What Would You Have Done?

~STICKY POST~

I'm going to tell you a story that actually happened to me but I'm not going to tell you the ending. I'm going to ask you

What Would You Have Done?

On that evening, on the way home from teaching my computer class at the community college, my husband and I decided to stop at McDonald's to pick up something for dinner. It was late, after 8:00, so we were going to grab something light, chicken or something.

Vinny spoke into the two-way and ordered a fish filet for himself and a salad for me. Two diet drinks. We pulled up to the front window and waited for them to fill our order. the kid working at the window sneezed. And then sneezed again.



"Hey," I yelled, "cover your mouth!"

It went through my mind that we were just about a half mile from St. Francis Prep high school on Francis Lewis Blvd. St. Francis is the epicenter of the swine flu in New York City.
That afternoon they had closed a public elementary school near St. Francis.



The kid sneezed again, and again. Our food sat in an open paper bag on the ledge just inside the window.

I yelled out again, "You shouldn't be serving food to people. You should be home!" He said in a distracted tone, "Yeah, sure."

He handed Vinny his change and our order. Vinny handed the bag to me. I took the bag with two fingers and held it that way as we headed home. Half way home I said to Vin, "What do you think we should do?"

So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, what would you have done?



Given

1. The situation in NYC and the Swine Flu outbreak,
2.The fact that Vinny and I live in Queens a couple of miles from St. Francis Prep,
3. And that 150 kids are now suspected of having the flu, possibly the strain that has killed 60 people in Mexico.

I'd really like to know what you think. Leave your suggestions in the comments today and tomorrow.

I'll tell you what Vinny and I did tomorrow. :)

theteach

Killings in Binghamton, NY

Twelve or 13 people were killed when a gunman opened fire in an immigration services center in Binghamton, N.Y., Gov. David A. Paterson said Friday. (New York Times)

When my husband, Vin, called from the other room to tell me about the shooting I picked up the phone immediately to call my nephew, Jim, who lives in Binghamton. How big a city could Binghamton be I thought.

Jim, answered the phone and before I could say anything he said, "I'm fine, alive and well!" I laughed and said "Thank God, Jim, have you gotten a lot of calls?" "Yup," he said, actually my friends are calling to find out if I was the shooter...

Black humor, not funny Jim! But thank goodness he's all right. Apparently the killings happened only a few blocks from where he lives.

theteach

Safe from a Terrible Fire

It has been about 10 weeks since a fast-moving fire consumed the Niakale Magassa's narrow brick house at 1022 Woodycrest Avenue in the High Bridge neighborhood on March 7.

Most of the Magassa family has now resettled into a new home on Walton Avenue, a spacious apartment about one mile from the scene of the blaze, one of the deadliest residential fires in New York City history.

In the photo above Niakale Magassa holds her nephew Yousouf and daughter Fatoumata, right, in their new apartment in the Bronx. Other family survivors of the March fire included, from left, Kadiatou, Hawa, Mariam and Hatouma. (New York Times)

I think they are happy.

theteach