Isms: Views on life in rural America

For nearly a month, I’ve had a nagging cough, drippy nose, and an overall feeling of malaise. During that time, I debated whether to drive myself to the emergency room in the middle of the night due to a high fever (Scott wouldn’t wake up, I tried), experienced muscle pain in the ribs from excessive coughing, and shuddered every time my ears popped.

For relief, I tried a shot or two of blackberry brandy, antibiotics, over-the-counter meds and homemade concoctions. While some worked better than others, this mysterious cough - which isn’t COVID and not the flu -seems to get worse the closer it g...