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Okay, Okay... I'll fess up. I kiss them all. As well as letting the dogs
cover my face with obsessive kisses, and I believe the dogs present a more
potent danger as they are prone to ingesting all kinds of disgusting stuff.
On a more serious note I just heard a piece on NPR several days ago about how
the Japanese, who are very germ and bacteria phobic have a high incidence of
skin and intestinal problems which some believe is due to their obsession
with anti bacterial cleaning products. The feeling is that their bodies have
not been able to build up any natural antibodies against certain prevalent
bacteria found in abundance in normal living situations. The anti bacterial
cleaning agents, so in vogue now, not only kill the really bad stuff like
strep, staph and salmonella, but also effectively wipe out more benign flora
and fauna, which when we ingest them in small quantities help to strengthen
our immune systems. But you already knew that Bill. The news story simply
vindicated my shoddy housekeeping practices, and allows me to kiss and be
kissed by the numerous creatures I share my space with, with no fear of
succumbing to a dread disease of unknown origins.
This sort of segues into one of my favorite VT stories. Our local feed store
owner is a wonderful man with a very dry sense of humor. His store is located
on a major road leading to a popular ski resort so it is not unusual for
"flatlanders" who have forgotten to pack "Fido's" food for the weekend to
stop by on Friday evening on their way to the Mt. for a weekend of skiing.
The owner of the store had a dog that came to the store with him everyday. An
out of towner arrived to purchase some pet supplies for the weekend and as he
was waiting in line to pay for his purchases he noticed the dog actively
engaged in licking his privates. Feeling somewhat out of place in this
bastion of local Vermonters he attempted to break the ice by pointing the
dog's behavior out to the owner and adding "Gee, I sure wish I could do
that." To which the owner replied in absolute Vermont deadpan, "Well, okay,
but you might want to pet him first."
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, Vivian C.
