The Daily Word for August 18, 2021

 

sternutator - noun - something that causes sneezing

Sternutators are often ubiquitous to some. If you live in a locale that experiences seasons – four, clearcut ones – then you might find enough in the way of sternutators to sneeze on a three-season basis. Of course, if you happen to live in California or Florida, you might be sneezing all year round since a perennial summer propagate sternutators. You folks have my deepest sympathy, if not empathy. As a victim of hay fever, growing up I felt allergic to everything. For me, hay, roses, dust are primary sternutators. Fortunately, I no longer partake in hayrides. The one rose plant I have in the garden produces feeble flowers with little scent and only in the late spring, so it doesn't bother me. And since I am  fastidious about keeping the house free from dust, it is rare that I sneeze as a full-fledged adult. 

However, I do know people who are particularly susceptible to common as well as unusual sternutators. Two nights ago, I invited one of my former lovers over for dinner. Having been my hair dresser for years, but not my paramour since 1996, I now call him my friend. And yes, he is yet another member in good standing of Platonic Anonymous. Half way through the evening, he started to sneeze and sneeze and sneeze–so much so that I began to feel as though I could have been the sternutator. When I ventured to ask, he smiled, asked for a Kleenex, and promptly left. Maybe I was the culprit? Who knows? 

In today's world, a person who sneezes more than once is generally viewed as a possible communicator of COVID and is therefore treated as a pariah, especially if the person is not wearing a mask. Of course, the person could very well have the disease, but we shouldn't feel as though every sneeze heard is a direct relative of COVID; but still, we should keep six feet away just in case and shout "God bless you" or "Gesundheit," just to make the outlier feel better. Let's remember our manners. 

:) Happy Hump Day!

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