i'm sick of it

SEATTLE -- Flying is a foolproof way to get sick.

How many times have you returned from a trip and you felt awful? No, it wasn't that last enchilada you had in Oaxaca or staying up all night in the City of Light, it was that creepy person next to you on the airplane.

Or in my case, behind me while standing in line at Southwest Airlines at Sea-Tac.

I knew the minute the 20something started hacking and sneezing that I should have moved. But since I was in the "B" group, I didn't want to lose my place in Southwest's ridiculous festival seating plan. So I stood there for at least 20 minutes while he coughed, sneezed and spewed all over himself and me.

At one point I turned around and gave him the Mom Glare. Any age boy who has a mom worth her motherly title has been on the receiving end of the Mom Glare. And generally said boy responds, even if you're not his own personal Mom.

But Sick Boy didn't react. He just continued to hack.

Since I'm not Howard Hughes, becoming a recluse is not an option. And I refuse to wear a mask while flying around the world.

So maybe I'll stock up on AIRBORNE, the popular over-the-counter herbal supplement developed by an elementary school teacher to boost her immune system against all those nasty little kids (I mean germs) in the classroom.

It beats coming home with a cold.

And I need to work on my Mom Glare some more.