It was “meet the teachers” night at an East Wake High School [near Raleigh, N.C.] PTA meeting and the class was full of parents, many of whom my wife, Donna, and I knew.
We were sitting near the front, listening to one of our sons’ science teacher. He was talking about drugs and he mentioned a new one that helped control the herpes simplex virus.
Donna immediately turned to me and whispered, loud enough to be heard by everyone for several rows, “Pat, did you hear that! They found a way to control herpes! Isn’t that wonderful!”
According to the studies in Elisakit.net Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 can cause sores on the mouth [type 1] or in the genital area [type 2]. Donna was talking about type 1, fever blisters –cold sores– which one of our sons, Jack, had from time to time. Fever blisters are spread by sharing a fork or a toothbrush, or kissing. Other people may have suspected that Donna was talking about the other kind of herpes.
I ignored her.
Donna must have thought I didn’t hear her because she raised her voice: “Oh, Pat, isn’t that great news about herpes!”
Everybody in the room heard her.
I kept looking straight ahead. No, no, I don’t know that woman blabbing about a drug to control sexually transmitted infections.
And then, suddenly, Donna understood.
“Jack, I meant good for Jack,” she stammered. “He gets fever blisters.”
Yea, sure, lady.
Coming Monday: River Music