so...
until about maybe 2 years ago, i was the king of colds.
if someone within a 10 mile radius of me sneezed, i was out for the count for the duration.

the thing about being sick all of the time, and hanging out on the internet........
is that everybody wants to tell you how to heal yourself (even though you seldom solicit advice b/c you've treated your sick body your entire life without dying).

but, every now and again, when i've been in the absolute pits of sick hell, i'll try one of these unsolicited suggested remedies.

which is how i first came to try this:

now, i never bought emergen-c or whatever. i just had a gazillion ppl telling me i had to take it, so when one of my co-workers offered me a few packets, i took them.

and i wasn't particularly impressed.
and i didn't like it.
and that was that.

about 7 mos ago, me and A were on a flight back from houston, and she was catching cold. there were only a few ppl on the plane, and her seat was directly behind mine. we began to talk about whatever our plans were and she was lamenting the fact that she'd soon be sick...

and i told her i had an emergen-c pack left (i think her wife had given me a couple for another one of my colds).
A took the packet from me, and then said, "i'll get a drink from the flight attendant so i can take it."

and that's when i turned around in my seat...

i was like, "what do you mean?" and she was like, "i need some water or something for the packet."

i don't know what expression *i* wore, but i immediately recognized the look on A's face. it was the one she wears whenever she's about to clown the shit out of me.

she whisper-yelled, in what can only be described as actual horror, "HOW HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING THIS?!"

and i was like, "I JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THE PACKET! LIKE THOSE OLD TIMEY ONES. LIKE--"
and A was like, "don't say it. don't you say it."

then suddenly it was as if no one else was on the plane at all, b/c she was like, "BITCH, YOU WERE TAKING IT LIKE SOME GOODYS?! YOU THOUGHT THIS SHIT WAS LIKE GOODYS?! YOU WERE TAKING IT TO THE HEAD?!"

our flight was maybe 3 hrs.

it didn't matter what we talked about throughout. it didn't matter if i dozed off momentarily, or read from my book...

about every 35 mins she'd tap me on my shoulder and whisper "remember when you told me you took emergen-c to the head like goodys?"

when we got home, she told all of our friends.

about once every 2 mos, she and my other friend will send me texts with pictures of emergen-c packets and tell me they were thinking of me.

i had DONE and SAID something stupid as fuck.

i hadn't bothered to read the back of the packets. i hadn't asked about the packets.

i'd just done it my own stupid way, hated the emergen-c, and determined it to be too nasty to ingest.

(PLEASE don't take it my way, btw.)

here's my point......

i have ppl around me to constantly remind me, that no matter how clever i think i am (and i'm SUPER arrogant, so like...lol....i fancy myself a good helping of clever)--

i still don't know how to pour powder into water.

how come this motherfucker doesn't? https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-coronavirus-inject-disinfectant-bleach-treatment-sunlight-a9481291.html