"you been sick-a-bed?" uncle ernie

that's what my uncle would ask me
when i was a child and i would get a cold.
the kind that forces you to bed with
a fever, body aches, perpetual runny nose
and voracious sore throat. 
i would miss days of school,
eventually returning with my box 
of Puffs and maybe a small jar of mentholatum.

very rarely did i get the flu.
you know "the flu".
the upset stomach,
both ends expelling whatever
is put in.
sometimes body aches and fever too.

but now the experts say 
the cold   is really   the flu.
huh? 

regardless of the name,
i've enjoyed raw throat,
drippy nose, achey body,
now coughing
this week.
  
i don't care whatcha call it,
just call it away from the earth!