It's a bit unnerving.

The more I hear about that disease called SARS, the more I think about the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic.

The parallels between the two diseases are eerie.

It's thought that both originated in China.

Unlike many infectious illnesses, both spare the very young and the elderly and instead kill the people in between.

Both are extremely contagious. Both start with flu-like symptoms and then rapidly turn into a very vicious pneumonia.

If you know your family history, the odds are very good that you've lost a family member to what was dubbed the Spanish Influenza--it was one of the great killers of all time. The spousal unit's grandmother, widowed young, died of the Spanish Flu and left my late father-in-law an orphan.

Should we all panic? No, I don't think so. Public health officials are locking down suspected cases quickly, far more quickly than they did in 1918-19. Our medical technology is terrifically advanced from what it was then, too.

And yet ... the parallels are spooky.

Now go wash your hands, and for heaven's sake keep them away from your face.

That's an order.

--Marn

Mileage on the Marnometer: 176.42 miles (283.9 kilometers)
Goal for 2003: 500 miles - 804.5 kilometers