I have red The Great Influenza; very well done. Since I'm a believer in the germ theory, I will, as I do every year, get the flu vaccine.

I probably would not have gotten the flu shot - sometimes I do and sometimes I don't and the end result...no flu, has been the same either way.

However, "Big Brother" has stepped in and all health care workers in our state who have direct patient contact are being legally required (new law) to get it in order to be employed. Most agencies will immunize their employees at no expense. However, I am an outside contracted employee...so I will either have to pay the cost myself, or find a new job.

I have read The Great Influenza; but not the updated version which apparently also talks about the bird flu outbreak, etc.

My grandfather lived through the great influenza (he had my father when he was in his 50s). He was a very slim, slight man, always wanted to gain weight, be bigger, etc. One day, in or about 1918, he ran into two friends in the street, who were big, healthy, stockily-built lads. They exchanged pleasantries and so on. He said they were both struck down by the flu within the month. Trying to make sense of it, he always attributed it to the fact that he was a slim build that he was never affected, almost as if the flu couldn't be bothered with him.

I've only had the flu shot once, despite being in a City heavily hit by SARS in 2003. I may get the shot this year, my mind is still not made up.

I know I will get the regular flu shot because I have asthma. I was at the Vet. the other day and he mentioned he is not having anyone in his family get the swine flu shot. He feels they don't know enough about it, and are just trying it out. The book was well written, and I do hope we do not see something like that again. I would hope we were better prepared. So much was kept secret so people wouldn't panic, so they weren't prepared. My son and family are getting the swine flu shot, my daughter and family are not.

There is a poem by Roy Atwell, SOME LITTLE BUG which is one of my favorites.

Here's the first part.....it goes on and on....

" In these days of indigestion
It is often times a question
As to what to eat and what to leave alone;

For each microbe and bacillus
Has a different way to kill us,
And in time they always claim us for their own.

There are germs of every kind
In any food that you can find
In the market or upon the bill of fare.

Drinking water's just as risky
As the so-called deadly whiskey,
And it's often a mistake to breathe the air."

And on and on..........

My late grandmother (born 1893) was an adult during the Influenza outbreak. She remembered that there were so many funerals that the hearses had to line up outside our town cemetery. Her favourite aunt, Mary, died of the flu while expecting the birth of her first child. Pregnant women (then, as now) were especially vunerable. She recalled that the births of many babies with birth defects were blamed on their mothers being exposed to the flu bug.

That being said, I am not terribly worried about HINI. I seem to recall equally dire predictions for the so-called "Bird Flu".

I am not sure if I will get the flu shot or not. The only time I got inoculated for it, I was sick all winter long with one cold after another. Perhaps it is irresponsible for me to say this, but I still wonder if the shot weakened my immune system. I didn't get a shot last winter, and sailed through till spring without so much as a sniffle.

I don't have flu shots because I think I may get a dose of flu from one. I was in Hong Kong during the SARS epidemic and although I did not wear a mask but, as advised by a doctor friend, washed my hands a lot and tried not to touch common places. I still take that advice. Yesterday I saw a woman open the door to the public lavatory with her elbow! I hope to avoid getting ill as I live alone and do not want to have to be looked after by my busy family.

In the past, I have worked in busy public health environments so having the flu shot was somewhat required; however, due to many varieties of the flu bug, I don't believe it has ever stopped me getting some varient of the flu although it may protect against its own particular strain.

I get it just to give me a level of protection, but each year I get a flu that the shot is not developed to protect against.

I don't know that I will get it this year.

Did you hear that the actor who plays Ron Weaseley in the HP film caught swine flu and recovered? A bit of trivia for you on a Monday.

Another piece of trivia. We will not get pigs at our Agricultural Show this year. The authorities are worried the humans might give the flu to the pigs! The little piggies will miss their games, no doubt, sliding down a ramp into a pool is one of them. Also the pig races!

To join a formal party, except shiny dress and exquisite makeup, hair style can be also important. If you have little time to go to hair salon to have your own hair fixed, then the hair wigs will help a lot . There are various types of such wigs for cheap which can be got from http://www.hairwigsall.com/ such as wigs with bangs and long blonde hair wigs in the market for people to choose.

Are we speaking of WIGS or PIGS??
Or is it basically the same idea !

If you have time to get your PIG groomed then I think you should consider spending at least as much time on your own WIG !

After all, most people will notice your WIG before your PIG.....unless your PIG is quite handsome and you are not !!

EIther way, it doesn't hurt to put your best foot forward.....wig, pig or otherwise !
And if your WIG looks better on your PIG then perhaps you need to let him wear it.

You'll be proud of you PIG, which will then reflect kindly on you :0)

Any other thoughts on this timely matter???

So, Yoyo, it was you that started the career of mega-porcine starlet, Miss Piggy; she of the flowing blonde locks and the girly-pink complexion.
Below is a before they were famous photo of the nubile young porkerine with her escort, a total hog by the looks of him. Your protege has certainly gained a few pounds in the intervening years. Please give us your advice for a weight-gaining diet. We too might hope to win a rosette at the County Show.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Young Miss Piggy

Yoyo and Vee, I love your satirical bent. Especially coming after the post just previous!

A pig in a wig? Sounds like the idea for a short story by Wodehouse involving the Empress of Blandings and one of the Drones!