Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

An old saying tells us that you learn something new every day. Is that statement still true in this day and age? I considered the question recently at the East Avenue Coffee House in Wenonah.

A customer was telling café owner Lina Montecalvo that her thirteen-year old son had recently suffered from pneumonia. His case was misdiagnosed by the doctor, and fortunately the mother involved happened to be a nurse. She knew what the symptoms of pneumonia were, and thankfully her son was able to make a speedy recovery.

Later Lina related the story to me of her bout with pneumonia. Ms. Montecalvo, a very healthy person who rarely needs to visit doctors, was not feeling all that well at the time about thirteen years ago. She thought her illness was being brought on by some stress she was facing at the time, and assumed that it would pass. Lina finally had to consult a physician, received some necessary antibiotics, and made a complete recovery of her own.

This of course, is good news. But it is not the moral of our story. Ms. Montecalvo mentioned to me that she believes she knows the reason she contracted pneumonia. Lina had been living in a condominium at the time, during a period when our state was suffering from a drought. The drought was so severe that a pond at her condo had completely dried up, leaving some fish wriggling at the bottom of the pond.

Upon first noticing these fish, Lina went to check on them, confirming that they were dead. She believes she acquired pneumonia from smelling the fish, and the bacteria that came from them.

I’m anything but a medical expert, but that sounded like a reasonable conclusion to me.

Anyway, Lina told me the moral of our story is: “If you want to avoid catching pneumonia, never smell the dead fish at the bottom of a dried up pond.”

Beautiful. Words to live by. Satisfied with learning that, I looked out the window of the East Avenue Coffee House. The first thing I saw was a sign advertising a local event in Wenonah: the East Coast Vulture Festival.

Yes, you read that correctly. The sign said: “Vulture Day Children’s Fair.”

“Vulture Day Children’s Fair” and “Don’t smell the dead fish if you want to keep from catching pneumonia.” These aren’t phrases you come across every day.

I’m satisfied. Case closed.

You CAN still learn something new every day.