Supplemental

Everybody’s got something. Disease, anxiety, stress, in-laws for the holidays--- no one gets a free ride. Me, I’ve got a cold. Big deal, so does half of western civilization at the moment, from what I hear.

Why bring it up? (No phlegm intended) Because a casual conversation I had this afternoon replayed a conversation I had this morning, so you get to read about it.

It’s all about the supplements. Why don’t I take chondroitin-glucosamine for my chronically achy joints? Or shark cartilage? Or rhinoceros horn—no, wait, that’s not right. I don’t, for the same reason I’m not taking zinc or Echinacea or mustard plasters for the cold.

Oh, I used to, once upon a time. Quit cold turkey, except for the occasional multi-vitamin. I hit bottom when I bought a bottle of gingko biloba for my memory, then forgot to take it. Seriously, it hit the sell-by date ¾ full. Taught me a lesson.

Neil Gaiman famously wrote, “You get what everyone gets. You get a life.”

Just take two aspirins and call someone in the morning.