Ever since my wife and I have been working on going “green”, we have explored increasingly more radical approaches; the latest being using public transportation (Heaven forbid!). On my last trip to the downtown core I actually took the train. This turned out to be a great experience, with one exception: The number of people in close proximity that were sneezing, hacking, and coughing in my direction! Being self-employed, I really can’t afford to get sick…every missed day is money straight out of my pocket. Ever the practical one, my wife had a great suggestion: Wear one of those surgical masks on the train or bus. No, the purpose isn’t so much to prevent the bugs from getting through, but rather, you will notice that anyone wearing a mask is always given a wide berth by everyone else! It seems that self-preservation is a more powerful force than altruism…people don’t give a crap about you catching their cold, but they sure don’t want whatever it is that you’ve got!

This reminds me of a suggestion made by a comic some years ago (I can’t remember who) that the best way to make sure you keep that open middle seat next to you on an airplane is to gesticulate wildly to anyone you see heading in its direction: “Hey, here’s a seat, come and and sit here!”. Sure to keep people away!