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It isn't really clear what kind of ailment I am suffering from as I write this. I first thought it was the bubonic plague, but after waking up Monday morning, I am pretty sure someone sent me anthrax.

The wife says it is a simple case of the flu or a bad cold. She has something, too. Our 5-year-old often returns from school with more than her homework.

First Mate doesn't know how to suffer, either. When she gets sick, she goes to a doctor and then comes home and makes chicken soup.

You would never catch a guy doing that.

No, if you are going to be sick, southwest Topeka is a great place to be sick. For instance, there are a lot of places where you can infect others and have them share the misery.

As a guy, I go to Walgreen Drug Store on S.W. 37th and Wanamaker, Osco Drug at Villa West, or I see what they have got on aisles at Dillons or J.M. Bauersfeld's. Sometimes they have some good stuff at the Amoco station at S.W. 29th and Wanamaker. That is what guys do.

When I get this sick, though, I usually stick around the house. If the weather is nice, I can be found on the front porch wearing warm clothing.

Southwest Topeka always has had healing powers for me.

I have always liked this part of Topeka. Shortly after mustering out of the Army in 1972, I got a house-sitting job from major league baseball player Ken Berry.

It was only a couple hundred yards away from my folks' house on S.W. 47th and Wanamaker so laundry privileges came in the bargain. Vietnam gradually slipped from my mind.

I moved into an apartment near Brookwood for a spell but it proved too expensive, and I missed the country life, such as it was. Mind you, Topeka was where I worked and played back in the bachelor life. But I could hunt quail and deer, catch fish and a nap --- and it wouldn't be interrupted by a siren in the southwest area back then.

I rented an old farm house that had a lot of rats in it. I solved that problem with a bunch of stray cats. I lived there for two or three years.

So it is with Lost Dog Hollow, our place in the country. We bought back in 1988 with another couple. There were about 30 acres for sale, and we paid $700 an acre. It is mostly woods --- but there are a couple of pastures and a creek that flows on the north end of the property.

We have seen bobcats, coyotes, deer, wild turkeys and all kinds of birds around here. It is a great place to be when you aren't feeling good --- because it makes you feel good.

We built in 1989. An appraiser friend paid a visit not long ago and gave us an estimate of the acreage. It had zoomed up quite a bit. The things I buy never go up in value. This has made me feel good over the years.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:57 AM