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Thursday, August 17, 2006

I think there should be some kind of catch phrase you say after someone coughs.

You know like how when someone sneezes the cool thing to do is say "Bless you" or God Bless You" (or "Salute" if you are my mother")? This is done, according to my knowledgable friend Wikipedia.com, because "When someone sneezed (seen as the initial onset of the (Black)plague), they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not actually develop the disease"

Well, I think a cough is much more indicative of poor health than a sneeze. My allergies were out of control yesterday and while I appreciated the whole Bless You sentiment, even though after your twentieth sneeze and twentieth "Bless you!", it starts to sound the teeniest bit trite.

But you know when I had bronchitis and was coughing up a black lung everywhere no one gave a crap. I didn't so much get blessings as dirty looks that said "Go home, invalid". And the sympathetic folks were less "Bless you" and more like "Oooh that sucks".

So I offer that as the universal response to coughs from here on out. It emotes some compassion, since you are taking note of the sucky element inherent to coughing. And I think the "ooh" really adds a sympathetic twist to the whole thing.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favorite is when I cough and someone thinks that I sneezed and blesses me. I always wonder--should I accept the blessing or tell them it was really a cough so they can take it back? Haha

Sarah said...

haha i have done that!! and then the other person is like "oh well never mind".

Anonymous said...

I have to admit, I often try to bless a cough. It's sort of disappointing to realize that it was just a cough and you have nothing to say. If it's really bad, I'll go with an "Are you ok? You poor thing!" Depending on how much I like the person.

Sarah said...

well some coughs are very sneeze-esque. it is hard. better safe than sorry i suppose! :-)

Me said...

Great to find a "local" blog. I just started my own, well, the stealth blog, I have another one but my mom reads it too often...ha...

Anyway. I have read your blog for a while and really enjoy it.

Me said...

Great to find a "local" blog. I just started my own, well, the stealth blog, I have another one but my mom reads it too often...ha...

Anyway. I have read your blog for a while and really enjoy it.

Sarah said...

sweet! i look forward to reading it! i love stealth blogs :-P

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing you never saw the Robitussin commercial?!

A Dad is coughing and the little girl says to her mom "what do you say when someone is coughing?" and her mom crocks her head to the side and comes out with "you say Robitussin!" Next scene, her brother coughs and the whole family yells out "Robitussin!".

It's exceedingly annoying. I much prefer your suggestion of "oooh, that sucks".

Nice paint work too! Cheers.

san said...

haha... funny... i'll keep that one in mind and try it next time i hear someone cough ;)