CHUCK E CHEESE'S GAVE ME A COLD

And I felt like the Picasso guy pictured at right. I'd forgotten how bad a cold makes you feel.

No one who shared Thanksgiving with us had a cold. No one I was around at church Sunday had one. But Monday I got that sore throat, followed by sniffles, followed by hot water running out of my proboscis, followed by stuffiness, hacking, ad infinitums.

Of course, it didn't hinder my golf game. I still couldn't sink many putts even with water dripping. I pulled off a couple of shots over water on a par three to card an embarrassing 7 on the hole, but overall, the cold never stopped me.

Until last night. Fever. Chills. Teeth chattering in bed. Which my wife ignored. But when my legs wandered over to her side of the bed, she exclaimed,"You're hot."

"Thanks, Hon," I offered. But it was too late. She was out of bed and giving two green Advils. She got up before me. A huge rarity these days. When I awoke, the fever had gone. The aches and sniffles and stopped- upedness had left.

I'm healed! I've survived the first cold of Winter. I hope it's the last. It must have come from the basketballs or skee balls at Chuck E. Cheese's Saturday when we took the grandkids to play there. I mean who could use up all those tokens, and I had to help them get bigger and better prizes. The cold was thrown in for free.