COMMENTARY: Trick, Not Treat, Thanks To Flu

By MICKI BARE

Posted: November 2, 2009 at 5:56 a.m.

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ASHEBORO, N.C. — The first Halloween visitor to darken our doorstep arrived early. It did not stop by to ask for a treat. Rather, it was delivering a ghastly trick.

It was making rounds around town and apparently decided we were next on its list. Our household was invaded this week by H1N1 influenza.

If my child was not quarantined in his room in an effort to contain the virus, he wouldn’t need a costume. He is pale and his eyes are sporting some dark circles.

His natural H1N1 complexion is scarier than any spooky makeup he could apply or mask he could buy.

Instead of stringing up the pumpkin lights we normally hang from the eaves of our home, we soaked his cups, plates and utensils in bleach water, ran the dishwasher on the super-hot sanitize setting and sprayed everything down regularly with disinfectant.

Everyone is washing their hands into a chapped oblivion. No one is allowed near the quarantined bedroom without a mask or bandanna covering their mouth and nose.

Of course, my thus-far healthy teen has been joking about trying to catch the bug so he can take a week off of school like his younger brother.

I was unable to extract any humor from my child’s jokingly made comments. But then I’m not an indestructible teenager suffering from early onset senioritis.

Meanwhile, we missed out on the biggest Halloween night in years. With H1N1 hanging about the house, we dared not sit out on the porch in our costumes and hand out treats. While we are taking every precaution we canthink of, I don’t think parents in the neighborhood would appreciate snack-sized candy with a side of virus.

We are, admittedly, quite disappointed in the timing of our H1N1 experience. With the change in daylight-saving time, there was more time for trick-or-treaters to collect goodies in the safety of sunlight. The clocks didn’t have to be turned back until after the trickor-treating and masquerade parties concluded.

Add to the extra daylight the fact that Halloween fell on Saturday this year and we had all the makings of a spooktacular holiday.

No one had to hurry home from work, feed the kids, get them in their costumes, then rush around to all the neighbors before bedtime this year. Rather, everyone could leisurely enjoy all the scary fun throughout the day and all evening long.

There was not a carved pumpkin glowing on our porch. We did not have our porch lights burning. Our plastic witch’s cauldron remained in the attic, NOT filled with candy for the costumed kiddies.

Luckily, we never got around to buying a pumpkin. We ended up putting those funds toward my son’s doctor visit and prescription costs. We spent the time wewould have spent carving an intricate landscape into the rind, and then some, keeping the house disinfected.

We saved lots of money hoarding snack-sized candy that was not distributed. But I suppose we will be able to use it up in the lunches we pack for the boys from now until January.

My children will actually be quite happy with this situation, because they normally get homemade, healthier versions of sweets in their brown bags.

We missed seeing all the cute and scary costumes. We missed hanging out on the porch with the neighbors.

We missed dressing up and handing out candy, stealing a piece from the cauldron every now and again. But, it was for the best.

The full recovery of my infected child, and the lack of anyone else in our family or neighborhood contracting the bug was well worth missing out on the big holiday.

In consideration of this year’s big Halloween letdown thanks to H1N1, we’ve decided to begin planning for the next big spooky fall evening. Surely we will all be healthy in 2015, the next time Halloween falls on a Saturday.

Now that you are done reading my column, please go wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. You can never be too cautious when it comes to the flu bug!

MICKI BARE IS A COLUMNIST FOR THE ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU AND THE COURIER-TRIBUNE IN ASHEBORO, N.C., AND AUTHOR OF THE BOOK “RELATIVE EXPRESSIONS.” SHE LIVES IN ASHEBORO WITH HER HUSBAND AND THREE CHILDREN.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 11/02/2009

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