Pet Peeve

Why do people go to church when they are in the middle of a terrible, uncontrollable coughing and sneezing virus? Two weeks ago, I was at church and totally surrounded. There was so much coughing and sneezing, I had a hard time concentrating on the sermon. After hearing reports of even more people being sick over that week, I decided not to go this past Sunday, not wanting to catch the stuff. But, apparently, all the under-the-weather folks did go, because now I'm aware of even more people sick with the same bug in the congregation. So I either go and let the semi-hypochondriac in me take over and imagine the viruses going into my system as I get “surround sound sneezing” (and likely get more than an imaginary dose of the virus, for that matter) or I don't go and miss church again.

I was there (obviously) on Wednesday, albeit up in the balcony running the projector, and it sounded horrible down below. If the few people who initially had something had stayed home, maybe there would be less people coming down with the whatever this bug is. Every winter I watch a few people appear at church with some kind of virus and by the end of the month, it seems like it has made the rounds among everyone; maybe some get it elsewhere, but I know that often does not seem to be the case. Since everyone shakes hands right after the opening hymn, germs spread like wildfire, and even without that, the close quarters don't help.

Anyway, that's my pet peeve for the day. I'm not usually for keeping people out of a church, but I think we should do like hospitals. At least the ones I've visited this winter have signs up asking people with flu or cold like symptoms to please not enter the facility. That makes sense in the long run for everyone.