baaah, flu-bug

...for years, I avoided flu shots, I'ld finally taken a pneumonia shot because I had had it several times and the Dr. made me, but in those days, it was supposed to be a "one-time" thing, not annual like "flu shots"...of course, I got sick... I saw anywhere from 100-160 students a day and had to handle instruments they played...but whether it was because I was younger or just the built-up immunity from all those germs...the "flu" didn't seem as bad "then"... I had the "Hong Kong" flu in 1973 and was helpless for almost 2 weeks,high fever,nausea,aches etc... I had the measles[hard !]along with strep throat in 1963 [I was 14] and was even more helpless for 3 weeks... I had the light measles during college and had to stay in the infirmary for several days until the spots left... I don't remember much of the mumps[I was 4] or the chicken pox[I was 10]..but I was told that as a baby[1949] I got a very mild case of smallpox from the vaccine[and have the scars to prove it...] during high school, the Dr had me come into his office to get my final polio booster instead of lining-up with the masses at school for "shot day"[baby boomers will relate...] ...turns out he was pretty "ahead of the curve", since I went into anaphalactic shock from the minute amount of penicillin in the polio shot...that's when they found out I'm allergic to penicillin..I guess that if I had learned anything it should have been to avoid needles...but no, since I've been retired I have been getting my yearly flu shot[aka.period of flu-like symptoms] like a mindless "sheep"...it does seem better during the peak flu season, but I truely hate "being the first one" to get sick each year, after the shot... "baaah flu-bug"