Not to make light of the new virus that is sweeping through China but like everything else in this world there is an "Up-Side" to this awful epidemic. It is causing folks to slow down and get their priorities straight. I'm sure the Chinese tourism bureau does not see it this way but right about now I'm ready to move there and take my chances.
Winter in Florida . . . the time of the year when people you met on a plane 42 years ago give you a call to invite themselves to your home for a month. OH JOY ! It's really not fair at all that folks you barely know start showing up right after the New Year to invade your space. They have not earned the right of living here in the winter because they have not had to survive the broiling hot Florida summer. They just fly in from the frozen northern states with the expectation of being picked up at the airport with their 12 suitcases and heavy winter coats in hand. They clog our roads, fill our restaurants and even sleep in our guest rooms for days on end with the promise of returning next year for an even longer visit.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to host the out of town guest we get to drink a LOT more, eat all sorts of things we wouldn't normally be adding to our diets and have the joy of quadrupling our laundry load so we can change sheets and towels every 3 days when the new influx of guests arrive.
But the absolute worst thing about out of town guests is that EVERYONE has to give you a BIG hug and kiss every time you see them. Normally I am a "hugger" but what we are talking about here are visitors who are transporting lots and lots of nasty germs from the great Northeast. These folks travel down here either by car or plane and manage to pick up all sorts of nasty diseases along the way. Once they arrive here it is hug, hug and kiss, kiss until every last germ has been transferred to the Florida natives. The tourists never get sick because they don't hold on to the germs long enough to infect themselves, they just share them with everyone they are visiting and let us get sick. Then a week later the "Typhoid Mary" snow birds return to their native states where any residual germs they had are quickly frozen to death while the entire state of Florida is quarantined thanks to an outbreak of God only knows what. The folks left here in this state are now infected with "Northern" germs and we don't have the ability to fight these germs because for the past month we have been sleep deprived, over worked, exhausted and our diets have been shit. There just isn't time to think rationally about food when your house guests are expecting to be wined and dined because they are ON VACATION !
Soooooooo . . . I'm thinking if I were to head to China as a tourist I could be the one getting some rest and relaxation even though I might get sick with their virus. But even then it would afford me the opportunity to just lie in bed all day and have some one wait on me 24/7. I'm not seeing much of a down side to this scenario. I'd sure as hell be having more fun than I am right now.
(P.S. I need to write a disclaimer here stating that my last 2 sets of house guests have been more than WONDERFUL and I really do enjoy having them here. They are super helpful and have even cooked for us but it is still difficult for me to share my time and space with others. )
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