderly. A lot of ill people - those with cancer or other short term diseases - can't avoid going to work nor can they all avoid taking transit. Large numbers of parents with small children, who must be immunized to attend daycare, travel by transit too. Another source of infection. Trading one group's safety for another's is a trade off should at least be the subject of a public health warning so those adults who are sick can think about ways to try and protect themselves.
The day went well enough. I had brought the first book in the series "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper to read out loud to my grand-daughter. It was her Dad who had first brought the books home from the elementary school library and they have been a family favorite for reading out loud ever since. Just carrying on the tadition you see. I would read a few pages at a time then put it down if her attention strayed. She responded by finding where I had put the book down and bringing it back to me "More, more.." as she handed it to me. She will often repeat specific words that she especially enjoys the sound of when spoken aloud. Her comprehension skills seem quite good too. There is a movie version - "The Seeker" - of the book series due to be released, although I haven't seen a date for it. I hope there has been close attention to the original writing.
Love of books seems to run in the family. One of my young adult nephews emailed me a comprehensive list of books he was hoping I could locate for him in one of the second hand stores in the downtown. He said he wanted them for Christmas and thought he would get a lot more for his reading pleasure, if he wasn't sticky about them being new. A lot fo the titles were ones I have always enjoyed and it will be a pleasure to do that task for him. My only problem will be not blowing a whole bunch of money on buying books for me too. Well not blow money - one can't ever do that when buying them - but there are non-negotiable things like bills to be paid first - right? "Lead us not into temptation".
Anyway time for the "now I lay me down to sleep" portion of the day. Have to give my immune system a fighting chance against all those germs we are immersed in every day.
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