Paying For It Now

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It’s funny how things will stick in your mind. In this particular case, a line from an episode of the second season of M*A*S*H, “As You Were.” I didn’t care for the episode when it originally aired in 1973, and I recently re-watched it and I still don’t care for it. But there was a line in the episode, where Trapper turned to Henry (who’d been seen at the beginning of the show, working on his tan with the aid of metallic surgical instrument trays) and said, “That’s a pretty good tan, Henry.” “Yeah,” Henry sighed, “well, I’m paying for it now.” That’s how I feel. Last week, if you’ll recall, I went on a hike at Buttermilk Falls in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Truth be told, I was out a LOT longer than I’d anticipated, as I’d only planned to go to the namesake waterfall and turn around. But hey, it was warm, sunny, and spring, so I ended up walking the entire length of the trail, then coming back. Total walk: about 4.5 miles. Now, I’m an asthmatic, and an allergic asthmatic at that. I figured, oh well, I’ll be sore tomorrow and sneeze for a day, then things will be fine. Um.....nope. I’m still short of breath and tight in my chest from both the exercise and the pollen. And, of course, this goofy weather (damp and 54 degrees today, supposed to be sunny and in the 70s tomorrow) isn’t helping. So, if you could have put a machine on me last Sunday that said, ”This is how you’re going to feel in a week,” would I have taken that hike? You bet! That’s what I take allergy and asthma medicine for!