Thursday, April 30, 2009

Scary Things

From For Ellipsis


"In Witchcraft, each of us must reveal our own truth."

-Starhawk, Spiral Dance



Happy Walpurgis Night...

Tonight we will carve a pumpkin, make some hot spiced apple cider, and pray a wayward ghostie or goblin doesn't visit our door. It's not Halloween, but it is Walpugis Night! April 30th, sits exactly opposite October 31st on the calendar, which means the veil between this world and the next is at it's most slight. It is also, according to About.com, "the last chance for witches and their nefarious cohorts to stir up trouble, before spring reawakened the land."

Are you scared?

Does this frighten you?

Bwahahahahahaha!

If you have known me any length of time, you know how much I love spooky, scary stuff. Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I embrace it fully! It has been cold in the Bay Area this spring, so it feels really nice to have something fun to blame the chills on. I still have a pumpkin sitting on the window seat from last autumn, so I will carve it and place it by the back door tonight. Why do I still have a pumpkin on my window seat? I always buy several extra pumpkins for cooking, and decoration and, of course, protection, through the long dark winter months!

A Little Too Scary...

Another confirmed case of Swine Flu was just announced in San Mateo County this morning. San Mateo county is just across the bay from where I am, on the peninsula. I suppose it's just a matter of time until a case has been diagnosed in Alameda County. I hope not. Sigh. I don't believe it is a forgone conclusion that I will get it, but it's a little scary anyway. The thing that worries me the most is that the CDC knows so little about it. Hospitals in the area have just been inundated with folks who believe they have flu-like symptoms. So much so, that tented triage units have been erected, at some hospitals, to handle all the folks coming to emergency rooms.

I don't know. I don't feel particularly worried. I carry hand sanitizer with me all the time. I have to, being a diabetic, I check my blood glucose several times a day and having a bottle of sanitizer in my purse is just apart of my life. I always wash my hands before and after I touch food. That's just been a lifelong habit. Does doing any of those things make me any safer? Maybe from some things, but this is airborne, so what's a girl to do? I know one thing, as much as I like spooky movies, I won't be watching Steven King's, The Stand, tonight!

What do you think?

Will things get much worse?

Should we all be panicking?

Is it a forgone conclusion that all of us will get Swine Flu?

How did it get so big, so quick?

Opinions, opinions. Tell me what you think. Will you be celebrating Walpurgis Night along with me? Does the Swine Flu worry you? Are you taking any special steps to protect yourself? Do you get annual flu shots?

Tell me what you think.

Walpurgis Night

Hospitals Inundated with Panicked People

-Carly


2 comments:

Terri said...

Huh. As much as I've done pagan ritual, I've never heard of Walpurgis night. May yours be happy and full of fun and spookiness.

Re: swine flu. I haven't watched TV at all for awhile, so while at my Dad's house yesterday I was amazed to see the hype and the panic incitement on the TV "news." I wish the media would get back to regular reporting instead of fear mongering. Yes, we can be informed about the flu and symptoms and prevention WITHOUT ALL THE DAMN HYPE.

And that said, I think it has gotten big quickly because of the many ways we are destroying our immune systems, from the poisons we eat and drink to the air we breathe to the lifestyles we lead. No, all of us will not get swine flu. And no we should not be panicking. That would help how?

Be sensible, be responsible, be informed. And big media, this means you too!!!

Suzanne R said...

So many more people die of the regular old flu on a weekly basis that the to-do about H1N1 (as the President calls it) is really quite out of proportion. Yes, it could grow to be bigger than some flus have been but I heard tonight that it won't be like the influenza of around 1917, which killed millions. I think that's what some people have feared. Still, I was waiting in a clinic for a routine test today and a young man a few seats away was coughing and sneezing, and he made me nervous, especially as he was waiting for the lab. I wondered what he was being tested for! And I hoped he stayed away from me, which thankfully he did!