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Well that escalated quickly.

April 7, 2017 by Rashid

Things that escalated quickly:

  • I go to London NEXT WEEK.
  • I got bronchitis.
  • We bombed Syria.

Looking back over my social media entries, I realize I haven’t been feeling well for about a month.  I was ambulatory, but slowly crashing.  The entire time I was at the Alpha Phi Alpha Eastern Region Convention, I was saying how tired I was.  And I kept coughing.  I thought all I needed was a good night’s sleep.

I even went to work on Monday.  I took some DayQuil and felt loopy.  My coworkers were like yo, you buggin.  Then I realized I should go to the doctor.

She gave me a lot of medicine, but it was too late: the bronchitis train had already picked me up.

I called out for the next three days.  My boss was very supportive and kept saying YOU NEED TO BE BETTER FOR LONDON.  Of course I was like YOU DAMN RIGHT I DO.

Although I am not at 100 percent, the rattle in my chest is not as bad as it was yesterday or the day before.  The cough, while significant, isn’t insurmountable.  If I can just get through the next few hours, with the weekend off, I think I will be okay for next week, and subsequently London.

I do NOT want to be that guy who is hacking his lungs up on the plane for the entire flight.  Nor do I want to get sicker while I’m over there.

So, as I tell people, just pray for me.

I cant believe how quickly this trip arrived when it seemed so far away.

Finally, I am so disappointed in this country’s decision to bomb Syria.  (Of course, I am appalled at the atrocities occurring in Syria, too.)  I just feel like, in 2017, we would have found solutions more reasonable than war.

I guess not.

Filed Under: Culture, Diary, London

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Rashid Darden is a novelist based in Conway, North Carolina and Washington, DC.

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