Kira McStay

It all started when I drove to Dallas to attend a concert. Delightful music, but it was outdoors. Every few minutes, I felt something brush up against my leg. Thinking it was my skirt, I impatiently slapped the feeling away. Later that night, I found a mosquito bite on my leg, and thought no more of it.

On Tuesday, I noticed my leg looked like someone had punched me.

So began two days of lying in bed and watching quasi-trashy television before the fever and muscle aches subsided. On the downside, the one paper I was looking forward to had to be put off: I couldn't have done it justice, though the outline was prepared and the books read. It remains open on my computer, ready for when I get home and get a bit of peace and quiet.

On the upside, I actually studied. This is the first year in recent memory that I had studied, and frankly, I noticed a difference. In a class focusing on Shakespeare, I breezed through questions relating to Macbeth, despite the near-constant sniffling. The professor, bless him, noticed how badly I looked and gave me a glass of water.

Wednesday, Mom called to check in. "So, then. If you die, can I have your stuff?" she joked. "You can take everything except my video games. Those are for my roommate," I responded. Mom just laughed and said she knew I was sick because I was studying.

So here I sit, on my usual day off, frankly happy to be back to work. Or, happy to be healthy enough to work, anyway.

Happy birthday to Ed Colvin and Anthony McNeal of Sherman; Donna Davis, Veda Henry Cox and Lynn Whitehead of Denison; Wanda Francis Worsham of Allen; Stanley Keith Brownlee of Enid, Okla. and Brian Ross of Howe.

Happy anniversary to Andy and Kathy Williams of Tom Bean, 38 years and Marty and Lisa Zamora of Sherman, 10 years.

Happy birthday Saturday to Charlotte Inglish, Charles Campbell, and T.C. Griffith of Denison; Misty Lichnovsky, Connye Goodin, Minetta Jan Austin, John Bullard, Kenneth Doss, Carol Cowart, David Deffibaugh and Milina Bernard Allman of Sherman; David Krause of Howe; Sam Moran of Gordonville; Clint Wayne Mullins of Warner Robins, Ga.; James Ray Bell of Bella Vista, Ark.; Christie Kilgore of Longview; Madison Lawles and Pat Maynard of Whitesboro.