[Vision2020] Pandemic Pandemonium (Swine Flu)

[Tom Hansen]

Pandemic Pandemonium
(Swine Flu)

by Carolyn Devonshire

Pardon skepticism, but it’s true 
There’s too much ado about Swine Flu 
Thirty-one deaths by May of ‘09 
In 25 nations worldwide 
 
Avoid all public transportation 
And forego annual vacations 
Protect us from the dreaded Swine Flu 
By closing our schools and churches too 
 
The government was slow to react 
When HIV first left its tracks 
On drug users, gay communities 
Thousands died in the 1980s 
 
But when the “pure of soul” met demise 
With blood transfusions linked to lost lives 
AIDS won interest from politicians 
Lightning struck, they sprang into action 
 
Swine Flu can kill, but what’s the fuss? 
Other illnesses claim more of us 
Look back to the Fourteenth Century 
For true epidemiology 
 
Black Death caused widespread annihilation 
Nearly half Europe’s population 
The Smallpox deadly legacy 
Egypt-born, 1350 BC 
 
Fifteen million had this disease 
As recent as the 1960s 
Eradication finally defined 
December 1979 
 
Return to Century Fourteen 
To find the world’s first quarantines 
Cholera ships confined to ports 
But still this plague reached landlubbers’ doors 
 
Regular flu in winter thrives 
Each week taking 800 lives 
Though common colds seldom spell doom 
Thousands flock to emergency rooms 
 
So answer this: Why all the hype 
When Swine Flue takes a gentler bite 
Newspaper headlines must be filled 
Across their banners Swine Flue spills 
 
Or could these reports be diversions 
For something more foul in our nation 
Are dogs now being wagged by their tails 
As health hazards go, the Swine Flu pales 
 
Hire Willie to write a theme song 
But don’t expect us to sing along 
Don’t blink, or Washington may think 
They’ve succeeded in this hoodwink.

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.moscowcares.com/

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
“A stranger is just a friend you haven't met.” - Roy E. Stolworthy
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