Feeling poorly

I haven't felt up to snuff for more than a week, what with the flu and then insomnia and allergies. Still, whenever I start to feel sorry for myself, I just remind myself of Laura's case of fever 'n' ague in Little House in the Prairie. That account of the whole family being so sick that they couldn't get out of bed, and of Laura finally literally crawling across the floor to get a dipperful of water for herself and the others, struck me viscerally as a child and remains my platonic ideal of Illness. What's a bit of fever compared to that?

Remember what Mrs. Scott thought caused fever 'n' ague? Watermelons! Actually, of course, the family had malaria.

Sometimes fever can be quite pleasant - there's that floating feeling you get. My best experience at the LA Zoo happened at dusk one day. The zoo was closing and we were walking down the hill toward the exit. Despite the chill, I was pleasantly warm and felt a bit as if my brain were floating about an inch above my body. As it grew dark, the animals began to welcome the night. The roar of lions, shriek of peacocks, and bizarre hollow bark of howler monkeys accompanied us all the way to the parking lot. Surreal and magical.