I know we're smack in the middle of a potential Swine Flu Pandemic, but even if we weren't, it would be nice if people showed one another some common courtesy.

I just got back from a trip to the main branch of our local library and, while I hate to admit it, I cut my visit short because I feared catching whatever the woman standing next to me was suffering from.

I was enjoying myself, browsing the best sellers' section, when a woman walked up to check out the selections. Only I'm betting she couldn't see too much due to the violent coughing fits she kept having. Now, while I'm not usually one to panic over catching some random germs, I have to admit that standing there listening to the woman hack and wheeze, then watch as she reached out and pulled a book from the shelf, definitely made me a little uneasy - okay, I admit it, I practically held my breath until I got out in the parking lot.

This just proves how very susceptible we are to the current panic over the spread of the latest biological scourge to hit...the Swine Flu. You can see evidence of concern all around us, from the prominent display of anti-bacterial hand sanitizer at Walgreens, to pictures in the media of people sporting a variety of Michael Jackson type face masks, and employees actually washing their hands in the restroom. People are becoming more worried every day.

Some of the reactions might be a little over the top, in my opinion. Countless public events are being canceled and, in fact, the entire Ft. Worth ISD has decided to cancel classes until May 11 (although I'm not sure what's so magical about May 11th).

Roger and I listened to this news with mixed reactions of fear and disbelief. Mine was mostly disbelief, his was mostly fear. Here's a tip: Want to strike terror into the heart of a professional educator? Just wait until summer break is so close they can feel it and tell them there's a chance you'll be slapping another week onto the end of the school year. But be warned - it's not a pretty sight, let me tell you.

I don't know how this whole Swine Flu scare will play out, but my guess is there will be more cases of the illness and, possibly, even more deaths, before it's over. I hope not, but I think it's smart if we all play it safe and use basic common sense.

Let's stock up on the hand sanitizer gel and if you're coughing up a lung, do us all a favor and STAY HOME!

The baby bird I rescued from the dogs the other day is no doubt suffering from some bumps and bruises, and he's not the only one.

My shoulders hurt, my legs hurt, my hands hurt...I'm a regular walking pain. I strained some muscles I didn't even know I had, and Tylenol is my friend.

Apparently Dudley is suffering from some Post Traumatic Stress as well, as evidenced by the raw spot he's licked on his belly. Consequently, he's wearing his oh-so-attractive toilet seat anti-lick device hat.

Wit? About the only effect our free for all had on her was to make her CONVINCED that any bird should be viewed as a potential enemy.

Smart girl, that Wit.

Do you ever wonder how birds have managed to survive on our planet for so long? Especially when you consider the theory that they are descended from dinosaurs; and if so, have lived on this planet millions of years and conquered countless threats to their survival? Not just predators, but an ever changing environment with a merciless credo of "adapt or die"?

Unfortunately, I have to ponder this question at least once every year...usually in Springtime, when the idiot birds who repeatedly nest around my house force me to rescue their young from our dogs, or the pool, or sometimes the dogs AND the pool. I'm telling you, these are some dumb birds.

Now, maternal instinct among our feathered friends is supposed to be strong, isn't it? With the exception of the cuckoo bird, who lays her eggs in ANOTHER female's nest for HER to hatch and raise (seriously, you can't help but admire the GENIUS of THAT particular maneuver, can you?), birds are known to be good providers and caring, protective parents.

So, what's the deal with the dim bulb birds that live around HERE? Didn't they notice the big, deep hole of water in the back yard, and the two extremely large HUNTING DOGS who live here? Wouldn't you think that at least ONCE when they were building their nest they might have said to themselves, "Hey, this just might not be the best place to try and teach our young, helpless fledglings to fly! Let's keep looking before we unpack."

But no...they built their nest in our backyard, AGAIN, and their baby bird found it wasn't ready to fly and got stranded on the ground AGAIN. Only this time it was a lot worse. This time it was Wit, the puppy, who discovered the violently flapping baby (I guess baby bird missed the class about staying still around predators..no surprise there, what with such slackers for parents). And worse still, Dudley decided to join in the hunt.

I saw what was happening and dove into the fray. What followed next looked a whole lot like one of those pay per view wrestling matches on cable, only this was real and I didn't have anyone on my team I could tag.

Since Dudley is 78 pounds of "Oh Yes I Will!", and Wit is already 25 pounds of "Me, Too!", I didn't think baby bird and I had a prayer. I grabbed each dog by the collar, and feared it was going to take more than two hands and a whole lot of bad words to keep the baby bird from becoming today's Happy Meal.

I'm still not sure how it happened, but somehow I managed to get all three dogs in the house (Layla, for whatever reason, decided not to participate and remained neutral, kinda like Sweden). I scooped Baby Bird up with my bare hands and moved him to the other side of the fence.

Did I mention that I don't LIKE birds? Can you believe I picked this one up with my BARE HANDS? I thought about scooping him up in the dog water bucket, but, really he'd suffered enough for one day, don't you think?

Baby Bird showed his appreciation to me by NOT pecking me and NOT pooping in my hand. Gotta love a bird with manners.

The parents? Oh, there still looking for their offspring in the backyard, even though I moved him over 5 hours ago.

Told ya birds are stupid.

I've mentioned before that I'm no slave to fashion. (That is such an understatement, it was hard to even TYPE it with a straight face.) I am so out of the loop when it comes to fashion and style that you can actually tell which trend has just fallen out of favor by what I'm wearing at the time. If I'm sporting it, it's definitely a "fashion don't".

Basically, I follow two iron clad rules when it comes to clothing: Wal-Mart for Everyday Wear and Target for Dress Up. I know, I know..sad, but true. Trust me, I know those rules fly in the face of fashion conscious women everywhere. I live in fear that a mob of irate women will one day pound on my door, demand my Estrogen Club membership card and use it to start a protest bonfire with my favorite sweat suit. What can I say? My sister got my share of the fashion gene, and I'm usually more than okay with that. Except when it becomes obvious that my Wal-Mart/Target wear isn't going to cut it and I have to actually go shopping for new clothes.

That sad event happened the other day. Roger and I were invited to attend the A.W.A.R.E. Luncheon, which raises funds in support of Alzheimer's research. Since we never miss an opportunity to support this cause (believe me, they actually got me to walk around the Dallas Zoo, that's how dedicated we are to finding a cure), we were definitely going to attend.

The problem was, we'd already attended this event two years in a row, so they'd seen BOTH of my "nice outfits". (My "nice outfits" are clothes my sister buys me for my birthday...she's so fashion conscious she can't even stand to see ME out of style.) It was obvious a trip to the mall was necessary.

Right off the bat, it was bad...I knew it was going to be a problem when I had to dress nicer than I usually do to even LOOK for clothes. Believe me, the irony of that statement is NOT lost on me.

I sucked it up, dressed it up and went to Macy's at Town East. Now, I live close enough to Town East Mall that I could step out my back door, whistle and be heard by somebody in their parking lot, and I am only slightly exaggerating about that. But, I NEVER go to Town East. After my trip the other day, I can understand why.

The saleswoman in Macy's was helpful enough, but she was in obvious need of an eye exam. She kept showing me clothes in styles I haven't worn since elementary school..ruffled blouses that tie in the back? Skirts made out of handkerchief material? Is she kidding me?

P.S. I sneaked a look at the kleenex skirt and that little number cost over $100.00 JUST FOR THE SKIRT - a skirt that reminded me of what happens when all the kleenex bunch together and try to come out of the box all at once. Nope, not interested.

I continued the search at Dillard's but only encountered more of the same. Someone tell me, what do women my age wear to work? It's no wonder women in business are sometimes accused of dressing a bit too masculine. For crying out loud, THERE'S NOTHING SUITABLE IN THE WOMEN'S DEPARTMENT...we are FORCED to shop in the Men's.

I finally hit pay-dirt at Stein-Mart in Rockwall, where for the grand total of $120.00 I bought a pair of white, lined, linen pants, a darling cropped yellow and white patterned jacket and a silky yellow turtleneck shell.

Three items for less than Macy's wanted for the snot-rag skirt. SUCCESS!

I guess it's only fair to confess that I did have ONE very strict rule about whatever outfit I bought. It had to match the only pair of high heeled shoes I own. Nevermind that they only cost $3.00 at PayLess and I'm crippled for two days after I wear them, there's NO WAY I'm buying new shoes. Have you seen how much they want for those things??

I was at Shepler's Western Store earlier today, trying to find Roger and myself Western shirts. He needs one for his school's Western Day and we both need one to wear to an upcoming Aggie Moms Club lunch.

Why do people assume everyone in Texas owns Western wear? I've lived here all my life and I can promise you this is only the second Western shirt I've ever owned - and if I knew where the FIRST one was, I wouldn't have bought THIS one.

Anyway, I was browsing the rack of sale shirts in front of the store when a mother and grandmother entered with a little girl who appeared to be around 4 years old.

I overheard the mother scolding the little girl and telling her to stay with her and, you guessed it, it wasn't too long before you could hear the mother AND the child calling for each other from different ends of the store.

Not my problem, right? My boys are grown and gone and if they lost me in a store they'd call me on their cell phones, if they needed me.

Apparently, this BECAME my problem when I looked up and saw the little girl opening the outside doors to make her way to the parking lot.

I told her not to go out those doors and asked her if she was lost. She looked at me with a trembling lip, stuffed both hands in her mouth and promptly burst into tears.

I held out my hand and told her not to worry, that we'd find her Momma. She put her little (and really WET) hand in mine and off we went to the nice cashier who announced a Lost Child over the store's loud speaker.

In a few minutes, here comes Momma, looking seriously ticked off. I walked the little girl over to her mother and told the mother that I'd stopped her just as she was going out the store's front door.

The mother didn't seem upset, worried, or scared...just really inconvenienced. I listened to the mother scold the little girl as they walked away and I made myself this promise: It wasn't my problem, no, it definitely wasn't. But, if Momma decided to drive home her point with a few smacks, Momma and me would be headed to Fist City on the Bullet Train.

Now, where are those anti-bacterial wipes?