Monday, February 04, 2013

Coughing

If you have ever been hospitalized, you have probably been forced to listen to someone's incessant coughing.  

Just heard new neighbor say, "Hey, man, are you alright?" Did not clearly hear Doug's reply or the rest of the conversation, except that the new neighbor ~ think his name is Dale ~ said it is bad or serious and something about calling an ambulance for Doug.

Many moons ago, it used to drive me bonkers listening to Doug and Chris's loud coughing. I passed by Doug as I was leaving laundromat. He was standing in front of the mini-mart door as he often did. He coughed. I asked if he was okay or suggested he see a doctor about it. He said, "It's not me, it's Chris, I do not cough."

Huh? I let it slide, not getting into a senseless argument, "I just heard you cough..." His coughing was not as constant as Chris', perhaps because Doug lives further away from my apartment. I assumed their smoking hookah was the reason for their coughing fits. It was damn annoying, but got worse.

Doug no longer coughed daily, but January 2011 Chris started coughing. I remember thinking: I forgot about that (his coughing); after a few weeks, I started getting testy. After more weeks, I became downright insanely angry. A cold lasts about two weeks. Everyone in the building told Chris to go to doctors. Blah, blah, blah. I am sure I wrote about all those days here somewhere.

With Chris gone, finally, for good, it has been so nice not being forced to listen to continuous coughing, from early am to late in the evening. I think it has been about two weeks now that Doug has been coughing. I was thinking as I went to bathe that he should go inside his apartment, not stand in courtyard forcing neighbors to be subjected to his non-stop coughing. Cough medicine anyone? Cough drops?

I was glad to hear the new neighbor say something to Doug, not that it will do any good. Doug may have forgotten how disturbed I was by Chris' coughing ~ and other tenants complaints about it. Would think he would know better than to stand in courtyard coughing all day long. All. Day. Long.

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