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COLUMN: "Sweeney's Side" - H1N1: The next chapter  

While at the fair in Florence two weeks ago I happened to witness a perfect example of how simple precautions can be misconstrued or interpreted. As I walked around the midway looking for a group of friends I was supposed meet, I happened to overhear a conversation from two older gentlemen standing near one of the game booths. When I walked by, one was asking the other if he "wanted a hit" from the cigarette he was just finishing up. "No way man," came the response in a raspy voice that was most likely from years of smoking himself. "I don't want to catch that swine flu or anything!" The other nodded in agreement.

Assuming that the cigarette in question was of the tobacco variety and not its "wacky" counterpart, several things were a bit off about this situation. First, the idea that these two gentlemen were talking about health issues while smoking anything was totally hilarious. Either they were high, which would explain the size of the lit object and the topic of conversation when I walked by, or unaware that in their overall health forecasts catching the swine flu was probably the last thing they would have to worry about as a result of smoking that cigarette.

Judging by each man's age and voice quality, it wasn't the first time either had indulged in treats of the tobacco variety. Now, while these two gentlemen's hearts were in the right place, their "precaution" was just one example of the crazy notions that can arise from what is ultimately an issue of commonsense.

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